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Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts

Alice Lloyd College Humanities Division

2018-19 Curriculum Guide Sheet | 2019-20 Curriculum Guide Sheet | 2020-21 Curriculum Guide Sheet | 2021-22 Curriculum Guide Sheet | 2022-23 Curriculum Guide Sheet | 2023-24 Curriculum Guide Sheet | 

The Liberal Arts major at Alice Lloyd College allows students to tailor a degree to suit their individual needs and interests. As graduating students seek jobs in a global economy, a self-tailored degree in liberal arts makes them attractive candidates in a multitude of careers in both the public and private sector. A Liberal Arts degree gives students a background in a wide range of disciplines and requires that students recognize the interconnectedness of these disciplines in their larger understanding of the world. Students who complete a degree in general studies from ALC will complete the college’s 54 hour general education requirements plus a core composed of 12 hours of coursework in each of the following three disciplines: humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. In addition, all students are required to complete a capstone course in one of 4 disciplines (HIST 488, ENG 490, SOC 489, or BIO 468). 27 hours must be at the 300-400 level.

What Can You Do with a Liberal Arts Degree?

A Liberal Arts degree is similar to being a “Renaissance man or woman.” It’s for the person who is interested in many areas of study:  Humanities, Fine Arts, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences and Math. It’s for someone who is curious and is always seeking to know and learn more about the world around them. It is not for the faint of heart. It is a degree for someone with courage, tenacity and creative spirit. 

Liberal arts degrees allow you to focus on your area of interest, whether it is the humanities, arts, or social sciences. Although you will take courses in other areas such as basic college level math and science, for the most part you will indulge in your love of exploring ideas. A liberal arts degree gives you the opportunity to explore writings by the main scholars in your field, whether you read 17th century literature, modern art, or Greek philosophy. You will write many papers. Moreover, maybe best of all, you get to share classroom space with other people who share your interests and enjoy long and in-depth discussions about them. So, one answer to the question “What can you do with a liberal arts degree?” is that you develop strong writing and analysis skills that you can use for the rest of your career.

Careers and Areas of Further Study

  • Commercial art design
  • Publishing
  • Journalism/Media
    • Photography – commercial, magazine, freelance
    • Writers and editors for magazines and media outlets for English and Foreign Language organizations
    • Research Assistant In Science, Social Science, History
    • Film companies – research, write, scout
    • Broadcasting
    • Broadcast News Analyst
  • Psychology
    • Art Therapy
    • Counseling
  • Museum Work
  • Science
  • Legislation/Political Work
  • Business/Management
  • General and Operations Manager
  • Sales Manager
  • Marketing Manager
    • First-Line Supervisor/Manager of Non-Retail Sales Workers
    • Agent and Business Manager of Artists, Performers, and Athlete
    • First-Line Supervisor/Manager of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers
    • Construction and Building Inspector
    • Claims Adjuster, Examiner, and Investigator
    • Insurance Underwriter
    • Gaming Manager
    • Stockbroker: Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agent
  • Education/Teaching
    • Instructional Coordinator
    • Education Administrator, Post secondary
  • Law
  • Government
  • Firms in the travel and tourism industry
  • Service industry field
  • Non-profit industry work
    • Social and Community Service Manager
  • Postal Service Clerk

Liberal Arts Major Requirements

Students should become familiar with the requirements for their individual programs and work with their advisors to ensure that all degree requirements will be met. A guide sheet is extremely helpful in academic planning. Students wishing to major in Liberal Arts can access a downloadable version (pdf) of the guide sheet at the top of this page, or he or she may obtain one from his or her Faculty Advisor or from the Registrar. The student has the ultimate responsibility for seeing that all academic requirements are being met.

General Education Requirements / 54 hours

Institutional – 18 hours: CIS 110, COMM 126, ENG 101, ENG 102, LE 101, PE 103

Humanities: 12 hours

Social Science: 12 hours

Natural Sciences and Mathematics: 12 hours

Core Requirements / 39 hours:

Humanities – 12 hours:

Choose 12 hours (four courses) from the following courses if not chosen previously to satisfy General Education Requirements:

ART 305, ART 340, ENG 302, ENG 304, ENG 305, ENG 310, ENG 311, ENG 312, ENG 350, ENG 400-409, ENG 410-414, ENG 415, ENG 416, ENG 417, ENG 418, ENG 419, ENG 451-469, ENG 471-489, THEA 460-463

Natural Sciences – 12 hours:

Choose 12 hours from the following courses if not chosen previously to satisfy General Education Requirements:

BIOL 205, BIOL 206, BIOL 207, BIOL 211, BIOL 212, BIOL 220, BIOL 305, BIOL 306, BIOL 310, BIOL 315, BIOL 320, BIOL 330, BIOL 331

Social Science – 12 hours:

Choose 12 hours from the following courses if not chosen previously to satisfy General Education Requirements:

Choose 12 hours from ECON 330, HIST 310, HIST 311, HIST 321, HIST 322, HIST 331, HIST 332, HIST 333, HIST 450-469, POLS 301, POLS 311, POLS 460-469,
PSY 301, PSY 320, PSY 330, SOC 302, SOC 303, SOC 305, SOC 312, SOC 320, SOC 330, SOC 340, SOC 365, SOC 370, SOC 371, SOC 460-469.

Capstone: 3 hours

Choose one course from the following:

ENG 490 (spring)                                                                                                                             

HIST 488 (spring)                                                                                                                             

SOC 489 (spring)                                                                                                                              

BIOL 413 (fall/spring)            

General Electives / sufficient to total 128 hours for graduation

Students are encouraged to select courses that best meet their individual career needs.

 

Specific Outcomes and Learning Objectives

A student completing a Liberal Arts degree at ALC will demonstrate:

  1. A fundamental understanding of social and individual behavior and of cultures and belief systems in the past and present.
  2. Proficiency in oral and written communication in English as well as the ability to evaluate complex reasoning and to formulate effective arguments.
  3. Familiarity with the subject matter and methodology of the natural sciences, especially the scientific method.
  4. The ability to acquire and analyze relevant information and use it to understand and help resolve complex social, natural science, and humanistic issues.
  5. Familiarity with the subject matter and methodologies of the social sciences and humanities, including a knowledge of the relevant theories, theorists, movements, and artists important to these fields of study.
  6. An increased knowledge of international and multicultural issues in the contemporary world.
  7. A heightened interest in and commitment to continued learning, an ability to celebrate diversity, and a desire to engage the world.
  8. An understanding of the roles concepts such as race, gender, sexual identity, religion, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity may play in identifying problems, forming opinions, or responding to events/
  9. Empathy for others and the ability to entertain multiple perspectives.
  10. An ability to praise the literary, visual and performing arts as forms of human expression within their historical and social contexts.
  11. A capacity to articulate the collective and individual human experience with historical, social, psychological and philosophical contexts.
  12. An ability to acknowledge and respect all forms of human diversity.
  13. The capacity to apply theories and techniques of intellectual inquiry to search for well-reasoned solutions to human problems.
  14. The knowledge to apply analytical and critical reading skills when engaging a variety of written texts.
  15. Demonstrate a sense of aesthetic judgment when responding to literary texts.
  16. Recognize and describe major concepts, assumptions and theoretical perspectives from the field of the social sciences
  17. An ability to engage in research across disciplines.
  18. A desire to think critically and apply critical thinking skills in academic learning experiences grounded in the liberal arts tradition.
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