Requirements

Students seeking the Associate of Arts degree in Integrative Studies must complete all NKU graduation requirements including:

• • General education requirements for AAIS as outlined in the student's catalog (a minimum of 31 hours)

  • A minimum of 60 credit hours

  • A minimum 2.0 GPA overall

  • Last 20 hours completed at NKU (residency requirement)

Starting in the 2022 catalog, the requirements for the AAIS degree are:

Integrative Studies Core (6 credits)

Students must complete the following two courses. A grade of C- or higher is required for a Core course to count toward the program.

• IST 185 Introduction to Integrative Studies

• IST 397 Interdisciplinary Inquiry

Depth (6 credits)

Students must choose at least 6 hours at the 300-level or above. Course can be selected from the same or different disciplines.

General Education (31 credits)

Students must complete 31+ hours of general education to comply with the KY transfer policy. This includes IST 185, which satisfies the Individual and Society category, and courses from the following groups:

• Communication Written I -- 3 hours

• Communication Written II -- 3 hours

• Oral Communication -- 3 hours

• Quantitative Reasoning -- 3 hours

• Natural Science -- 4 hours (include lab)

• Cultural Pluralism -- 3 hours

• Cultural and Creativity -- 6 hours

• Global Viewpoints -- 3 hours

Refer to the "General Education" section of the catalog to determine which courses satisfy these areas.

Breadth (20 credits)

Students must fulfill the remaining program requirements with any 20 or more hours of additional electives.

Prior to the 2022 catalog, the Integrative Studies Associate's degree required that students concentrate 15 hours of program courses in one of the following areas (sometimes called "meta-majors")

• • Humanities (programs like English, History, Languages, Philosophy, Religious Studies)

  • Fine Arts (programs like Dance, Music, Theater, Visual Arts)

  • Social / Behavioral Sciences (programs like Anthropology, Criminal Justice, Organizational Leadership, Psychology, Political Science, Sociology)

  • Natural Sciences / Mathematics (programs like Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Statistics)

The fifteen hours of course work must be from at least two different disciplines within the chosen area. At least 6 credit hours of the 15 must be at the 300 level or above. (Disciplines are usually distinguished by different prefixes. BIO for Biology, PHI for philosophy, SOC for Sociology)

Remaining coursework to complete the 60 required hours will be electives.

Some restrictions apply:

• • Only classes with a grade of "C-" or better will count toward the program and students must maintain an overall minimum GPA of 2.00 or better.

  • This degree cannot be counted as a minor or focus for a Bachelor's degree.

  • You must take at least six hours of NKU coursework toward the degree after officially declaring your intention to be pursue the degree.

The requirements for students whose catalog of record is prior to 2017 might be different. Check with your advisor for details.