Program Overview

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Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies

The Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies (BSIS) degree program at Mississippi State University is designed for students who want to earn their undergraduate degree online. This program allows students to complete their freshman and sophomore year requirements through MSU online, at an accredited community college, or at any other accredited four-year institution.

Tuition & Fees

• Tuition per credit hour: $435.75
• Instructional Support Fee per credit hour: $25.00 Tuition and fees are subject to change and do not include all possible charges. Additional fees may apply.

Program Structure

To graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies degree, students must complete a minimum of 120 hours.

• 84 hours from the Core Curriculum
• 36 hours of Online Emphasis Areas

Core Curriculum

All students must meet the common core curriculum requirements as set by the Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning of the State of Mississippi to qualify for any bachelor's degree.

Communication: 9 hours

• English Composition I and II
• Speech

Humanities and Fine Arts: 9 hours

• Foreign Language
• History
• Literature
• Philosophy
• Religion
• History or Appreciation of the Arts

Social and Behavioral Sciences: 6 hours

• Anthropology
• Economics
• Geography
• Psychology
• Political Science
• Sociology

Natural Science with Labs: 6 hours

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Geography
• Geology
• Microbiology
• Physical Science
• Physics
• Plant and Soil Sciences

Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning: 3 hours

• Math in Your World
• Calculus
• College Algebra
• Statistics
• Trigonometry

Junior/Senior Writing Requirement: 3 hours

• Options available are dependent on the student's emphasis areas and approved in IDS 2111.

Extra University Core: 12 hours

• Any of the types of courses listed above that are not being used already.

Free Electives: 29 hours

• Any course offered by MSU.

Intro to Interdisciplinary Studies: 1 hour

Professional Seminar: 1 hour

Emphasis Area Courses

Students must choose emphasis areas from at least two different colleges.

• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences:
  • Health Promotion
• College of Arts and Sciences:
  • Communication
  • Criminology
  • Geosciences
  • History
  • Psychology
  • Social Work
  • Sociology
• College of Business:
  • General Business
• College of Education:
  • Counselor Education
  • Educational Psychology
  • General Technology
  • Kinesiology
  • Manufacturing Fundamentals
  • Music
• School of Health Professions:
  • Healthcare Administration

Degree Requirements

To graduate with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies:

• Students must complete a minimum of 120 hours.
• Up to 60 hours transferred from an accredited community college may count toward the degree.
• 60 hours must be from an accredited four-year university.
• 36 hours must be upper-level (3000 and above) emphasis area course work.
• The final 32 hours of course work must come from MSU.
• Students must have a 2.00 GPA per emphasis area, a 2.00 MSU GPA, and a 2.00 overall GPA in order to graduate.

Transfer Credit

• Students may transfer up to 60 hours from an accredited community college.
• Students may transfer up to 90 hours from an accredited four-year university.
• For students who have a combination of the two: Students can transfer up to 86 hours from accredited institutions, but MSU will only accept 61 community college hours.
• Half of the program (61 hours) must come from an accredited four-year university.

Admissions Process

New Admissions

If you have never attended Mississippi State University, please complete the online Undergraduate Admissions Application.

• You will choose Interdisciplinary Studies (BS) as your major and Online Education as your campus.
• Request that official ACT or SAT scores be sent to MSU.
• Request that your high school send your official transcript.
• Submit a separate official final transcript from each college or university attended.

Readmissions

If you have previously attended MSU, you will need to apply for Readmission.

• Once you are readmitted, please contact your advisor so he or she may change your major and campus as well as advise you for the upcoming semester.
• Submit a separate official final transcript from each college or university attended.

Academic Advising

After gaining admission to the university, you must contact one of your advisors to determine the courses that are most appropriate for you to take. Approximately two months prior to the upcoming semester, your advisor will send an email to your MSU email account, making course recommendations based on your program of study.

Program Reminders

• If you are BSIS Committee approved and want to deviate from your signed and approved program of study at all, check with one of your advisors first because you will need permission to do so from your faculty sponsor.
• If you take courses not on the list of our suggestions (non-approved), there is a risk that these courses will NOT count toward your BSIS program of study.
• Only one (1) "D" per emphasis area is allowed, and you must maintain a 2.00 within each area. Students may not receive minors in the BSIS program. After a BSIS degree is awarded, a student may not return to school and receive a second bachelor's degree in an area of emphasis used in BSIS. A student may not receive a BSIS degree if he/she already has a bachelor's degree.