Liberal Studies Major (B.A.)

Fahy Hall Room 314
(973) 761-9000 Ext. 5183
https://www.shu.edu/academics/ba-liberal-studies.cfm
Director: Mark B. Couch, Ph.D.

The Liberal Studies program leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree. The program provides a more individualized education than can be gained by a concentration in one of the usual majors of the College of Arts and Sciences. In the program an education in the liberal arts is the foundation for students’ intellectual life and provides their preparation for various careers. Students are able to develop a course of study by selecting from a variety of courses. In their courses they learn to analyze what they read, to write effectively, and to develop a content area. Students have gone on to further study or careers in such areas as education, teaching, business, law, linguistics, and creative writing.

The Liberal Studies program is based in the disciplines of the College of Arts and Sciences. To complete the major, students are required to satisfy the core requirements of the College. In addition, students are required to complete a program that consists of an 18-credit minor, 15 additional credits from the liberal arts, a 3-credit writing course, and a Senior Seminar. After these requirements are met, students must take sufficient electives to satisfy minimum graduation requirements of 120 credits.

To earn a bachelor’s degree, students must have a minimum GPA of 2.0. They must also maintain a minimum of a 2.0 GPA within the Liberal Studies program.

Program Requirements

The Liberal Studies major consists of a minimum of 39 credits. Students work out the details of their course of study with the director who provides advice in selecting courses. As soon as students decide to enter the program, they should see the director to file a form for the courses under requirement (3). These courses need to fit with the minor in (2) to create a coherent program.

Curriculum

• Completion of the Core Curriculum of the College of Arts and Sciences;

Link to College Core requirement.

• Completion of a minor (minimum 18 credits) in one of the following disciplines: Africana Studies, Anthropology, Archaeology, Art History, Asian Studies, Classical Studies, Communication, English, Fine Arts, French, History, Italian, Latin, Music Performance, Philosophy, Religion, Russian or Spanish;
• Completion of four additional courses (12 credits) from the disciplines listed in (2) not required for the Core Curriculum or the selected minor;
• Completion of one English course from the following:

  Course List

  Code	Title	Hours
  ENGL 2511	Introduction to Creative Writing I	3
  ENGL 2514	Writing Workshop: Research and Analysis	3
  ENGL 2515	Writing Workshop: Creative Non-Fiction	3
  ENGL 3511	Advanced Composition	3

• Completion of three arts credits from the following: ADIM 1110 Drawing I-ADIM 2316 User Experience & Interface Design II, MUAP 1011 Beginner Piano I-MUAP 3699 , COBF 2222 Television-Film Writing and COBF 3222 Introduction to Film Production, COTH 2626 and COTH 3625 ;
• Completion of Senior Seminar, IDIS 5001 Senior Seminar in Liberal Studies;
• Completion of additional elective credits sufficient to meet the 120-credit minimum graduation requirement of the College; and
• A minimum GPA of 2.0 in the courses used to satisfy major requirements (2)-(7) inclusive.