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Nov 21, 2024
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2024-2025 Academic Catalog
Liberal Studies, B.A.
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 Return to: College of Arts and Sciences
The Liberal Studies major at Maryville University is a multidisciplinary, integrative major that provides for special interests and individualized programs of study to first year students and transfer students alike. The overarching goal of the major is to help students see relationships between two or more liberal arts or professional areas of study while preparing them for meaningful work in a variety of private and public sector professional environments. In addition, the Liberal Studies major emphasizes skills and habits of mind which the private and public sectors call “soft skills” and which are in constant and growing demand by a variety of employers. The following is a brief list of these “habits of mind” that the major will continue to underscore.
The learning goals of the major are:
- historical and contemporary cultural understanding
- effective written and verbal communication
- the education of the imagination through exposure to art, literature, drama, film
- cross-disciplinary emphasis
- connectivity between various areas of knowledge
- empowerment of critical thinking faculties
- personal and professional ethical awareness
- high level of cultural and digital literacy
- Liberal Studies majors can take concentrations in art history, humanities, music, philosophy, political science, social sciences, or physical sciences (Option A).
- Students may develop a program of study which combine two or more liberal arts disciplines (Option B).
- Liberal Studies majors may conjoin a liberal arts area/discipline and professional area study (Option C).
- Finally, majors may combine a liberal arts discipline and a thematic concentration such as American Studies, Women’s Studies, Film and Theater Studies, Technology Studies, or a thematic emphasis developed by the student in consultation with the Liberal Studies program director (Option D).
Liberal Studies Policies and Information:
A student interested in majoring in Liberal Studies must draw up an individualized plan of study in consultation with his or her adviser when the major is declared. This plan will be on file in the Center for Operational Excellence, the College of Arts and Sciences, and with the Liberal Studies program director. No more than two of the major courses may be counted for General Education requirements. The concentrations chosen in any of the 4 options cannot substantially duplicate any existing major or program at Maryville University.
Students enrolled in this program on campus are encouraged to take full advantage of Maryville’s consortium agreement with other St. Louis area universities when they cannot find a course they need for their Liberal Studies plan of study. The members of this consortium are Missouri Baptist University, Webster University, and Fontbonne University. Lindenwood University. Further information on this consortium can be found in the Policies and Information section of this catalog.
A semester abroad and other exchange and internship opportunities are also options for online and on-ground students pursuing the Liberal Studies major. For more information on our variety of study abroad programs, please see the section in the catalog on the Global Scholars Program and Study Abroad .
Professional Possibilities:
A bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies can be used as preparation for several different careers, including:
- Editor
- Journalist
- Entry-level Management Personnel
- Human Relations Specialist
- Para-Professional Librarian
- Policy Analyst
- Public Relations Personnel
- Urban Planner/City Manager
- Legislative Assistant
- Lobbyist
- Politician
- Non-profit Organizational Director
- College Recruiter
- Customer Service Manager
- Creative Writer
- Copywriter
- Advertising Account Executive
- Grant Writer
- Speech Writer
- Anchorperson
- Training Specialist
- Medical Communications Trainer
- Archivist
- Museum Manager and Researcher
- Retail management
- Management Trainee
A Liberal Studies degree may also be used to prepare for graduate study in these areas:
- Elementary/Middle School Education
- Business
- English
- History
- Journalism
- Library Science
- Law
- Health Care Management
- Rehabilitation Counseling
- Natural Science
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Communication
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General Education Requirements
(51 credits)
Skills for Literacy
(3 courses)
Humanities
(5 courses)
- Fine Arts elective
- Literature or Foreign Language elective
- Philosophy elective
- Two Humanities electives
Social Science
(3 courses)
- Two History or American government electives
- Social Science elective
Natural Science/Quantitative Reasoning
(2 courses)
- Science elective
- Math or Science elective
General Education Electives
(4 courses)
- Select from disciplines within the College of Arts and Sciences (chosen in consultation with advisor)
- INTD 101 - University Seminar (required for first year on campus students)
Liberal Studies Options
(36-48 credits)
Beginning in spring 2022, Liberal Studies students will be required to establish and maintain electronic portfolios (in Portfolium) documenting major projects, and other artifacts which illustrate their academic progression and which underscore the appropriate outcomes of the major. The completion of this portfolio is a requirement for graduation as a Liberal Studies major and final preparation and editing of the portfolio with be a significant piece of the Liberal Studies Capstone course taken during the student’s senior year.
Option A
- Single discipline concentration of 36 credit hours in one of the following: Humanities, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Art History, or a discipline/area to be determined by the sponsoring advisor and the student.
- PHIL 325 - Ethics: Values and Meaning (required)
- Minor required
- 30 upper division credit hours required
- At least 24 credits must be taken at Maryville University
- No more that 6 credit hours can be double counted toward General Education requirements
Option B
- Dual Liberal Studies disciplinary concentrations to be chosen within the College of Arts and Sciences
- 48 credit hours required (24 in each area or to be determined by advisor)
- PHIL 325 - Ethics: Values and Meaning (required)
- No minor required
- 30 upper division credit hours required
- At least 24 credits must be taken at Maryville University
- No more that 6 credit hours can be double counted toward General Education requirements
Option C
- Liberal Studies concentration required (from the College of Arts and Sciences) in combination with a professional concentration.
- PHIL 325 - Ethics: Values and Meaning (required)
- 48 credit hours (at least 30 credits must be taken in a liberal arts and sciences discipline/area)
- No minor required
- 30 upper division credit hours required
- At least 24 credits must be taken at Maryville University.
- No more that 6 credit hours can be double counted toward General Education requirements
Option D
- Liberal Studies concentration required (from the College of Arts and Sciences) in combination with a thematic area of study to be determined by the sponsoring advisor and student.
- PHIL 325 - Ethics: Values and Meaning (required)
- 48 credit hours (at least 30 credits must be taken in a liberal arts and sciences discipline/area)
- No minor required
- 30 upper division credit hours required
- At least 24 credits must be taken at Maryville University
- No more that 6 credit hours can be double counted toward General Education requirements
Examples of possible themes: American Studies, Film and Theater Studies, Women’s Studies, Technology Studies. Other potential themes are quite possible and the program of study will be developed by the student in consultation with the Liberal Studies program director.
Graduation Requirements
- 128 credit hours minimum
- Last 30 hours of the degree taken in residency
- A minimum of half the major credit hours in residency
- A minimum of half the minor credit hours in residency
- 60 credit hours must be completed at a 4-year institution
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Return to: College of Arts and Sciences
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