Associate in General Studies
Program Overview
These requirements apply to students who first enrolled for Fall 2025 or later. Students who enrolled prior to Fall 2025 have the option of upgrading their degree plan to access the AGS degree option.
The Associate in General Studies degree is a flexible, individually designed option for those individuals who do not intend to transfer but who can benefit from having earned a degree, whether for career purposes or for personal satisfaction. Students should be aware that transfer options for the degree as a whole are limited. Students are strongly encouraged to meet with an academic advisor to make course selections and to learn about possible transfer options.
Program Requirements
Communications
Hours Required: 6
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ENG 101 | Composition I | 3 |
| ENG 102 | Composition II | 3 |
| ENG 103 | Technical and Report Writing | 3 |
| ENG 130 | Business Writing | 3 |
| MCM 130 | Introduction to Journalism | 3 |
| SPE 101 | Fundamentals of Speech Communication | 3 |
Mathematics
Hours Required: 3
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MGT 150 | Business Math | 3 |
| MTH 101 | Quantitative Literacy | 3 |
| MTH 103 | College Algebra | 3 |
| MTH 124 | Finite Mathematics | 3 |
| MTH 130 | Mathematics for Elementary Teaching I | 4 |
| MTH 131 | Mathematics for Elementary Teaching II | 4 |
| MTH 134 | Calculus for Business and Social Sciences | 4 |
| MTH 140 | Precalculus | 5 |
| MTH 165 | Elementary Statistics | 4 |
| or MTH 225 | Business Statistics | |
| MTH 200 | Calculus I | 5 |
| MTH 201 | Calculus II | 5 |
| MTH 202 | Calculus III | 5 |
| MTH 203 | Linear Algebra | 4 |
| MTH 212 | Differential Equations | 3 |
| MTH 220 | Discrete Mathematics | 3 |
Physical and Life Sciences
Hours Required: 3
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| AST 100 | Astronomy Survey | 3 |
| AST 112 | The Solar System | 4 |
| AST 115 | Stars and Galaxies | 4 |
| BIO 101 | Biology Survey | 3 |
| BIO 103 | Humans and the Environment | 3 |
| BIO 104 | Environmental Laboratory Biology | 4 |
| BIO 105 | Heredity, Evolution and Society | 3 |
| BIO 110 | Introduction to Biology and Society | 4 |
| BIO 115 | Fundamentals of Cellular Biology | 4 |
| BIO 116 | Fundamentals of Organismal Biology | 4 |
| BIO 120 | Plants and Society | 4 |
| BIO 135 | Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology | 4 |
| BIO 136 | Introduction to Human Disease | 3 |
| BIO 140 | Animals and Society | 4 |
| BIO 230 | Microbiology | 4 |
| BIO 260 | Human Anatomy | 4 |
| BIO 261 | Human Physiology | 4 |
| CHM 100 | Chemistry for the Health Sciences | 4 |
| CHM 103 | The Chemistry Connection | 4 |
| CHM 105 | Chemical World | 4 |
| CHM 110 | Fundamentals of Chemistry | 4 |
| CHM 121 | General Chemistry I | 5 |
| CHM 122 | General Chemistry II | 5 |
| CHM 201 | Basic Organic Chemistry | 4 |
| CHM 204 | Organic Chemistry I | 5 |
| CHM 205 | Organic Chemistry II | 5 |
| CHM 210 | Analytical Chemistry | 5 |
| CHM 220 | Biochemistry | 4 |
| ESC 100 | Rocks and Minerals Survey | 3 |
| ESC 101 | Earth Science Survey | 3 |
| ESC 110 | Exploring the Earth and Universe | 4 |
| ESC 111 | Physical Geology | 4 |
| ESC 112 | Dinosaurs, Fossils and Planet Earth | 4 |
| ESC 113 | Environmental Geology | 4 |
| ESC 121 | Introduction to Meteorology | 4 |
| GEG 111 | Physical Geography | 3 |
| GEG 112 | Physical Geography Laboratory | 1 |
| NTR 101 | Fundamentals of Nutrition | 3 |
| PHY 100 | Basic Concepts in Physics | 3 |
| PHY 110 | Introduction to Physics | 4 |
| PHY 112 | Energy and Society | 4 |
| PHY 121 | Introductory Physics I | 5 |
| PHY 122 | Introductory Physics II | 5 |
| PHY 201 | General Physics I-Mechanics | 5 |
| PHY 202 | General Physics II-Electricity and Magnetism | 5 |
| PHY 203 | General Physics III-Thermal and Quantum Physics | 5 |
Humanities and Fine Arts
Hours Required: 6
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ART 105 | Introduction to Visual Art | 3 |
| ART 110 | Drawing I | 3 |
| ART 111 | Drawing II | 3 |
| ART 114 | Introduction to Film | 3 |
| ART 121 | Design I | 3 |
| ART 122 | Design II | 3 |
| ART 130 | Ancient and Medieval Art | 3 |
| ART 131 | Gothic through Romantic Art | 3 |
| ART 132 | Modern and Contemporary Art | 3 |
| ART 133 | Non-Western Art + | 3 |
| ART 206 | Printmaking Studio | 3 |
| ART 225 | Figure Drawing Studio | 3 |
| ART 241 | Digital Art and Animation Studio | 3 |
| ART 250 | Introduction to Photographic Art | 3 |
| ART 261 | Painting Studio | 3 |
| ART 291 | Ceramics Studio | 3 |
| ART 296 | Sculpture Studio | 3 |
| ENG 230 | Topics in English | 1-3 |
| FRN 101 | Elementary French I | 4 |
| FRN 102 | Elementary French II | 4 |
| FRN 201 | Intermediate French I | 4 |
| FRN 202 | Intermediate French II | 4 |
| FRN 205 | French Conversation | 3 |
| FRN 210 | Introduction to French Literature | 3 |
| GER 101 | Elementary German I | 4 |
| GER 102 | Elementary German II | 4 |
| GER 201 | Intermediate German I | 4 |
| GER 202 | Intermediate German II | 4 |
| GER 205 | German Conversation + | 3 |
| GER 210 | Introduction to German Literature + | 3 |
| GER 230 | German Civilization and Culture + | 3 |
| HST 105 | Great Ideas of World Civilizations | 3 |
| or HUM 105 | Great Ideas of World Civilizations | |
| HUM 101 | Ancient through the Medieval West + | 3 |
| HUM 102 | Renaissance through the Modern West + | 3 |
| HUM 104 | Introduction to Middle Eastern Civilizations + | 3 |
| HUM 106 | The Cultures of Asia + | 3 |
| HUM 107 | The Cultures of Africa + | 3 |
| HUM 110 | Women and Creativity + | 3 |
| HUM 115 | International and Regional Studies in Humanities | 1-4 |
| HUM 120 | Classical Mythology | 3 |
| HUM 125 | World Mythology + | 3 |
| JPN 101 | Elementary Japanese I | 4 |
| JPN 102 | Elementary Japanese II | 4 |
| JPN 201 | Intermediate Japanese I | 4 |
| JPN 202 | Intermediate Japanese II | 4 |
| JPN 205 | Japanese Intensive Oral Practice | 3 |
| LIT 105 | Poetry | 3 |
| LIT 112 | Literature and Film | 3 |
| LIT 115 | Fiction | 3 |
| LIT 208 | Non-Western Literature + | 3 |
| LIT 210 | Introduction to Shakespeare | 3 |
| LIT 216 | Science Fiction | 3 |
| LIT 217 | Crime Literature | 3 |
| LIT 219 | Children's Literature | 3 |
| LIT 220 | Japanese Literature in Translation + | 3 |
| LIT 221 | American Literature, Colonial Days to Civil War | 3 |
| LIT 222 | American Literature: Civil War to Present | 3 |
| LIT 223 | Multicultural American Literature + | 3 |
| LIT 224 | Women in Literature + | 3 |
| LIT 231 | English Literature to 1800 | 3 |
| LIT 232 | English Literature 1800-1914 | 3 |
| LIT 241 | 20th Century British and American Literature | 3 |
| LIT 250 | Topics in Literature | 1-3 |
| LNG 105 | Introduction to Language and Linguistics | 3 |
| MCM 150 | Social Media Management and Measurement | 3 |
| MCM 156 | Audio Production I | 3 |
| MCM 200 | Film History + | 3 |
| MCM 205 | Multi-Platform Photojournalism | 3 |
| MCM 210 | Video Editing and Video Post-Production | 3 |
| MCM 218 | Broadcast Graphics | 3 |
| MUS 101 | Fundamentals of Music Theory | 3 |
| MUS 102 | Introduction to Electronic/Computer Music | 3 |
| MUS 103 | Music Appreciation | 3 |
| MUS 104 | Introduction to American Music + | 3 |
| MUS 106 | Introduction to Jazz | 3 |
| MUS 107 | Introduction to Music in Theatre | 3 |
| MUS 108 | Introduction to World Music + | 3 |
| MUS 120 | Introduction to Music Literature | 3 |
| MUS 130 | Choir | 1 |
| MUS 140 | Band | 1 |
| MUS 145 | Ensembles | 1 |
| MUS 150 | Orchestra | 1 |
| MUS 165 | Class Piano I | 2 |
| MUS 166 | Class Piano II | 2 |
| MUS 167 | Class Guitar | 2 |
| MUS 169 | Class Voice | 2 |
| MUS 180 | Flute and Piccolo | 1 |
| MUS 181 | Oboe and English Horn | 1 |
| MUS 182 | Clarinet | 1 |
| MUS 183 | Bassoon and Contra Bassoon | 1 |
| MUS 184 | Saxophone | 1 |
| MUS 185 | French Horn | 1 |
| MUS 186 | Trumpet | 1 |
| MUS 187 | Trombone | 1 |
| MUS 188 | Baritone | 1 |
| MUS 189 | Tuba | 1 |
| MUS 190 | Drum Set | 1 |
| MUS 191 | Violin | 1 |
| MUS 192 | Viola | 1 |
| MUS 193 | Cello | 1 |
| MUS 194 | String Bass | 1 |
| MUS 195 | Harp | 1 |
| MUS 196 | Piano | 1 |
| MUS 198 | Voice | 1 |
| MUS 199 | Guitar | 1 |
| MUS 279 | Private Lessons in Composition | 2 |
| PHI 101 | Critical Thinking | 3 |
| PHI 102 | Symbolic Logic | 3 |
| PHI 105 | Introduction to Philosophy | 3 |
| PHI 115 | Ethics | 3 |
| PHI 120 | Social and Political Philosophy | 3 |
| PHI 150 | Business Ethics | 3 |
| PHI 160 | Non-Western Philosophy + | 3 |
| PHI 170 | Environmental Ethics | 3 |
| PHI 180 | Biomedical Ethics | 3 |
| PHI 190 | Philosophy and Gender + | 3 |
| PHI 205 | Religions of the World + | 3 |
| PHI 215 | Religion in America + | 3 |
| PHI 220 | Philosophy of Religion | 3 |
| PHI 231 | History of Philosophy--Ancient and Medieval | 3 |
| PHI 232 | History of Philosophy-Modern | 3 |
| SGN 101 | American Sign Language I | 4 |
| SGN 102 | American Sign Language II | 4 |
| SGN 201 | American Sign Language III | 4 |
| SGN 202 | American Sign Language IV | 3 |
| SGN 205 | American Sign Language V | 3 |
| SGN 210 | American Sign Language: Cultural Perspective + | 4 |
| SGN 212 | Introduction to American Sign Language Literature | 3 |
| SPA 101 | Elementary Spanish I | 4 |
| SPA 102 | Elementary Spanish II | 4 |
| SPA 112 | Heritage Spanish I | 4 |
| SPA 113 | Heritage Spanish II | 4 |
| SPA 121 | Spanish for Law Enforcement Officers | 3 |
| SPA 122 | Spanish for Healthcare Professionals | 3 |
| SPA 201 | Intermediate Spanish I | 4 |
| SPA 202 | Intermediate Spanish II | 4 |
| SPA 205 | Spanish Conversation + | 3 |
| SPA 210 | Introduction to Spanish Literature + | 3 |
| SPE 107 | Oral Interpretation | 3 |
| THE 111 | Introduction to Theatre + | 3 |
| THE 121 | Ethnic Traditions in American Theatre | 3 |
| THE 212 | Acting I | 3 |
- +
Meets the World Cultures and Diversity graduation requirement. One 3 credit-hour is required for graduation.
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Hours Required: 6
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ANT 101 | Introduction to Anthropology + | 3 |
| ANT 202 | Cultural Anthropology + | 3 |
| ANT 205 | Physical Anthropology | 3 |
| ANT 206 | Archeology + | 3 |
| ANT 215 | Introduction to Forensic Anthropology | 3 |
| ANT 220 | Topics in Anthropology | 1-6 |
| ECO 115 | Consumer Economics | 3 |
| ECO 200 | Introduction to Economics + | 3 |
| ECO 211 | Microeconomics | 3 |
| ECO 212 | Macroeconomics | 3 |
| GEG 100 | Cultural Geography + | 3 |
| GEG 101 | World Regional Geography + | 3 |
| GEG 103 | The Developing World + | 3 |
| GEG 104 | The Developed World + | 3 |
| GIS 100 | Introduction to Geospatial Technologies | 3 |
| HED 202 | Human Sexuality + | 3 |
| HST 111 | American Experience to 1877 | 3 |
| HST 112 | American Experience Since 1877 | 3 |
| HST 121 | History of Mexico, Central and South America + | 3 |
| HST 141 | History of Western Civilization to 1650 | 4 |
| HST 142 | History of Western Civilization Since 1650 | 4 |
| HST 151 | History of England: Norman Conquest to 1600 | 3 |
| HST 152 | History of England: 1600 to Present | 3 |
| HST 153 | British Culture and Society | 3 |
| HST 202 | Topics in History | 1-3 |
| HST 210 | Women: The American Experience + | 3 |
| HST 212 | Recent American History, 1945-Present | 3 |
| HST 214 | African-American History + | 3 |
| HST 219 | Illinois and Local History | 3 |
| HST 231 | History of the Middle East to 1453 | 3 |
| HST 232 | History of the Middle East 1453 to Present | 3 |
| HST 241 | History of China: Earliest Time through Ming Dynasty | 3 |
| HST 242 | History of China: From the Ching Dynasty to Present | 3 |
| HST 243 | Far East in the Modern World | 3 |
| HST 245 | The World Since 1945 | 3 |
| HST 261 | American Civil War 1848-1865 | 3 |
| HST 270 | History of Rome | 3 |
| HST 281 | World War I | 3 |
| HST 282 | World War II | 3 |
| LNG 205 | Language and Culture + | 3 |
| PSC 101 | American Politics and Government | 3 |
| PSC 220 | State and Local Government in the U.S. | 3 |
| PSC 250 | Comparative Politics + | 3 |
| PSC 270 | Global Politics + | 3 |
| PSC 280 | Non-Western Comparative Politics + | 3 |
| PSY 101 | Introduction to Psychology + | 3 |
| PSY 107 | Humanistic Psychology:Personal Growth | 3 |
| PSY 108 | Topics in Psychology | 2-3 |
| PSY 210 | Introduction to Research in Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 216 | Child Psychology I | 3 |
| PSY 217 | Adolescent Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 218 | Adult Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 220 | Biological Basis of Behavior | 3 |
| PSY 225 | Theories of Personality | 3 |
| PSY 228 | Psychology of Human Development | 3 |
| PSY 230 | Abnormal Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 245 | Industrial/Organizational Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 251 | African American Psychology + | 3 |
| SOC 101 | Introduction to Sociology + | 3 |
| SOC 120 | Family in Contemporary Society + | 3 |
| SOC 205 | Social Problems + | 3 |
| SOC 215 | Introduction to Social Psychology + | 3 |
| SOC 220 | Topics in Social Science | 1-6 |
| SOC 230 | Sociology of Sex and Gender + | 3 |
| SOC 235 | Race and Ethnicity + | 3 |
- +
Meets the World Cultures and Diversity graduation requirement. One 3 credit-hour course is required for graduation.
Total General Education
Hours Required: 24
Liberal Studies, Certificates, or Elective Coursework
Hours Required: 36
Courses must be selected from:
- Additional credit hours in one or more departments included in the above groups. This includes courses not designated as meeting general education requirements in these departments.
- One or more certificates may be included as part of these credit hours.
- Any 100 or 200 level elective courses in any discipline that fit specific educational goals of an individual student. (IDS 290 is limited to 4 credit hours total.)
World Cultures and Diversity Requirement
One 3-credit hour course is required. Some courses that fulfill this requirement may also be used to fulfill requirements in Humanities or Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Select one course marked with a + from the above Groups.
Total Hours Required
Hours Required: 60