Degree Requirements

Each department has its own requirements for the degrees that it offers, which are described under the appropriate departmental section of this Guide and are also posted on the department’s website. Students are encouraged to meet with a departmental adviser to learn more about their departmental degree requirements.

Students seeking a Bachelor of Science degree in a CNS major are required to complete at least 60 credits of coursework in the College of Natural Sciences or other approved courses (see college website for details: https://www.cns.umass.edu/academics/cns-degree-requirements). Students seeking a Bachelor of Arts degree in a CNS major are required to fulfill a Foreign Language requirement in which they demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language at the intermediate level. Details regarding various ways in which the foreign language requirement can be fulfilled may be found below and on the college website. 

A student whose primary major is not in CNS but who is pursuing a second major in CNS will not be subject to the CNS college requirements. Students pursuing a second degree in CNS will be subject to either the BS or the BA requirements described above, according to which degree they are pursuing, whether or not their first degree is in CNS.