American college students take classes that usually count for between one and four credits. Grading systems vary from school to school. Typically, students must earn a C or above to pass and earn credit for a class in their major field of study. They might be able to earn a D or above in classes that are not in their major to pass and earn credit. You will generally need to complete between 120 and 130 credit hours to earn a bachelor's degree.
General education requirements vary from school to school. At Scripps College in Claremont, California, for example, students must take 32 courses that include interdisciplinary humanities core classes and writing. There are specific requirements for fine arts, natural sciences, social sciences and more. Students who enter as transfer students or with associate's degrees might have different requirements. For instance, transfer students typically transfer classes they completed at previous colleges for the courses that the new school requires.
Programs that offer bachelor of arts degrees typically require students to take at least two semesters of a foreign language. This replaces a math requirement, which bachelor of arts programs don't usually require. For instance, students at Scripps College can take a logic class to fulfill a math requirement. They also must take three semesters of a foreign language. Some colleges let students test out of foreign language requirements if they took a foreign language in high school or speak it at home.
Students must fulfill requirements for their majors before receiving their degree. Major requirements differ significantly depending on the school, state requirements and the program of focus. Classes typically range from 100 to 400 levels, which correlates to their class level in college. Freshmen and people wanting to get a beginning understanding of their field should take 100 level classes. People who can dedicate significant time to their studies should take 400 level classes.
Bachelor of arts degrees typically leave room for students to take several electives. Electives can be in any field that you want to study. Students take electives to fulfill the minimum number of credit hours required to graduate. For instance, a student who took all of his major requirements but had only 110 credit hours might need to earn 10 to 20 additional credits to graduate.