Undergraduate Programs of Study

Liberal Studies Program
The Liberal Studies Program is the part of a student's undergraduate program devoted exclusively to liberal education. All undergraduate students in the School of Education are required to complete 84 quarter hours of liberal studies course work. Students should be certain to consult an advisor before taking courses in the Learning Domains. Academic advisement is an integral part of the Liberal Studies Program and necessary to the integration of the program with the requirements of the student's major field.

There are two components of the Liberal Studies Program: the Common Core and the Learning Domains.

The Common Core
28 quarter hours are required:

• 20 quarter hours in the First Year Program:
  
  8 quarter hours in Discover Chicago and Focal Point Seminars,
  
  8 quarter hours in Composition and Rhetoric, and
  
  4 quarter hours in Quantitative Reasoning.
  

  Sophomore Seminar. ISP 200 Multiculturalism in the United States (4 quarter hours)

  Third Year Core experiential learning requirement (which is infused into the education curriculum).
  

  Fourth Year Core Capstone Experience (which will be taken with student teaching). (4 quarter hours)
  

The Learning Domains
Hours are required as follows:

• Arts and Literature: 12 quarter hours required. At most 2 courses from the same department or program.
  
• Philosophical Inquiry: 8 quarter hours required
  
• Religious Dimensions: 8 quarter hours required; 4 quarter hours in patterns and problems, 4 quarter hours in traditions in context.
  
• Scientific Inquiry: 12 quarter hours required: 4 quarter hours in the biological sciences, 4 quarter hours in a physical science (including courses from chemistry, physics, and environmental science), and 4 quarter hours with a quantitative component.
  
• Self, Society, & the Modern World: 12 quarter hours required.
  
• Understanding the Past: 8 quarter hours of United States history primarily between 1800-1945; 4 quarter hours of history pre-1800 from Asia, Latin America, Africa, or intercontinental or comparative history.

Modern Languge Option
The Modern Language Option may be of interest to some students. Students who complete a three-course sequence may substitute two of the three courses for liberal studies credit. Students can select one course each from two of the following learning domain combinations: Arts and Literature or Scientific Inquiry (cannot substitute for the lab science requirement); Philosophical Inquiry or Religious Dimensions; Self, Society, and the Modern World or Understanding the Past. The third course of the sequence fulfills open elective credit. Students interested in this option should consult the listing for their college or school in this course catalog to determine the Liberal Studies courses for which the Modern Language Option will substitute.

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