Undergraduate Bulletin
Document Number 3.05.01

College of Liberal Arts

Dean and Professor: Dr. Lee, 450-3167
Associate Dean and Professor: Dr. Mehl, 450-3167

[1] Mission

The College of Liberal Arts is a community of teachers, scholars and students whose primary mission is the pursuit of knowledge. Through teaching, advising, scholarly or creative endeavors and community service, the faculty members of the college seek to extend their own knowledge, the knowledge of their students and the knowledge of other members of the larger community. By exploring and freely exchanging ideas, members of the college attempt to enhance the understanding of different disciplines, cultures and viewpoints. The College of Liberal Arts is committed to establishing and maintaining a culturally diverse environment characterized by openness and mutual respect. Through its recruitment of faculty, staff and students, its curricular offerings and its extra-curricular activities, the college seeks to introduce students from many backgrounds to the great diversity of groups and cultural traditions that characterizes American society and the broader world.

The college provides university students with a broad education in the liberal arts. The goals of such liberal undergraduate education include the following:

To introduce students to a variety of disciplines and categories of human knowledge so that they may discover, develop and use their full range of abilities;
To enable students to reason clearly, to inquire deeply into the purposes and consequences of events and to exercise sound, critical judgment;
To provide students with a basic foundation of knowledge on which more advanced learning in the various disciplines and majors can later build; and
To help prepare students to become more complete, flexible human beings who understand the complexity of a constantly changing world and who are prepared to function effectively in the global community.

All students at the university, usually in their first two years, take between 15 and 21 hours of general education courses in the college. In addition, the College of Liberal Arts provides opportunities for more comprehensive learning in a number of academic areas, including several interdisciplinary programs. Students who choose one of the college's major or minor undergraduate programs of study begin to master the knowledge and research methods of a particular field of learning and, as appropriate, to prepare for a career. Graduate programs in English, diverse literatures, geographic information systems, history and Spanish are provided for post-baccalaureate students who wish a more advanced, focused education in these areas. Through public lectures, conferences and other cultural offerings, the college also provides members of the university and the general community with numerous opportunities for intellectual and personal growth.

[2] Departments

English
Geography
History
Philosophy and Religion
Political Science
Sociology
World Languages, Literatures and Cultures

[3] Undergraduate Scholars Programs

English
French
Geography
History
Philosophy
Political Science
Religious Studies
Sociology
Spanish

[4] Degrees Offered

[4.1] Bachelor of Arts

African/African American Studies (see Interdisciplinary Programs)
English
French
Geography
History

Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies (see Interdisciplinary Programs)

International Studies
Philosophy
Political Science
Religious Studies (see Interdisciplinary Programs)
Sociology
Spanish

[4.2] Bachelor of Science

Geography
History
Philosophy
Political Science
Public Administration
Sociology

[4.3] Bachelor of Science in Education

English
Social Studies, History Emphasis

[4.4] Pre-Professional Studies

Pre-Law

[4.5] Graduate Certificates

Diverse Literatures
Geographic Information Systems

[4.6] Master of Arts

English
History
Spanish

[4.7] Minors

African/African-American Studies (see Interdisciplinary Programs)
Asian Studies (see Interdisciplinary Programs)
English
French
Gender Studies (see Interdisciplinary Programs)
Geographic Information Science
Geography
German
History

International Studies
Latin American Studies (see Interdisciplinary Programs)
Philosophy
Political Science
Presidential Studies
Religious Studies (see Interdisciplinary Programs)
Sociology
Southern and Arkansas Studies (see Interdisciplinary Programs)
Spanish