Liberal Studies

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Richard Brooks, chair
Salisbury 406
(262) 472-4775
brooksr@uww.edu

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UW-Whitewater
Whitewater, WI 53190
(262) 472-1440
Fax:
(262) 472-1515
uwwadmit@uww.edu
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The College of Letters and Sciences offers a 36-unit major with a minor and a 54-unit major without a minor in liberal studies. The liberal studies program is designed for students who desire a broadly based education that gives them the skills necessary for a wide range of career opportunities and the flexibility to adapt to today's rapidly changing employment environment.

The program includes study in a wide range of disciplines - the arts, humanities, sciences, and the social sciences - that enable the student to develop a broad view, a capacity for critical thinking, and a fundamental understanding of human nature, society, and values.

In addition, the liberal studies major enables students to pursue a course of study not covered by majors in specific academic disciplines. Although the liberal studies major allows students a great deal of flexibility in choice of courses, it is framed and structured by two seminars. Introduction to Liberal Studies introduces students to the ideal of a liberal education, the methodologies of the liberal arts disciplines, and the use of computer technology for research. The term project for this introductory course requires students to develop a specific and coherent plan of study to meet their learning and career objectives.

The capstone seminar, Senior Thesis, requires students to produce an original piece of work that synthesizes key ideas and themes across the major.

The liberal studies major is designed to provide students with the flexibility to tailor their studies to career aspirations. The major fosters development of skills and abilities employers in many fields consider most desirable such as problem solving, analytical thinking, interpersonal relations, and communication skills, among others. The liberal studies major with a minor complements minors such as professional business studies, public The liberal studies program is designed for students who desire a broadly based education that gives them the skills necessary for a wide range of career opportunities and the flexibility to adapt to today's rapidly changing employment environment. relations, and legal studies. The major without a minor requires a focus area, designed in consultation with an advisor, that can be related specifically to a student's career goals. Both majors include the opportunity for internships that suppose a student's choice of careers. The liberal studies major also enables returning and nontraditional students, who may have developed job-specific skills, to obtain a degree to advance within their careers.

At UW-Whitewater, students are taught exclusively by faculty members. There are no teaching assistants. The liberal studies faculty is drawn from the arts, humanities, sciences, and the social sciences, thereby insuring students the requisite expertise needed to support a multidisciplinary program. The department of philosophy and religious studies administrates the liberal studies program.

The liberal studies major is particularly appropriate for non-traditional, returning, and transfer students who wish to complete a degree. Every effort is made to include applicable transfer courses within the major whether they have UW-Whitewater equivalents or not.

Liberal Studies with minor (BA/BS) 36 UNITS Required courses:
Introduction to Liberal Studies (3 units)
Senior Thesis (3 units)

Required Courses Categories:
Ethics (3 units)
Creative Expression (3 units)
Analytic/Research Skills (3 units)
Oral Communication Skills (3 units)
Cultural Heritage (3-9 units)

Elective Course Categories, selected from at least three of the following categories, (9-15 units):
Contemporary Culture
Individual and Society
Global Perspectives
American Studies Science, Society, Environment

Liberal Studies without minor (BA/BS) 54 UNITS The 54 unit major requires at least one course from each of the above course categories, plus a "focus area" of 15 units, 9 units of which must be at the 300 or 400 level. These courses are selected in consultation with an advisor. Courses included in the focus area are not limited to courses that may be counted in a course category. For a list of courses that satisfy a required course category, please see the Undergraduate Catalog.