College of Liberal Arts

The College of Liberal Arts provides students with the latest technologies and the most up to date creative, intellectual, and research experiences which prepare them to compete on a global level for career success and for success in rigorous graduate and professional schools. Guided by an outstanding faculty, students gain knowledge, values, and skills that encourage personal and professional growth.

The College of Liberal Arts also provides service and support courses for the requirements of the General Education Program in the fulfillment of English, African American History, Humanities, Languages, Religion and Philosophy, and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences.

The College of Liberal Arts Mission

The mission of the College of Liberal Arts is to provide excellent instruction in all of the courses offered within interdisciplinary programs in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. The College of Liberal Arts is the core of the university, providing the foundation that supports the general educational goals of each of the schools and colleges within the university as a whole. The Liberal Arts faculty are dedicated to providing excellence in the core curriculum to all students at the university. The faculty are committed to promoting student success at the highest levels of achievement to students whose major is in the College of Liberal Arts.

The Liberal Arts degree programs cultivate creative and critical thinking skills, moral judgment, artistic appreciation, and through research the ability to access and analyze information and ideas in a multi-culturally diverse and technologically sophisticated world. Our students are, therefore, prepared to enter the job market, to enter graduate and professional schools, and to serve as morally astute leaders in a wide array of professions within ever-changing local and global environments.

The College of Liberal Arts Vision

The vision of the College of Liberal Arts is to offer courses and programs which will prepare students to value the significance of continuous learning, keeping foremost the critical importance of serving our local and global communities through civic engagement in a socially responsible and morally sound manner.

The College of Liberal Arts Goals

1. Expose students to cutting edge disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches from faculty who sustain active scholarship as practitioners in their fields.
2. Foster student capacity for complex reasoning, analysis and ability to employ disciplinespecific methodologies.
3. Promote student understanding of diverse world cultures, helping them to achieve internationalist perspectives and to become empathetic members of the global community.
4. Promote student development in written and oral communication skills to achieve an advanced, professional level of clarity, precision, sophistication, and conceptual nuance.
5. Prepare students for graduate study and/or their chosen profession through theoretical and applied knowledge acquisition.
6. Build active student community leadership and service through enlightened discourse and activism on vital issues regarding environmental stewardship, social justice, and arts and culture.
7. Encourage student to make decisions based upon the understanding of ethical codes and the value of faith and morality in decision making.

The College of Liberal Arts Objectives

The College of Liberal Arts focuses on a student-centered learning environment. Within this setting, students and faculty can explore the many dimensions of the human experience as conveyed in artistic and musical expressions, in historical, legal, philosophical, political, religious, and sociological perspectives, and in various languages and forms of communications in both community and global environments.

The courses, programs, activities and events within the College of Liberal Arts provide opportunities for students to enhance:

• Critical thinking, communication, and research skills
• Team-building and leadership skills
• Creativity
• Information literacy
• Ethical and spiritual development
• Social responsibility
• Respect for diversity
• Global citizenship

The College of Liberal Arts Student Learning Outcomes

1. Graduates will apply critical thinking skills to reflect, analyze, and evaluate information and experiences using an integration of disciplines’ theories, terminology, and paradigms as measured in exit exams, senior papers, projects, and/or portfolios at an acceptable level on a rubric.
2. Graduates will demonstrate practical knowledge and competency in interdisciplinary studies comprised of combinations of the following disciplines: Criminal Justice; Language Arts and Cultures; History; International Studies; Political Science; Religion, Philosophy and Humanities; and Sociology as measured through exit exams, senior papers, projects and/or portfolios at an acceptable level on a rubric.
3. Graduates will communicate clearly, concisely and correctly in written and spoken English in order to write and orally present an academic paper or project using appropriate investigative and research strategies and use computer and audio-visual technology.
4. Graduates will articulate value-centered positions on global issues that evidence awareness of commonalities and differences across diverse cultures through papers/presentations at an acceptable level on a rubric.
5. Graduates will demonstrate civic engagement, productive teamwork, and personal responsibility as measured through field experiences at an acceptable level on a rubric.
6. Graduates will demonstrate a passion for lifelong learning and growth by entrance into a wide range of careers, graduate programs, or professional schools to be shown by job entries and graduate school admissions.

Major and Minor Programs

1. Degree of Bachelor of Arts in the following areas:
   • English
   • History
   • International Studies
   • Political Science
   • Religion and Philosophy
   • Sociology
2. Degree of Bachelor of Science in the following area:
   • Criminal Justice

Minors in the following areas in conjunction with the Bachelor’s Degree:

• Africana Social Sciences
• Certified Addiction Professional Studies (CAPS)
• Criminal Justice
• English
• Homeland Security
• International Affairs
• International Studies
• Modern Language (French, German or Spanish)
• Paralegal Certificate
• Political Science
• Pre-Law
• Public Administration
• Religion and Philosophy
• Social Work
• Sociology
• Women Studies

4. Other Programs:
   ROTC

Note: A minor shall consist of 18 Semester Hours, and the grade “C” (2.0) or better for all classes taken toward the minor must be earned.

Admission Requirements:

Students seeking admission into a major program in the College of Liberal Arts must:

1. Complete all requirements for General Education as identified in the undergraduate catalog.
2. Have a cumulative grade point average of 2.0

General Requirements
The requirements and objectives, which are discussed in this section, apply to the College of Liberal Arts as a whole. Departmental requirements are given with the major area offerings.
Note: All students are encouraged to earn a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or higher for all courses required to complete their program. However, for course credit toward graduation in a major area, students must earn at least a “C” grade. Before graduation, each student must pass an exit examination covering the major subject areas of their major and complete a senior level research paper.

Computer Technology:
Students in the following majors are required to satisfy competency in computer technology, which can be met by enrolling in SS 150 , SS 240  or CS 132 - Computer Applications , History, International Studies, Political Science, and Sociology.

Liberal Arts Professional Seminar

The College of Liberal Arts majors are required to register for the Liberal Arts Professional Seminar of their department every semester. The college seminar meets once a month on the fourth Friday of every month that the university is in session. Department seminar meetings will convene every week on Fridays to provide students with the opportunity to become better acquainted with their chosen field. A letter grade is assigned for participation in the seminar, and the grade appears on every student’s transcript, even though no hour credit is earned.

LA 180 - Humanities Professional Seminar
Freshmen should register for this seminar.

LA 280 - Humanities Professional Seminar
Sophomores should register for this seminar.

LA 380 - Humanities Professional Seminar
Juniors should register for this seminar.

LA 480 - Humanities Professional Seminar
Seniors should register for this seminar.