Mission Statement
The Liberal Studies Program enables students in the College of Arts and Sciences to create undergraduate majors that are both individualized and interdisciplinary, and provides a center for promoting innovations and creativity in emerging fields and disciplines.
For our majors, Liberal Studies provides courses on interdisciplinary inquiry and writing, and empowers students to create the course of study they need to reach their personal goals. For the College, Liberal Studies ensures that students with a vision of their own futures will find a program that suits their needs and ambitions – whatever they may be – here in Arts and Sciences, even by including blocks of courses from other units. And for the University, Liberal Studies provides a center of innovation and excellence in interdisciplinary studies, where our students and our institution as a whole can compete on equal terms with any other institution in America. Beyond the opportunities we provide to individual students, it is also the mission of Liberal Studies to bring outstanding achievers in many fields to our campus. These visits enrich the intellectual life of the University of Louisville with lectures and courses taught by pioneering scholars who have demonstrated in their own lives and careers the importance of breaking free from the standard compartmentalized curriculum, and exploring new worlds of endeavor.
What is Liberal Studies?
The College of Arts and Sciences offers a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies which transcends the boundaries of inquiry permitted by single-discipline departments. UofL's Liberal Studies program is part of a national trend, giving eligible students the opportunity to create individualized, interdisciplinary programs that reflect each student's career goals and/or intellectual interests. Such programs include — but are not limited to — the following themes:
How do you want to live your life and what can you do in college to work toward that vision?
Philosophy of Medicine
Green Studies and Earth Ethics
Eco Literacy and Sustainability
Peace Studies
Military Leadership
Art and Computers in Library Science
Senior Adult Ministry
Youth and Social Services (pre-social work)
Computer Mediated Communication
Higher Education Administration
Our majors have created hundreds of individualized programs. What would you like to design?
Testimonials
Any successful program has at its core capable, nurturing and supportive people. They provide the foundation of strength from which the student can draw. The LBST program at UofL has this core of people. I am proud to have been part of UofL's Liberal Studies Program. I would encourage any student who seeks to acquire substantive learning across various disciplines to enroll.
It seems as though I owe you and Liberal Studies another debt of gratitude. Recently, I qualified to be part of the Board of Overseers and Honors Mentoring Program — Yet another example of the benefits of Liberal Studies — what a fan I've become!