Academic Credit Program | Academic Credit Program Index | Liberal Arts

Associate of Arts, (AA.LIB)

The liberal arts major, with its twin " liberal arts and sciences" major, is the basic major to prepare one for entering many occupations, especially the professions, at a higher level. Liberal arts training has long been considered the mark of becoming an educated person.

At the AA (two-year) level, the major can be taken either as a whole, or by concentrating in one of its "options" (see English, History, Sociology, etc.). Whichever way one chooses, this degree would be the usual preparation for entering a BA (four-year) degree program at a transfer institution. Students should familiarize themselves with specific recommendations of that four-year program to determine whether it would be better to concentrate or to stay with the general Liberal Arts major. Most students who stay with the general major have decided to postpone the narrowing process until they have more time to explore. Such a decision is supported by statistics, which say that many students decide too soon on a specific major, only to later change their mind.

The "liberal" of Liberal Arts refers to freedom, specifically the freedom of an individual to think free of the bonds of ignorance and coercion. " Arts" refers to the arts of government, business, education, ministry, journalism, human ecology, family life , medicine, music, fine art, war and peace. By studying the liberal arts first before specializing, the student is making the choice to widen his/her ability to question and to form sound judgements, based on studying the rich world traditions that give us guidance as to what it is lead a full human life. Technical training without liberal arts training is considered to prepare one for making technical decisions, but not for overall human or social decisions.

In summary, the student who completes a liberal arts major should be able to:

• Transfer into a four-year liberal arts program
• Make a more informed choice of a specific field based on having explored a variety of interests
• Understand conceptually the issues in a variety of fields
• Read and write at the level generally indicative of being an educated person
• Exhibit an appreciation of Western culture and global diversity
• Evaluate the complexity of human behavior resulting from multiple factors that influence human events
• Approach human and social decisions with some sophistication and authority

General Education Courses	Credits
Written Communications	6
Arts and Humanities
Group A	6
Group B	3
Group C	3
Social Science	6
Mathematics	3
Natural Science	7-8
Computer Science	3
Additional General Education Requirements	9
Total	46-47
Program Courses	Credits
To include a concentration of at least four courses or a total of 12 credits which are based upon knowledge of the acceptability of transfer to the receiving college. When students have selected a major program from one of the Liberal Arts programs listed below, they are encouraged to change their major to that program.
Art and Design
Art Education/Art Therapy
Communications Arts
English
History
Journalism
Philosophy
Political Science
Psychology
Sociology
Theatre
Total	12
Electives	6
Total Required for Degree	64

For information on International Studies
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Last Updated: 06/11/02