Explore a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies at MSU! Specialize in Global and Multicultural Studies with opportunities for study abroad. Apply now!
Program Description The Liberal Studies degree offers an interdisciplinary approach to a well-rounded education which emphasizes reading, reasoning, and communication skills in addition to substantive knowledge that will allow graduates to thrive in a broad range of career contexts and to pursue life-long learning. All students are required to choose one of three program options, either the Quaternity option (also available online) which offers the more traditional broad-based liberal arts education, or a cross-disciplinary cluster of thematically related courses (option II), which currently includes the Environmental Studies and the Global and Multicultural Studies options. Courses that are used to satisfy one degree requirement cannot be used to satisfy another. Students must complete a minimum of 45 credits in the program after declaring themselves to be Liberal Studies majors. Global and Multicultural Studies Option The Global and Multicultural option offers students a broad perspective on international and American cultural, ethnic, and gender issues spanning a wide range of disciplines. Students will select 27 credits (18 of which need to be 300 or 400 level) from an approved list of global/multicultural courses spanning a wide range of disciplines. In addition, students in this option select a specific area studies focus (e.g. Latin America, Asia, Europe, Native American, or Women's Studies) in which they take 12 additional credits (6 of which need to be 300 or 400 level) to provide deeper understanding of that region or field of study. In addition, students are required to achieve competence, at an intermediate level, in a foreign language appropriate to their field of area studies. Students in this option are encouraged to study abroad in a region appropriate to their field of area studies. Credits earned abroad may, with the approval of the Program Director, be substituted for global/multicultural or area studies courses as appropriate. LS 490R may overlap with Core. Proposed substitutions must be submitted in writing to the program advisor or director.
