Liberal Arts Program
As Stephens' Mission Statement explains, the Liberal Arts curriculum grounds all the College's degree programs, striking an appropriate balance between preparing students for the careers they hope to pursue and educating them for the lives they'll lead in the 21st century. The College provides for all students, regardless of their majors, a women-centered, globally-oriented, ten-course, thirty-semester hour Liberal Arts Program. Within that program, students take four Core Courses, four Learning Community Courses, and two Choice Courses. All students take required Liberal Arts Program (LBA) courses unless they bring to the College advance placement, international baccalaureate or transfer credit that matches these requirements. All Liberal Arts courses, regardless of the topics they cover, provide opportunities for students to sharpen their critical thinking and communication skills.
In addition to the LBA courses they take to fulfill LBA program requirements, students may take other LBA courses for elective credit. Departments may approve various LBA courses as electives in their majors and minors. LBA courses may not count as required courses in any major or minor.
Core Courses - 12 semester hours
Students take the composition sequence of courses during their first two semesters.
- Composition 1 - (3 hrs)
- Composition 2 - (3 hrs.)
Sophomore Seminars - 3 hrs.
Students select one of the two Sophomore Seminars during their second year.
- Government and Economics- Fall Semester (3 hrs)
- Global Village- Spring Semester (3 hrs)
LBA Global Ethics - 3 hrs.
- Global Ethics Offered Fall and Spring(3 hrs.)
Learning Community Courses - 12 semester hours
Students take four area studies courses during their first and second years within a mixed-major Learning Community:
- Cultural Studies- (3 hrs.)
- Historical Studies- (3 hrs.)
- Literary Studies- (3 hrs.)
- Social Science- (3 hrs.)
Choice Courses - 6 semester hours
To complete their Liberal Arts Program requirements, students choose one approved three hour course in Quantitative Literacy, and one approved 3 hour course in the Natural Sciences. Students may take these courses any time during their enrollment.
Quantitative Literary - 3 hrs.
Approved courses include:
- College Algebra
- Math for Elementary Teachers I
- Math for Elementary Teacher II
- Statistics
- Personal and Family Finance
- Calculus and Analytic Geometry I
If a students major requires a specific Quantitative Literacy course, that required course will satisfy the LBA program's Quantitative Literacy requirement.
Natural Science - 3 hrs.
Approved courses include:
- Biological Concepts
- Introduction to Crime Scene Analysis
- The Art and Science of Growing Plants
- The Science of Beauty
- Investigations in Biological Concepts I
- Chemistry in Everyday Life
- Physical Science for Elementary Teachers
- Earth and Environmental Science
If a students major requires a specific Natural Science course, that required course will satisfy the LBA program's Natural Science requirement.
The College will give students who transfer to Stephens every consideration in determining which transfer courses fulfill Liberal Arts Program requirements. Stephens Students who wish to complete part of the Liberal Arts Program requirements at another regionally accredited college or university may seek approval to do so by providing to the Registrar and the Dean of Liberal Arts, for their review, catalog descriptions of the courses they wish to take. Students should seek approval from the appropriate department chair for transfer courses in the major or minor. To ensure transferability, students need to secure approvals prior to enrolling in transfer courses. (Forms are available in the Office of the Registrar and online.)
