The Bachelor of Applied Studies (BAS) is an online degree program designed for community college graduates who have earned at least 60 hours of college coursework and wish to complete a bachelor’s degree online.
BAS is a general undergraduate degree without a traditional academic major. Instead, students work with their academic advisors to structure programs that meet their individual objectives.
Students may choose to incorporate an optional Emphasis Area or online certificate program into their BAS studies.
This degree program is designed for students who have earned an Associate Degree from a community college and wish to complete a bachelor's degree online.
To be admitted to the BAS program, you must have:
- An Associate Degree
- 60 semester hours (s.h.) of transferable college credit including all career-technical coursework
- A cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 2.00 or above for Iowa community college graduates or 2.50 or above for other applicants
- Be unable to enroll in a daytime on-campus program due to distance, employment, etc.
There is no cap on the number of vocational-technical or career-technical credits that can be transferred into the BAS degree program, although only 60 s.h. from a 2-year institution can apply to the overall 120 hours needed for the degree.
Review Bachelor of Applied Studies in the UI General Catalog for detailed information.
These resources can help facilitate your transfer to Iowa:
Information
First-Year
First-year students are not eligible for this degree program. It is designed for community college graduates who wish to complete a bachelor's degree completely online.
Our Pomerantz Career Center offers multiple resources to help students find internships and jobs.
Iowa provides a variety of scholarships to eligible undergraduate students through the Iowa Scholarship Portal. Scholarships are available to first-year, transfer, and currently enrolled students. For additional details on scholarships for your program of study, check directly with the department or college.
Scholarships for BAS students are available through Distance and Online Education.
The Office of Admissions and the Office of Student Financial Aid are great resources for students seeking scholarships.
Coursework for the BAS degree includes earning at least 12 s.h. of credit—including 6 s.h. of upper-level credit—in three of these areas:
- Humanities (literature, history, philosophy, religion)
- Communication and Arts (journalism, speech, drama, art, music)
- Natural Sciences and Mathematics (geology, biological sciences, statistics, computer science)
- Social Sciences (geography, psychology, economics, political science, anthropology)
- Professional Fields (business, education, nursing, social work, library science)
Students also are required to complete the Bachelor of Applied Studies Core Requirements.
You also must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 in the following calculations:
- Overall GPA (combined transfer and UI work)
- University of Iowa GPA
- Upper-Level GPA
After admission to Iowa, one of the following residence requirements must be met:
- at least 90 s.h. completed at the University of Iowa
- 45 of the final 60 s.h. completed at the University of Iowa
- the final 30 s.h. completed at the University of Iowa
Visit Distance and Online Education for a complete listing of the requirements for the BAS degree.