By Sara Berens
Academic Advisor and Retention Specialist
Sara Berens
Liberal Arts Distribution hours. Why are they required and how can you fulfill them?
In a general sense, the liberal arts prepare you to think broadly about many different areas of thought and to become a lifelong learner. As humans, we are not one-sided, and it’s important that we embrace the different facets of ourselves and each other. Also, by studying the Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences, we can gain various skills which can be applied to many different positions.
In order to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Arts & Sciences at Ohio University, you need to have at least 9 hours in each of the Liberal Arts Areas: Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences (27 hours total). However, if you are earning a Bachelor of Arts degree, you will need a little more in order to equal 33 hours total. Here are just a few tips for this requirement:
- Keep in mind that neither your major courses nor the courses you use to fulfill your foreign language requirement will count here. These are totally separate.
- However, extra departmental courses required for your major WILL count. As an example, if you are a BIOS major and CHEM is required, the CHEM course may count toward Natural Sciences.
- And, if you study an additional foreign language, that can count as well! Believe it or not, we do have students who study two or three foreign languages.
- When able, try to look for courses at the 2000 level and above. These will “double dip” with your required Arts and Sciences hours at the 2000 level and above.
- Also, look for courses that “double dip” with your Tier II requirements. We have “Double Dip Sheets” in Wilson Hall (Office of Undergraduate Student Affairs) that will help you to find the overlaps. Stop in and pick one up!
- Many classes that can be used for the distribution can also be applied toward a minor, certificate, or second major. If you plan ahead this will be easy to do!
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