Cal State San Bernardino is offering a fully online bachelor’s degree in its Social Sciences Degree Completion Program for students interested in advancing their studies and career by getting a bachelor’s degree that is flexible in design and broad in application. This program is also designed for those pursuing a career in teaching social sciences.

The Bachelor of Arts Social Sciences Degree Completion Program (BASS) is a joint partnership with the university’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the College of Extended and Global Education. It delivers in a fully online format the same rigorous curriculum offered on the CSUSB campus focusing on a multidisciplinary curriculum that aims to offer students a broad understanding of the social sciences. 

The program is being launched in the spring 2021 semester and will offer courses year-round in a seven week accelerated semester format.  

“There are so many students who could benefit from this program, get their bachelor’s degree and advance their careers. There are hundreds of people who stopped their college studies or people who cannot attend regular classes because they work or have other obligations,” said Tatiana Karmanova, dean of the College of Extended and Global Education. “This program is very flexible and convenient as the classes are offered in an accelerated format.” 

Rafik Mohamed, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, called the program unique as it will give “students the opportunity to complete their undergraduate degree regardless of their previous major or majors. The built in flexibility of the BASS affords students the opportunity to include their coursework as either their major field or concentration, or both, which genuinely makes this a degree completion program as well as an outstanding pre-credential major.”

The program is geared toward students who have completed prior coursework, but have not completed their undergraduate course of study in any major, and students seeking to expand their career opportunities with a bachelor’s degree.

For those interested in teaching, students who complete the program are well prepared to apply for admission to a Single Subject Teaching Credential program in Social Sciences.

The BA program will be offered in a format that allows students to design their own program based on their past academic experience, their interests, and their career goals. Courses are conducted in an accelerated seven-week format (two sessions per semester) that allows students to focus on a smaller course load at one time. 

The program is also affordable. It is priced in a flat-rate per unit, and accepts most forms of federal financial aid and allows students to break their tuition into monthly installments.

The prerequisites for the program include 60 semester (90 quarter) units of transferrable coursework taken at a community college or regionally accredited university; completion of lower-division general education requirements, including U.S. History, Constitution and American Ideals requirement. For more information on the General Education requirements, please visit the CSUSB Bulletin - General Education Program. You can also visit the BASS website to learn more about the program and where you can submit a preliminary application.

For more information on eligibility and program requirements, visit the CSUSB Social Sciences Degree Completion Program Admission Requirements page.