Social and Behavioral Sciences, Integrative Professional Studies, B.A. (Degree Completion)

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The Integrative Professional Studies, Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) degree can serve as a baccalaureate degree completion program to support adult students returning to college and for students with an associate degree in an allied human services or social/behavioral health field. Returning USM students must not have been enrolled for at least two years in order to be eligible for this degree completion program option. With flexible transfer credits from community college or other Universities, both this degree completion program and the SBS General Degree can be completed fully online.

As SBS is considered a writing intensive major, a focus on writing competencies is emphasized. Before taking 300-level courses in this major, students must have completed a 100-level college writing course or an equivalent with at least a grade of C-.

Advantages:

Because of its interdisciplinary nature, the SBS degree has extensive overlap with the USM core, providing a highly efficient pathway to degree completion and additional freedom in selecting courses to reach the 120-credit hour minimum.
A close relationship with our Prior Learning Office helps to meet both returning and transfer student needs.
For students aspiring to attend graduate school, SBS has several accelerated graduate pathways.

For more information, please contact Admissions at admitusm@maine.edu. Please visit the Office of Admission for application information.

Degree Completion: In the absence of an articulation agreement, no more than three SBS elective courses (with similar SBS-related content) may be used toward completion of the major without permission of the SBS faculty. Students may work with their faculty advisor for this permission.

Requirements for students pursuing degree completion:

At least 75 credits transferred into the program.
Satisfaction of the 30 credit hours residency requirement for USM.
Satisfaction of the USM degree completion core curriculum requirements including our degree capstone SBS 430 and the SBS 447 internship. Students with extensive experience may work with their faculty advisor to find alternate ways to complete the internship requirement (or, with an internship waiver, approved alternative SBS 300-level courses).
All SBS prerequisites/foundational courses, required, and elective courses must be passed at the grade of C- or better.
A SBS IPS student must complete 30-33 SBS credits. If they transfer in approved SBS courses, they still need to complete 30-33 SBS credits, which can be fulfilled with 300+ level SBS electives. After meeting the requirement of 30-33 departmental credits, students may take additional SBS electives or general electives to reach the total of 120 credits required for graduation. The SBS faculty strongly recommends (not requires) taking additional SBS 300+ electives to take full advantage of the broader SBS curriculum.

Minimum number of credits (exclusive of the University’s Core Curriculum) required for the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Integrative Professional Studies major: 30-33.
Minimum grade requirement for major courses listed below: C-.
Minimum GPA requirement for major courses listed below: 2.0.

Completion of 3 SBS Foundational courses (9 credits):

PSY 100 - Introduction to Psychology Credits: 3
OR SBS 346 - Introduction to Social Services Credits: 3
SOC 100 - Introduction to Sociology Credits: 3
ANT 101 - Anthropology: The Cultural View Credits: 3

Completion of the following SBS major Required courses (24 credits):

SBS 210 - Me in 3D: Introduction to Social and Behavioral Sciences Credits: 3
LOS 120 - Statistics for Informed Decision Making Credits: 3
SBS 200 / HRD 200 - Multicultural Human Development Credits: 3
SBS 300 - Deviance and Social Control Credits: 3
SBS 329 / LOS 329 - Research Methods Credits: 3
SBS 370 - Toward a Global Ethics Credits: 3
SBS 430 - Applied Social and Public Policy Credits: 3
SBS 447 - Internship Credits: 3-6 (or, with a waiver, approved alternative SBS 300-level courses) *see course catalog

Major Courses that Satisfy Core Requirements

Students are encouraged to explore Core courses that also count towards their major or minor. Courses listed below are part of this major and also satisfy University Core Curriculum requirements. Course lists that satisfy each requirement can be found on the Core Curriculum webpage.

Writing, Reading, and Inquiry 3: SBS 370
Quantitative Reasoning: LOS 120
Creative Expression:
Cultural Interpretation:
Science Exploration:
Socio-cultural Analysis: ANT 101 , SBS 200 /HRD 200 , SOC 100
Ethical Inquiry, Social Responsibility, and Citizenship: SBS 363 , SBS 370
Culture, Power, and Equity: ANT 101 , SBS 300 , SBS 316 /LOS 316
International: ANT 101 , SBS 370 , SBS 470
Engaged Learning: SBS 301 /LOS 301 , SBS 302 /LOS 302 , SBS 329 /LOS 329 , SBS 398 , SBS 430 , SBS 447 , SBS 470
Capstone: SBS 430

USM Core Requirements

Students must complete all Core and degree requirements as part of the Graduation Requirements. For more information, see Academic Policies.

The USM Core Curriculum provides a coherent, integrative, and rigorous liberal arts education that fulfills general education requirements. It is designed to help students become globally aware, purposeful, and lifelong learners.

Please Note: Core requirements may be part of your major and/or minor, and Core may have been fulfilled with transfer credit. Please consult your MaineStreet Degree Progress Report (DPR) and review your degree progress with your Advisor. For additional information, access the USM Core webpage.