Available
Degrees
Through
our distance learning program, the following degrees
are offered:
Associate
of Arts (AA)
The
Associate of Arts is a general studies degree and is
an excellent stepping stone towards the bachelor's degree.
You can complete all of the bachelor's general education
requirements, and still complete quite a few free electives
in a variety of areas.
Associate
of Science (AS)
The
Associate of Science is also a general studies degree
with an emphasis on the sciences (instead of arts and
humanities or social sciences). It, too, is an excellent
stepping stone towards the bachelor's degree, and you
can complete all of the bachelor's general education
requirements, and still complete quite a few free electives
in a variety of areas
Associate
of Individualized Studies (AIS)
The
Associate of Individualized Studies allows you to design
your own program of study to meet particular goals through
the AIS program. It is a useful degree for those with
a specialization that are not interested in pursuing
a bachelor's degree. While it is possible to coordinate
an AIS degree with a bachelor's degree, we generally
do not recommend the AIS if your final goal is the bachelor's
degree.
Bachelor
of Specialized Studies (BSS)
The
Bachelor of Specialized Studies degree affords undergraduate
students at Ohio University the opportunity to design
an area of concentration which stands as the equivalent
to an established major. The program permits you to
combine available courses to create a unique field of
study. Possibilities: The BSS degree is particularly
well-suited to our distance students, as it allows greater
freedom in combining courses earned in transfer with
Ohio University courses. The area of concentration needs
to include courses from Ohio University, but it can
also include, and our student regularly use, courses
earned in transfer.
Students
have earned (or are working on) the BSS in the following
areas: Law Enforcement Management, including courses
in law enforcement technology, management, psychology,
and sociology; Technical Writing, including courses
in English, journalism, and science topics; Humanities,
including courses in English, humanities, philosophy,
history, and languages; Comprehensive Business, including
courses in management, economics, psychology, and finance.
These
are just some of the possibilities for the BSS. What
your area of concentration will be depends on your past
education, access to courses other than those offered
by Ohio University, and your ability to earn credit
for your experiences. The more flexibility you have,
the easier it will be for you to design your own degree.
BSS
rule: The BSS cannot duplicate an established major
program at Ohio University in either area of concentration
title or course selection. For example, Ohio University
offers a major in "Psychology," so a BSS student
cannot call their area of concentration "Psychology"
nor can you follow the psychology curriculum and simply
add a different title. However, it is possible to create
a degree in a similar area like "Behavioral Sciences"
using courses from psychology, sociology, and other
areas.
Limitations:
Through our distance program, the BSS is not well-suited
as a scientific, technical, or professional education
degree. Areas like education and accounting have a variety
of state licensing or professional certification requirements
that cannot be met through our program. Areas like engineering
and computer science require many technical courses
that are not available through our program. If you have
questions, do not hesitate to contact our office and
speak with an advisor.
