Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts

In this foundational course, students explore the principles necessary for achieving personal and career success. GEN 101 serves as a road map, guiding students as they begin their academic journey. Through self-discovery, surveying available resources, connecting with UAGC groups, and engaging with Career Services, students learn the essential skills of planning and goal setting. Students apply their personal strengths, skills, and lifelong learning strategies to develop essential career competencies. By making these meaningful connections students gain a deeper understanding of how their education relates to their desired career path.  Congratulations on embarking on this college journey filled with growth, exploration, and endless possibilities! This course is not available for non-degree seeking students.

This course offers an overview of digital fluency as it applies to personal, academic, financial, and professional success. Students will analyze the impact of digital technology on personal, social, and diversity issues and will develop digital skills that will assist in achieving academic, personal, and career goals. An overview of digital media is introduced with practical strategies for application in personal and professional life.

ENG 121 is designed to introduce students to the standards of writing in both academic and professional settings. The class will operate by first introducing, and then allowing students to practice, several written communication skills. Throughout, we will work to understand writing as a process, one that is strengthened through critical thinking, deepened by research, and built on a foundation of professional standards. As part of this process, students will also consider how emerging technologies influence contemporary writing environments and the ways writers make informed, ethical choices about their use. Students will articulate a sense of their own skills and goals and engage in collaborative conversations with peers and their instructor so as to be able to express their ideas more effectively. During the course, students will use the writing process to scrutinize their own perspectives while challenging them to embrace a wider conversation.

Learn and use key, practical skills that are applicable at home, at work, and in all UAGC courses! As UAGC students progress in their academic journey, strategies for personal, professional, and academic success continue to develop. This introductory course takes a two-pronged approach to setting students on a path to success. It merges fundamental informational literacy concepts with essential resources and skills that prepare students for college and career. Students learn how to identify, locate, evaluate, apply, and acknowledge information obtained through UAGC Library databases and internet search engines. By applying the research process, students sharpen critical thinking skills and learn to use information ethically. The final project is a practical and relevant opportunity for students to apply their learning in personally, professionally, and academically meaningful ways.

In this course, students will develop and expand their research and writing skills to communicate ideas in informed, ethical, and persuasive written documents intended for a range of audiences across a range of situations and contexts. Students will receive instruction and practice in synthesis and analysis, bolstering their written communication skills with a thorough understanding of academic research while honing critical thinking skills and effective work habits. Through writing well-structured, logical, and effective academic essays, students will explore tools and develop topics in a way that is meaningful to academic and professional lives. Prerequisite: Successful completion of ENG 121 or equivalent with a grade of “C-” or better.

This course is designed to aid students in understanding the dynamics of interpersonal relationships. Verbal and nonverbal communication patterns among people in personal, social, academic, and professional settings will be examined, within and between cultures, including both face-to-face and technologically mediated channels.  The nature of these interactions will be evaluated using contemporary communication theory. The course will enable students to identify their interpersonal communication skills and behaviors and to more critically evaluate their own oral communication and that of others. The primary goals of the course are to improve the quality of students’ communication in their personal and professional relationships, to enhance students’ experience and. confidence with oral communication, and increase awareness of the importance of interpersonal communication that is inclusive and equitable.

This course is a study of correct and incorrect reasoning involved in everyday activities. The fundamentals of language and argument, deductive and inductive reasoning and other aspects of practical reasoning are examined. 

In this course, students will explore how human beings create meaning through story, symbol, identity, and culture. The humanities offer powerful ways of knowing that illuminate the complexities of personal and professional life. Through modular, interdisciplinary approaches, learners will engage with timeless questions—about self, community, power, justice, and the future—while connecting them directly to their own field of study. Each week, students will choose a learning pathway tailored to a chosen major (Business Leadership, Criminal Justice, Education, Healthcare, Information Technology, Liberal Arts, or Social and Behavioral Sciences). This flexible design ensures that the course both deepens one’s perspective and stacks meaningfully with the learner’s broader academic and career goals. By the end, students will have described, analyzed, applied, synthesized, and created work that demonstrates how humanistic approaches enrich professional knowledge and practice.

This course introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of social sciences and some of the disciplines that comprise this field, including anthropology, psychology, economics, sociology, political science, and history. In this course, students will learn important social science concepts and theoretical approaches, along with the research methods that social scientists use to study human behavior. They will also learn how research and findings from the social sciences can be applied broadly throughout society. Throughout the course and through a summative assignment, students will examine how social factors shape social behavior and some of the consequences of current social problems.

This course serves as a general survey of U.S. government and political institutions within social, historical, and contemporary context. Students will discuss the basic principles of constitutional democracy within the United States with regard to founding documents, political institutions, the separation of powers, federalism, civil liberties, civil rights, and political participation. Students will also evaluate how the history of the United States shapes contemporary U.S. society and political debates.

This course explores the complex relationship between human societies and natural systems. Students will learn about ecology, natural resources, climate change, energy, sustainable technologies, and environmental justice while investigating sustainable challenges and solutions through an interdisciplinary lens.  Students will research and propose solutions to environmental challenges at both a local and global scale with a focus on applications across multiple economic sectors, careers, and geographic regions.

In this course, students will explore a wide range of Algebra topics. Topics will include study of linear equations, linear relationships, slope, polynomials, and functions, including graphing relations and solving systems of equations. Emphasis will be placed on developing an awareness of historical and current uses of algebra in real life settings, in various careers, and in solving important societal problems.

In this course, students will examine how works of literature, philosophy, theology, visual art, architecture, and music from antiquity through the early modern era express the human condition. In addition, students will focus on differentiating primary, secondary, and tertiary sources of information and the value of each. Key to this inquiry is considering the significance of gender, socio-economic status, ethnicity, and geography on the development of humanistic inquiry within multicultural contexts. Awareness of these issues will allow students to understand how ideas from the past about the human condition impact contemporary society.

In this course, students will examine how works of literature, philosophy, theology, visual art, architecture, and music from the fifteenth century to the present express the human condition. They will analyze how diversity of gender, socio-economic status, ethnicity, and culture impact perspective. They will describe the components of critical thinking and apply those components to discovering the causes, consequences, and significance of historical and sociological developments.

This class serves as the gateway into the upper-division sequence of the Liberal Arts program. It is designed to introduce key terminology and methodology associated with both disciplinary and interdisciplinary work in the liberal arts. In addition to this foundational work, students will begin to design and develop an individualized ePortfolio, which will continue to be built and refined over the course of their studies. The unifying goal of the class is that students identify competencies associated with attaining individual goals within the framework of interdisciplinary liberal arts. Prerequisite: Junior standing or permission of the instructor.

Women, Culture, and Society” examines the images, roles, and contributions of women in historical and artistic contexts from the Renaissance to the present. The course is designed to give students an understanding of the role women have played in the development of culture in Western Civilization as well as the ways western societies have shaped women’s lives and creative expression. With conversations on the arts and theory, the course analyzes the complex ways gender, intersecting with race, class, and ethnicity, influences our experience and culture.

The Environment and the Human Spirit class asks students to develop a conscientious awareness of relationships between humans and the world in which they live. Students will question how they came to hold their beliefs about “nature” or the environment, including the role of personal and cultural narratives surrounding these positions. This knowledge will inform discussions of attitudes and policies required to resolve serious environmental issues. The ultimate goal is the development of analytical skills to understand and engage in discourses around nature from an interdisciplinary perspective. Prerequisite: ENG 122 or Written Communication Competency II. 

This course examines the historical movements and events that have influenced the production of literary works from 1775 to the present. Students will analyze literary works of different genres, historical periods, and regions of the world in order to explore the ways in which literature has influenced and been influenced by social, political, and historical contexts and discourse. Students will also consider how literary works contribute to collective and cultural memory, and cultural identity.

This course explores contemporary world literature as it highlights universal human themes across diverse regions and cultures. Students analyze literary works within their cultural contexts and assess how literature and language are shaped by the history, traditions, values, and geographies of diverse human cultures. Students also consider how literature addresses modern social issues, especially those influenced by the complex relationship between personal and group identities. Prerequisites: Fulfillment of English Proficiency requirement.

This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and tools to develop an understanding of the nature of literature, what functions it has, and what the relation of the text is to the author, the reader, language, society, and history.

This course examines complex interrelationships between science and culture from antiquity through the modern era. A focus on Cabinets of Curiosities as sociocultural artifacts conveys how science, religion, philosophy, history, art, and culture influence the evolution of knowledge, its dissemination, and its impact on society. By constructing personal Cabinets of Curiosities, students will develop their own understanding of the ways scientific inquiry and culture are entwined in the quest to observe, record, and categorize natural phenomena to expand their understanding of the physical world.

Students will explore Middle Eastern civilization by examining its geography, culture, history, government, and economy. They will select a country in the region during the first week of class and study this country and the region each week. This will provide students with in-depth knowledge of a single country and highlight the common elements of the region’s culture. Students will utilize interdisciplinary research methods to create websites that introduce their countries.
 

The Liberal Arts Capstone provides students the opportunity to show what they have learned over the course of their studies as a Liberal Arts major. In the final Capstone project, students develop a project that addresses a real-world problem or question within a career field or area of interest from a humanistic, interdisciplinary perspective. In finalizing their ePortfolio, compiled over the course of their studies, students align knowledge and skills learned through a study of the humanities to work-force competencies and personal goals. The Capstone also provides students with the opportunity to reflect on how humanistic inquiry enables them to better understand modern social, global, and local workplace challenges.

Elective requirements vary by program. Review the Program Requirements section for details about elective credits and degree completion requirements. Elective courses may also provide opportunities to pursue an Emphasis that complements your major and supports your academic or career goals.

Elective requirements vary by program. Review the Program Requirements section for details about elective credits and degree completion requirements. Elective courses may also provide opportunities to pursue an Emphasis that complements your major and supports your academic or career goals.