Liberal Studies

Program Overview

MISSION
Our mission is to provide flexible, innovative degree programs to students whose needs and interests are not limited to a single discipline. Grounded in the liberal arts tradition, we prepare graduates to:

• Communicate effectively
• Think critically and creatively
• Make connections across disciplines
• Become knowledgeable, engaged citizens of our local and global communities
• Assume leadership roles and apply their knowledge in all areas of their professional and personal lives

The liberal studies major is a suitable degree-completion option for transfer and returning students, including working adults interested in career advancement.

VISION
We believe that students educated in the liberal arts tradition will have the skills to meet the many challenges of today’s workplace. Moreover, students who have the flexibility to choose advanced classes in multiple disciplines can design a major that better addresses their individual career goals. Liberal studies is committed to helping students create their own paths to degree completion, career success, and ultimately a more fulfilling quality of life. We envision our program, students, and graduates helping to shape a community that is intellectually engaged, globally connected, environmentally responsible, diverse, and inclusive.

Program Competency Areas

The flexible liberal studies curriculum is guided by six areas in which students are expected to demonstrate competency. These areas should guide students’ course selection as well as their focus within particular courses. Understanding of the competencies is demonstrated by the successful completion of a senior seminar project.  The competency areas are as follows:

Communication:
Effective communication skills include listening, speaking, reading, writing, and information literacy.

Ethical Reasoning and Action:
Individual, social, and environmental responsibility includes civic knowledge and engagement (both global and local).

History:
Recognizing patterns in past events and seeing their relevance to present-day life; demonstrating how contemporary social issues are rooted in past events and political choices; understanding the impacts of the social and physical environments on individual experience; and speculating in informed ways about how present-day trends might affect the future.

Critical and Creative Thinking:
The capacity to combine or synthesize existing ideas and information; comprehensively explore issues, ideas, objects, and events before reaching a conclusion.

Intercultural Knowledge:
Understanding and empathizing with people from diverse cultures; understanding societies and cultures on their own terms; interacting and working with people from diverse backgrounds; and leading or contributing support to those who lead.

Interdisciplinary Perspective:
The ability to make deliberate connections among various academic disciplines, to comprehend and participate in more than one discipline; the ability to reflect on the nature and value of an interdisciplinary perspective.

Preparation for Graduate School

Completion of a liberal studies degree is ideal preparation for graduate programs in the traditional liberal arts disciplines and other post-baccalaureate professional programs, such as law school.

Requirements for the Liberal Studies Major (36-47 credits)

Students complete the major “core” in addition to a concentration.

1. Core Courses (9 credits)
   1. Required Courses (6 credits)

      LBST 103	Diversity in the United States	3 cr
      LBST 300	Humanistic Studies	3 cr

   2. Required Senior Seminar Capstone (3 credits)
      Capstone is to be completed final semester in the major/concentration.

      LBST 498

      Senior Seminar Project

      3 cr

      Note: In order to reach the 120 credits, including the 36 upper division credits, minimally required to earn a Bachelor’s degree at UW-Parkside, Liberal Studies majors may need to complete additional coursework in the form of “electives”. Alternatively, students may wish to augment their major with a minor or a certificate from any department on campus as a way to fulfill the remainder of their university requirements.
       
2. Concentration Courses (27-38 credits)
   Students choose from four concentrations within the liberal studies major: humanities; social sciences studies; organizational studies; and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies.
    
   1. Requirements for the Humanities Concentration (27 credits)
      1. Foundational Courses (3 credits)

         At this stage, students work in many different disciplines to (1) explore areas of intellectual inquiry; (2) work on the basics of writing/communicating; (3) read widely and think critically; (4) sharpen study skills; (5) begin viewing the world from multiple, global perspectives; (6) lay the foundation of basic knowledge necessary for more advanced work in individual disciplines. Students are fulfilling general education requirements, which should complement the introduction to humanities and encourage connections between classes and fields of knowledge.

         Choose one course:

         LBST 101	Introduction to Humanities: World Cultures to 1500	3 cr
         LBST 102	Introduction to Humanities: World Cultures 1500 to Present	3 cr

         Note: In addition to the HUMA survey courses, students need to select other general education classes at the 100-level, taking care to meet prerequisites for 200-level skills/methods courses (listed in the section below) that are offered by individual disciplines. For example, a student wishing to take HIST 250 needs to have taken an additional HIST at the 100-level; 200-level PSYC classes require PSYC 101 completion.
          
      2. Communication Skills or Methods Courses (9 credits)
         At this stage, students will move beyond the basics, gaining skills and knowledge necessary to perform well in more specialized classes for majors in two or more disciplines. Some of these courses are “gateway” classes, i.e. they are prerequisites for courses at the 300- 400 level. Students should choose classes carefully, with an eye toward the topics and fields they want to explore in greater depth as they map out their advanced, 300-400-level course work.
         
         Choose three courses (from at least two different departments):

         COMM 207	Introduction to Communication Discipline, Part I	3 cr
         COMM 208	Introduction to Communication Discipline, Part II	3 cr
         COMM 303	Organizational Communication	3 cr
         COMM 315	Communication and Gender	3 cr
         COMM 350	Digital Storytelling	3 cr
         ENGL 201	Advanced Composition	3 cr
         ENGL 202	Technical Writing	3 cr
         ENGL 204	Writing for Business and Industry	3 cr
         ENGL 206	Creative Writing-Poetry	3 cr
         ENGL 207	Creative Writing-Fiction	3 cr
         ENGL 266	Literary Analysis	3 cr
         ENGL 458	Studies in Film	3 cr
         HIST 250	Sources and Methods in History	3 cr
         LBST 100	Introduction to the Disciplines	3 cr
         LBST 252	Introduction to Film	3 cr
         ISTD 200	Introduction to Leadership	3 cr

         OR
         
         Any 200- or 300-level language, art, music, theater, or philosophy course that is. Other 200/300-level, non-general education classes (for example, in the social and behavior sciences) may be used to fulfill this requirement, subject to approval of the director and steering committee, in consultation with the student and advisor.
          

      3. Humanities Concentration Courses (15 credits)
         A combination of 300-400 level courses, selected in consultation with advisor, totaling 15 credits.  At this level, students should consider not only how classes help achieve competency goals, but how course choices enhance future career plans. Consider courses that will help the student bring unique skills, knowledge, perspectives, and experience into their personal lives and professions. Students are encouraged to review UW-Parkside’s various minors and certificate programs to see if their selected “Major Concentration” could also satisfy most or all requirements for a minor or certificate when combined with completed 100- and 200-level coursework.
          
   2. Requirements for the Social Science Studies Concentration (37-38 credits)
      The distinguishing feature of this second concentration option is the independently designed theme.   Working with the liberal studies advisor, students design a course of study built around a particular theme or problem in the social and behavioral sciences. Students will be accepted as liberal studies majors and allowed to proceed with an independently designed theme after that program of study has been designed in consultation with the program advisor.
      1. Introductory Social Science Courses (9 credits)
         Choose three courses (from at least two different departments):

         ANTH 100	Introduction to Anthropology	3 cr
         ANTH 200	Introduction to Anthropology	3 cr
         ANTH 201	Introduction to Archaeology	3 cr
         COMM 107	Communication and the Human Condition	3 cr
         COMM 108	Media and Society	3 cr
         ECON 101	The American Economy	3 cr
         ECON 120	Principles of Microeconomics	3 cr
         ECON 121	Principles of Macroeconomics	3 cr
         GEOG 100	Physical Geography and the Environment	3 cr
         GEOG 105	Contemporary Human Geography	3 cr
         GEOG 110	Introduction to Geography - World Regions	3 cr
         HIST 102	The United States, Reconstruction to Recent Times	3 cr
         HIST 120	Western Civilization III: From 1815 to the Present	3 cr
         POLS 100	American Politics	3 cr
         POLS 104	Introduction to International Relations	3 cr
         POLS 105	Introduction to Politics	3 cr
         PSYC 101	Introduction to Psychological Science	3 cr
         SOCA 101	Introduction to Sociology	3 cr
         WGSS 110	Introduction to Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies	3 cr

      2. Methodology Course (3-4 credits)
         Choose one course:

         HIST 250	Sources and Methods in History	3 cr
         POLS 200	Research Methods and Sources	4 cr
         PSYC 300	Research Methods in Psychology	3 cr
         SOCA 250	Statistics for the Social Sciences	3 cr
         OR
         QM 210	Business Statistics I	3 cr

      3. Scope of Coverage (9 credits)
         Choose one 3-credit course from three of the following disciplines: anthropology, communication, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, solciology, women’s gender and sexuality studies, or ethnic studies. The purpose of the scope of coverage requirements is to ensure the interdisciplinarity nature of the student’s program.
          
      4. Major Theme (15 credits)
         A combination of 200-400 level courses within the social sciences related to a central theme or issue totaling 15 credits. Students should consider not only how classes address the theme, but how course choices may enhance future career and/or interpersonal goals. Students are also encouraged to review UW-Parkside’s various minors and certificate programs to see if their selected “Major Theme” can also satisfy most or all requirements for a minor or certificate when combined with completed 100-level coursework. Examples of advisor approved themes chosen by previous students are as follows:
         • The American Worker in Adaptation to Change
         • Poverty and Social Welfare
         • Crime and Psychological Problems Among Children
         • Illiteracy in America
         • Ethnicity and Political/Social Patterns in the U.S.
         • Politics and Mass Communication
         • Healthcare
         • Environment Policy
           
           The 15 credits of the themes must meet the following requirements:
         • At least 9 credits must be at the 300/400 level.
         • No more than 6 credits can be earned by directed or independent study.
         • Introductory and methods courses cannot count toward the 15 credits in the theme.
            
   3. Requirements for the Organizational Studies Concentration (27-28 credits)
      The organizational studies concentration is designed to help students understand the structures, operations, and functions of complex organizations in both public and private sector settings. Faculty members from a number of academic disciplines, including sociology/anthropology, economics, psychology, geography, history, political science, communication, philosophy, and business, provide students with a multidimensional, multi-perspective, comprehensive understanding of complex organizations in our society.
       
      1. Foundational Behavior and Organizational Courses (9 credits)
         Choose three:

         COMM 303	Organizational Communication	3 cr
         LBST 210	Introduction to Leadership	3 cr
         PSYC 101	Introduction to Psychological Science	3 cr
         SOC 101	Introduction to Sociology	3 cr

      2. Statistics Course (3-4 credits)
         Choose one:

         POLS 200	Research Methods and Sources	4 cr
         PSYC 250	Psychological Statistics	3 cr
         QM 210	Business Statistics I	3 cr
         SOCA 250	Statistics for the Social Sciences	4 cr

         Consult with instructor regarding prerequisites.
          
      3. Concentration Courses (18 credits)
         Choose 18 credits with no more than 9 credits from one area as listed below or from the UW-Parkside catalog with consultation with your advisor. Students should consider courses that will help bring specific skills, knowledge, perspectives, and experience into their personal lives and careers. Students are also encouraged to review UW-Parkside’s various certificate programs to see if their selected “Concentration Courses” could also satisfy most or all requirements for a certificate when combined with completed 100- and 200-level coursework.
         
         History/Political Science/Geography

         GEOG 360	Urban Geography	3 cr
         ETHN/SOCA 206	Race and Ethnic Relations in the US	3 cr
         ETHN/HIST 302	Race/Ethnicity: United States of America 1890 to the Present	3 cr
         POLS 100	American Politics	3 cr
         POLS 202	Public Policy	3 cr

         Economics/Business

         ECON 120	Principles of Microeconomics	3 cr
         ECON 380	The Labor Market	3 cr
         HRM 343	Human Resource Management	3 cr
         MGT 349	Organizational Behavior	3 cr
         MGT 447	Management Techniques	3 cr
         PMGT 341	Basics of Project Management	3 cr
         PMGT 342	Essential Personal Skills for Project Management	3 cr

         Liberal Studies

         LBST 168	Student Leadership	3 cr
         LBST 210	Introduction to Leadership	3 cr

         Sociology/Psychology

         PSYC 320	Sociological Social Psychology	3 cr
         SOCA 301	Sociological Theory	3 cr
         SOCA 306	Research in Community Needs	3 cr
         SOCA 320	Sociological Social Psychology	3 cr
         SOCA 326	Social Gerontology	3 cr
         SOCA 373	Formal Organization	3 cr

         Communication

         COMM 107	Communication and the Human Condition	3 cr
         COMM 285	Introduction to Conflict Analysis and Resolution	3 cr
         COMM 303	Organizational Communication	3 cr
         COMM 365	Intercultural Communication	3 cr
         COMM 385	Conflict Mediation	3 cr
         ENGL 204	Writing for Business and Industry	3 cr

   4. Requirements for the Liberal Studies with Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Concentration (27 credits)
      1. Introductory Courses (6 credits)

         WGSS 110	Introduction to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies	3 cr
         One course in Feminist Theories		3 cr

         (Appropriate classes offered in English, history, philosophy, communication, psychology, etc., with approval of program director.)
          
      2. Concentration Courses (9 credits)
         Choose from at least one from the following three areas:
         
         Humanities and Art

         COMM 315	Communication and Gender	3 cr
         COMM 463	Gender, Race, Class, and Sexualities in Media	3 cr
         ENGL 417	Studies in British Literature: British Women Novelists Topic	3 cr
         ENGL 469	Women as Writers and Characters	3 cr
         PHIL 290	Special Topics in Philosophy: Feminism in Philosophy Topic	3 cr
         THEA/ WGSS 215	LGBTQ Representation on Stage and Screen	3 cr
         WGSS 112	Women in Literature	3 cr

         Social Sciences

         CRMJ 366	Women, Crime, and Criminal Justice	3 cr
         HIST 236	Women in Modern Society	3 cr
         MGT 446	Global Management	3 cr
         POLS 203	Women, Power, and Politics	3 cr
         PSYC 280/380	Psychology of Gender	3 cr
         SOCA 213	Gender and Society	3 cr

         Natural Sciences

         BIOS 103	Human Biology	3 cr
         HESM 285	Sport in Society	3 cr
         HESM 321	Women’s Health Issues	3 cr
         SOCA 379	Society and Environment	3 cr
         WGSS 250	Women in Science	3 cr

      3. Elective Courses related to concentration; one must be at the 400-level (12 credits)
         Select approved courses with advisor.

Admission Requirements for the Liberal Studies Online Major

A streamlined version of our traditional program, the major in liberal studies with a concentration in organizational studies as an online degree completion program offers students who have limitations in their schedules and transportation, an accessible, flexible program to complete their bachelor’s degree. This program is ideal for students returning to college after a hiatus, and adults whose family and work lives make online learning the most practical pathway for completing their bachelor’s degree. Before being admitted, students must meet the following requirements and apply specifically for the degree completion version of Liberal Studies with Organizational Studies Concentration Online (LBSO).

Requirements for being admitted into LBSO:

• A minimum of 60 college credits
• Completion of the UW-Parkside Skills requirements
• Completion of the UW-Parkside Foreign Language requirements
• Completion of the UW-Parkside General Education requirements (Students who have fewer than five General Education courses left to take may be considered for admission); or, completion of an associate degree from an accredited, college-parallel program.
• Each student application will be evaluated by admissions counselors and Liberal Studies advisors. Students who have not completed some of these requirements may be given conditional admission and are expected to complete all requirements needed for a UW-Parkside degree.
   

Requirements for the Liberal Studies Online Major (36-37 credits)

Students complete the major “core” in addition the organizational studies concentration.

1. Core Courses (9 credits)
   1. Required Courses (6 credits)

      LBST 103	Diversity in the United States	3 cr
      LBST 300	Humanistic Studies	3 cr

      Note: LBST 300 will also fulfill the university’s diversity requirement.
       
   2. Required Senior Seminar Capstone (3 credits)
      Capstone is to be completed final semester in the major/concentration.

      LBST 498

      Senior Seminar Project

      3 cr

      Note: In order to reach the 120 credits, including the 36 upper division credits, minimally required to earn a Bachelor’s degree at UW-Parkside, Liberal Studies majors may need to complete additional coursework in the form of “electives”. Alternatively, students may wish to augment their major with a minor or a certificate from any department on campus as a way to fulfill the remainder of their university requirements.
       
2. Liberal Studies Concentration Courses (30-31 credits)
   1. Foundational Behavior and Organizational Courses (9 credits)

      COMM 303	Organizational Communication	3 cr
      PSYC 101	Introduction to Psychological Science	3 cr
      SOC 101	Introduction to Sociology	3 cr

   2. Statistics Course (3-4 credits)
      Choose one:

      PSYC 250	Psychological Statistics	3 cr
      QM 210	Business Statistics I	3 cr
      SOCA 250	Statistics for the Social Sciences	4 cr

   3. Concentration Courses (18 credits)
      1. Required Elective Course (3 credits)
         Choose one course:

         PSYC 220	Social Psychology	3 cr
         SOCA 320	Sociological Social Psychology	3 cr

      2. Required Courses (15 credits)

         SOCA 301	Sociological Theory	3 cr
         COMM 107	Communication and Human Condition	3 cr
         POLS 100	American Politics	3 cr
         ETHN/SOCA 206	Race and Ethnic Relations in the U.S.	3 cr
         ENGL 204	Writing for Business and Industry	3 cr

   4. Elective Courses (24 credits minimum)
      If students enrolled in this program have the minimum of 60 credits, and complete the above 36 credits, they will still need an additional 24 credits to meet the minimum required 120 credits to complete their UW-Parkside degree. Below are examples or recommended groupings of elective courses for focused degree completion. Students are also required to meet the 36 upper-division credits required to graduate and are expected to meet that minimum requirement through incoming credits or elective credits.
       
      1. Business Organization Electives (18 credits minimum)

         ACCT 201	Financial Accounting	3 cr
         BUS 100	Introduction to Business	3 cr
         BUS 272	Legal Environment of Business	3 cr
         ECON 120	Principles of Microeconomics	3 cr
         ECON 121	Principles of Macroeconomics	3 cr
         ECON 367	Financial Institutions and Markets	3 cr
         PMGT 341	Basics of Project Management	3 cr
         PMGT 342	Essential Personal Skills for Project Management	3 cr

      2. Public Sector Organization Electives (18 credits minimum)

         BUS 272	Legal Environment of Business	3 cr
         ECON 101	The American Economy	3 cr
         HIST 102	The United States: Reconstruction To Recent Times	3 cr
         HIST 128	World History III: From 1800 to The Present	3 cr
         PHIL 205	Philosophy of Religion	3 cr
         GEOG 100	Physical Geography and the Environment	3 cr
         SOCA 354	Class, Status and Power	3 cr
         SOCA 355	Urbanism and Urbanization	3 cr

         Other groups of elective courses can be requested through the department

         Students can complete credits via elective courses offered through UW-Parkside. Students will be advised to select elective courses based on their interests, career goals, and transfer credits as they become available and as they are relevant to this degree-completion program. Students are also required to meet the 36 upper-division credits required to graduate and are expected to meet that minimum requirement through incoming credits or elective credits.

Requirements for the Leadership Certificate (12 credits)

The leadership certificate provides a curriculum that combines conceptual and theoretical frameworks with opportunities to apply those concepts and theories in real-world situations. Students who complete the certificate program will have an enhanced understanding of the personal qualities, interpersonal dynamics, and social patterns that influence leadership efforts. They will also have the opportunity to hone specific leadership skills such as self-assessment and public speaking; identify and assess resources; work in diverse settings; and evaluate and reflect on students’ own leadership styles. Pursuing the leadership certificate is also an excellent opportunity for civic engagement.

1. Required Courses (6 credits)

   LBST 210	Introduction to Leadership	3 cr
   LBST 492	Practicum in Leadership	3 cr

2. Elective Courses (6 credits)
   Choose two courses:

   COMM 285	Introduction to Conflict Analysis and Resolution	3 cr
   COMM 303	Organizational Communication	3 cr
   HRM 343	Human Resource Management	3 cr
   MGT 447	Management Techniques	3 cr
   SOCA 306	Research in Community Needs	3 cr

Courses in Liberal Studies (LBST)