Degree Requirements

Liberal Arts: Design your academic journey.

The major in Liberal Arts leads to a BA or BS in Liberal Arts. As of fall 2023, this major requires completion of 36-48 credits: a minimum of 11 courses plus a senior capstone. Students choosing this option must also prepare a path statement in consultation with the chair of the Liberal Arts program. Students generally identify three areas (at least two of them in the liberal arts), show how they plan to develop competence in them, and explain how they intend to weave them together. The path statement must demonstrate that there are courses available to allow them to achieve these goals.

The path statement must be approved by the chair no later than the first semester of the junior year. Junior transfer students must have path statements approved during their first semester in residence. 

As of spring 2018, students pursuing this major can elect a minor from the university's offerings.  

The path statement must include:

• Preliminary Questions
  • What are you interested in studying?
  • What are your intellectual and/or personal reasons for choosing this path of study?
  • Which faculty members are most relevant to your path of study?
    
    
• Name of Proposed Path of Study
  • Generally, students identify three main areas they plan to integrate, at least two of them in the liberal arts. Review examples (PDF) of recent self-designed programs of Liberal Arts majors. NOTE: These examples are from prior to spring 2022 and include more than the 12 requirements (11 courses plus a senior capstone). 

• Description
  • A detailed description of the path of study with a rationale, including an explanation of why it cannot be accomplished within an existing major or combination of a major and a minor(s).
  • It is helpful to provide a general idea of the kind of senior capstone in which your proposed program of study could culminate.
    
    
• Curriculum
  • Show that you will be able to achieve competence in your areas of interest by listing courses for each of them. Half of the courses in each area should be 3000 level or above. Optimally, students take four courses in each of their three areas. Use the Path of Study Proposal Worksheet (see below) to design your pathway and review this major’s policies and requirements.
  • Past and Current Courses: Include the subject codes and course numbers, titles, instructors, and semester the course was taken. Write one to two sentences about each course, explaining how it contributes to your program of study.
  • Future Courses: Include the subject codes and course numbers, titles, instructors, and, if known, semester the course will likely be taken. Write one to two sentences about each course, explaining how it is likely to contribute to your program of study.

• Senior Capstone
  • Identify a likely capstone and show how your proposed curriculum will enable you to complete it successfully. The capstone may be:
    • An MA-level course
    • The senior seminar in a Lang department
    • An independent project, either research or creative, conducted as a four-credit independent study, preferably with a member of the Lang full-time faculty