College students who are still searching for their career paths and therefore, their fields of study or individuals seeking a broad liberal arts education, should consider West Virginia University Potomac State College’s new Bachelor of Integrated Studies (BIS) degree.
“The ‘beauty’ of this degree is that it gives students the flexibility to choose and the versatility to create their academic paths based on their professional goals and interests,” Cassandra Pritts, chairperson of the Division of Liberal Arts and history professor, said.
This major focuses on communications, problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, and analytics – integrative skills that prepare graduates for future employment or advanced education.
According to Pritts, graduates from this program are prepared for occupations ranging from customer-related areas in business such as Human Resources, education, healthcare, and government, among other fields.
Graduates will also have the option to pursue graduate school if they desire.
This degree is an option for both traditional and non-traditional students. To apply, students must have 12 in-progress credits at WVU, Potomac State College or WVU-Tech. Students also can be directly admitted having been two years out of high school, or two years from when the student’s high school class would have been graduated to accommodate GED applicants. Students wishing to transfer from outside the WVU system, must also have 12 college credits or be at least two years beyond high school graduation.
Students can also receive College Equivalent Credit for work/career, volunteer, military, and other academic experiences. If approved, awarded credits could help meet graduation requirements while reducing the overall costs of the college experience.
Pritts points out an additional benefit of the Integrated Studies program: The F-Forgiveness Policy – which gives students a way to start over. Any “F” earned prior to admission to the BIS degree may be excluded from GPA calculation. However, after the F-Forgiveness has been applied, students should have a GPA of at least 2.0 and they must graduate from the BIS program.
“Our new Bachelor of Integrated Studies degree is appealing to students who want to remain in the area and earn a four-year degree that provides them the opportunity for a good job,” Pritts concluded.
For more information about the degree or to enroll in the program, contact Enrollment Services at 304-788-6820 or email go2psc@mail.wvu.edu.