BGS in General Studies: American Studies Emphasis (33 hours*)

Program Requirements    |    View MAP

1. Complete the following prerequisite course:
   STDEV 100 : Essential College Skills. (1:1:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   STDEV 100 : Essential College Skills. (1:1:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	Independent Study also.
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter; Spring; Summer
   DESCRIPTION:	Developing essential college skills. Aims of BYU, values and goals, sound thinking skills. Learning styles and adjustment to college courses. College requirements and planning.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
2. Complete the following core courses:
ECON 110 : Economic Principles and Problems. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)

ECON 110 : Economic Principles and Problems. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)

OFFERED:	Honors also.
WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter; Spring; Summer
DESCRIPTION:	Strengths and weaknesses of markets and governments for solving problems of social organization or conflict, including policy response to inflation, unemployment, pollution, poverty, growth, etc.
NOTE:	This course is part of a GE Mosaic. See ge.byu.edu/mosaic-list for more information.

          : Honors Economic Principles and Problems.


Course Outcomes



HIST 220 : The United States Through 1877. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)

HIST 220 : The United States Through 1877. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)

OFFERED:	Independent study also.
WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter; Spring; Summer
DESCRIPTION:	Discovery, colonization, American Revolution, estabishment of the Constitution, foreign affairs, westward expansion, slavery, sectionalism, Civil War, and reconstruction.


Course Outcomes



HIST 221 : The United States Since 1877. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)

HIST 221 : The United States Since 1877. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)

OFFERED:	Independent Study also.
WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter; Spring; Summer
DESCRIPTION:	Industrialization, immigration, urbanization, political and social movements, and foreign policy.


Course Outcomes



PL SC 110 : American Government and Politics. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)

PL SC 110 : American Government and Politics. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)

OFFERED:	Honors also. Independent Study also.
WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter; Spring On Demand; Summer On Demand
DESCRIPTION:	Origin and development of federal Constitution; national, state, and local governments and politics.


Course Outcomes



3. Complete 18 hours from the following:
   A HTG 100 : American Heritage. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   A HTG 100 : American Heritage. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter; Spring; Summer
   DESCRIPTION:	Synthesis of American constitutional and economic principles, and patterns of historical development.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   ENGL 293 : American Literary History. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ENGL 293 : American Literary History. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	Independent Study also.
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter; Spring; Summer
   PREREQUISITE:	Engl 251 or concurrent enrollment.
   DESCRIPTION:	Development of ideas, movements, genres, and styles in American literature as illustrated through representative texts.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   ENGL 336 : The American Novel. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ENGL 336 : The American Novel. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	Independent Study also.
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter
   PREREQUISITE:	ENGL 251 & ENGL 295
   DESCRIPTION:	Representative novels of the American tradition from the late eighteenth century to the present.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   ENGL 361 : American Literature 1800 - 1865. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ENGL 361 : American Literature 1800 - 1865. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   WHEN TAUGHT:	On Demand
   PREREQUISITE:	ENGL 251 & ENGL 293 & ENGL 295
   DESCRIPTION:	Major and selected minor writers and literary trends from 1800 to 1865.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   ENGL 362 : American Literature 1865 - 1914. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ENGL 362 : American Literature 1865 - 1914. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	Independent Study also.
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter
   PREREQUISITE:	ENGL 251 & ENGL 293 & ENGL 295
   DESCRIPTION:	Major and selected minor writers and literary trends from 1865 to 1914.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   ENGL 363 : American Literature 1914 - 1960. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ENGL 363 : American Literature 1914 - 1960. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	Independent Study also.
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter; Spring On Demand; Summer On Demand
   PREREQUISITE:	ENGL 251 & ENGL 293 & ENGL 295
   DESCRIPTION:	Major and selected minor writers and literary trends from 1914 to 1960.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   GEOG 250 : United States and Canada. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   GEOG 250 : United States and Canada. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Winter
   DESCRIPTION:	Analysis of the natural environment, historical development, cultural patterns, economic systems, and political structures of geographic regions.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   HIST 317 : The Family and the Law in American History. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   HIST 317 : The Family and the Law in American History. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter
   DESCRIPTION:	The interaction of families with law and government as illustrated in original American sources; individual family histories reconstructed in the broader perspective of history.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   HIST 378 : American Family History. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   HIST 378 : American Family History. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   DESCRIPTION:

   History of American families from colonial period to the present.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   MUSIC 204 : Introduction to Jazz. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   MUSIC 204 : Introduction to Jazz. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	Honors also.
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter; Spring; Summer
   PREREQUISITE:	Non-music major status.
   DESCRIPTION:	Fostering an understanding and appreciation of jazz music within the context of American history and culture.
   NOTE:	For non-music majors.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   PL SC 316 : American Political Parties. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   PL SC 316 : American Political Parties. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   WHEN TAUGHT:	On Demand
   PREREQUISITE:	PL SC 200
   DESCRIPTION:	Electoral and policy-making roles of American political parties today and their future in American politics.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   PL SC 321 : The Media in American Politics. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   PL SC 321 : The Media in American Politics. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   WHEN TAUGHT:	On Demand
   DESCRIPTION:	News media's role in processes of American politics, including electoral process, legislative process, and public policy-making.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   REL C 341 : Joseph Smith and the Restoration, 1805-1845. (2:2:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   REL C 341 : Joseph Smith and the Restoration, 1805-1845. (2:2:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	Honors also.
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter; Spring; Summer
   DESCRIPTION:	Life and ministry of the Prophet Joseph Smith, coming forth of the Book of Mormon, organization of the church, foundational revelations, building the Kirtland Temple, Missouri persecutions, establishment of Nauvoo, and events leading to the Martyrdom.
   
              : Honors Joseph Smith and the Restoration, 1805-1845.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   REL C 342 : Pioneers and Persecution, 1846-1899. (2:2:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   REL C 342 : Pioneers and Persecution, 1846-1899. (2:2:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	Honors also.
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter; Spring; Summer
   DESCRIPTION:	Exodus from Nauvoo, the experience of Mormon Pioneers crossing the plains, establishing Zion in the Great Basin, plural marriage and government persecution, the Manifesto, and events leading to Utah statehood.
   
              : Honors Pioneers and Persecution, 1846-1899.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   REL C 343 : The Global Church, 1900 to the Present. (2:2:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   REL C 343 : The Global Church, 1900 to the Present. (2:2:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	Honors also.
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter; Spring; Summer
   DESCRIPTION:	The Church in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, international expansion, significant developments of Church programs and structure, the Church during wartime, the world-wide spread of temples.
   
              : Honors The Global Church, 1900 to the Present.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   
   

   BYU undergraduate campus courses (including Salt Lake Center classes) from the approved American studies list may also be used to satisfy emphasis electives.

4. Complete the following capstone course:
   STDEV 490 : Bachelor of General Studies Capstone. (2:2:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   STDEV 490 : Bachelor of General Studies Capstone. (2:2:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	Independent Study only.
   PREREQUISITE:	STDEV 100; completion of all other BGS program requirements.
   DESCRIPTION:	Culminating course required for bachelor of general studies degree: analyze and evaluate BGS experience in light of the "Aims of a BYU Education" and summarize this experience in a reflective paper, integrate material learned in emphasis by completing a scholarly essay, and demonstrate accomplishment of learning outcomes.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   

*Hours include courses that may fulfill university core requirements.