What is a BIS Degree? Unlocking Your Best Personal and Professional Self Through Education
For non-traditional students, the idea of returning to school can seem daunting. Higher education is filled with words, acronyms, concepts and processes that can seem foreign to those who have not stepped into a classroom in several years.
The different types of bachelor's degrees offered by an institution can be one of the sources of uncertainty. Traditional undergraduates are often choosing between a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Science (BS), dictated by their choice of major.
The Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS) offers non-traditional students in the College of Professional Studies (CPS) a more flexible option, tailored for their needs.
What degrees does CPS offer?
The College of Professional Studies confers degrees as Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Interdiscplinary Studies, based on a student's major.
Through a partnership with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), CPS is able to offer three majors with a BA degree and three with a BS degree. The BA programs in CPS are History, English and Sociology, while the BS programs are Statistics, Mathematics and Computer Science.
Additionally, CPS offers seven majors as a BIS degree: Entrepreneurship, General Studies, Human Resource Management, Information Systems & Technology, Leadership, Organizational Development & Management (ODM), and Public Service & Administration (PSA). Leadership and PSA are also available as a BA degree, in which the student would follow the core curriculum of CLAS.
CPS also is home to both Associates of Arts and Associates of Science degrees, for those looking for a shorter term program.
How does a BIS degree differ from a BA or BS?
Typically, a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies stands out based on the amount of cross-subject learning it allows, as suggested by its name. The BIS degree provides the flexibility for a student to select courses where they have strong academic interest.
The BIS degree in CPS requires fewer core credits and allows a wider array of courses to fulfill those requirements, allowing each student chances to build the degree that best serves their needs. By allowing this level of optionality, CPS aims to collaborate with our students to craft an inspiring course of study, guided by the interests and aspirations of each individual learner.
Each student's chosen courses within the BIS degree pathway can be dictacted by academic intrigue or by finding options with direct correlation to a chosen career track. By choosing courses that connect to a specific industry, role or career, our adult students, often working in full time jobs, can put their education into action right away, well before earning all of the credits needed for a degree.
Additionally, by remaining flexible in its core curriculum, the BIS degree is ideal for those looking to transfer credits from a previous institution, with ample opportunities for those courses to satisfy different areas of the core curriculum.
What is unique about the BIS degree at Villanova?
At Villanova, the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies is a values-based professional education, rooted in the Augustinian Catholic tradition of our university. Our BIS degree is a holistic program of learning, designed to enhance the self-worth of each student through a course of rigorous studies that enriches the mind, heart and spirit. The depth and dedication of one's studies in CPS are intended to not just improve a student's future professionally, but personally as well.
Our degree program includes a portfolio process which will automatically organize every course and class project to guide your career goals towards professional success. The resulting portfolio will give graduates assets that take them well beyond their degree and include the skills to manage a years-long project accompanied by a tangible example of their work at Villanova.
The BIS degree at Villanova is structured around three phases, defined by the central question each student seeks to answer during each stage:
- Who am I?
- What am I to become?
- How can I make a difference in the world?
The students in the BIS programs at CPS can track their progress through these steps, acting as tentpoles during a student's education.
How does the BIS degree from CPS prepare you to Pursue the Next You?
Villanova’s College of Professional Studies believes you are who you’ve been. In fact, we’re counting on it.
Your previous personal and professional experience is what fuels your educational goals and aspirations. We want to use that experience and your unique perspective to help you take your next step forward, in the Augustinian traditon of "become what you are not yet."
The BIS programs in CPS are built for students looking to do more than just hang a degree on their wall, instead helping students expand their horizons and experience growth in the classroom, in their professional life and beyond.