Degree Requirements

A Liberal Studies major must be enrolled in the program for at least two academic terms and earn at least 16 upper-level (300/400) credits after admission that includes credit for a capstone course.

1. There are two core colleges to the Liberal Studies Program, the College of Arts and Sciences. All Liberal Studies major requirements consist of courses offered by the core colleges. However, Liberal Studies students are enrolled in Arts and Sciences and have to satisfy its college requirements. Someone who meets the undergraduate requirements will also meet the university undergraduate requirements.
2. In addition to university and college requirements, a B.A. in Liberal Studies includes 66-semester credits:

16 in Social and Behavioral Sciences
16 in Natural Sciences and Mathematics
16 in Humanities and Fine Arts
18 in Electives

These 66 credits may be selected in several ways:

1. broadly distributed across all four areas, as samples of many disciplines,
2. concentrated in various areas of interest (including formal minors, certificates, and concentrations in other departments and colleges),
3. organized in a formal program of study of one or more major themes (e.g., critical thinking, cultural heritage, science and technology, etc.).

Within this total of 66 credits, no more than 18 credits in any one department will be counted towards the Liberal Studies major. (If you want more than 18 in a specific discipline, then you may want to consider a traditional departmental degree rather than the B.A. in Liberal Studies—or a double major.)

Upon petition to the director and the advisory committee, a student may include in the Liberal Studies major up to 42 transfer credits from other, non-core, colleges within Cleveland State—typically for courses that have specific content and methods comparable to those offered by the core colleges (e.g., EDB 301 and 302). No more than 31 credits in business will be counted towards the major.

Liberal Studies Requirements

1. Social Sciences, 16 Credits
2. Fine Arts and Humanities, 16 Credits
3. Natural Sciences / Quantitative Literacy, 16 Credits
4. Free Electives, 18 Credits
5. Total = 66 Credits
   (including a capstone course taken among the last 16 credits)

In using this table of courses and requirements, keep in mind that some courses, of any college, might straddle the lines between the three main areas of liberal education. If the instructor of record will certify that the offering is more of one sort than another, then it may be used to fulfill a different area requirement. For example, a course might be more about mathematics than human behavior. In that case, it could be used to fulfill the Liberal Studies Natural Sciences and Mathematics requirement rather than the Social Sciences one. For the same reason, some courses defy a one-time categorization--different offerings might be best seen as fulfilling different requirements. Finally, this also implies that some courses might be inappropriate for fulfilling a requirement for one student but OK for another.

Standard Disclaimer: Use this table to plan your course of study. For the best advice, consult with the Director of Liberal Studies.

For more information, visit the undergraduate catalog.