Advising Tip | Learn More About Liberal Arts Distribution Hours

Tetyana Dovbnya

By Tetyana Dovbnya
Academic Advisor / International Student Advising Specialist

Liberal Arts Distribution hours. Why are they required, and how can you fulfill them?

In a general sense, the Liberal Arts prepare you to reason broadly about many different areas of thought and become a lifelong learner. By studying the Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences, we gain knowledge about various aspects of human existence and acquire a thirst to keep learning. These three major areas explain vital philosophical concepts, help us gain a sense of history, understand the scientific aspects of the Earth’s natural processes, as well as grasp the workings of the society we live in. Liberal Arts classes help us develop a critical understanding of ourselves and the world around us, as well as gain transferable skills for future professions.

In order to graduate, you need to have at least nine hours in each of the Liberal Arts areas: Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. 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:

• 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. For example, if you are a BIOS major and CHEM is required, the CHEM course may count toward Natural Sciences.
• 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 & Sciences hours at the 2000 level and above. Also, look for courses that “double dip” with your Tier II requirements.
• 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!