The University Studies degree format provides students flexibility to create individualized degree plans at Texas A&M. The format also provides additional opportunities for study in the College of Arts and Sciences when there is restricted admission to specific departments. The University Studies (USLA) is a unique degree plan that consists of a foundational knowledge of liberal arts as a discipline, advanced work in social sciences and humanities, and two minors uniquely chosen by each student.

The concentration is uniquely administered by the college, rather than by a department, and includes coursework drawn from all twelve college departments and five interdisciplinary programs. The degree, although BS, requires a year of college-level foreign language and additional hours of communication, literature, and social science.

Students of USLA will be able to form their own program of study to acquire a broad interdisciplinary knowledge of the field of liberal arts. They will take courses in both the social sciences and the humanities, and receive the skills sets of a liberal arts degree: appreciation of different lifestyles and points of view; balanced knowledge of the social sciences and humanities; analytical, problem-solving skills; independent thinking but the ability to work in groups on collaborative projects; flexibility and adaptability; effective oral and written communication; the ability to interact with people at different levels.

A University Studies concentration in Liberal Arts is the ideal curricular model for allowing students to focus on the complexities of national and global problems, acquisition of skills needed for lifelong learning, such as critical thinking, communication, and the value of teamwork in problem solving. The core courses (upper-level courses in social science and humanities) and the additional requirements of foreign language, writing, and critical thinking, along with individualized minors, will position students on the many different career paths available in today’s job markets for liberal arts graduates with their enhanced skills sets.

A student enrolled in the University Studies - Liberal Arts concentration may not pursue a double major or a double degree.

Plan of Study Grid

First Year
Fall		Semester Credit Hours
ENGL 104	Composition and Rhetoric 1	3
LBAR 203	Foundations of the Liberal Arts: Humanities	3
American history		3
Foreign language 2		4
Mathematics		3
	Semester Credit Hours	16
Spring
LBAR 204	Foundations of the Liberal Arts: Social Sciences	3
American history		3
Communication		3
Foreign language 2		4
Mathematics		3
	Semester Credit Hours	16
Second Year
Fall
Government/Political science		3
Life and physical sciences		3
Minor 3		3
Minor 3		3
Humanities directed elective 4		3
	Semester Credit Hours	15
Spring
Government/Political science		3
Life and physical sciences		3
Minor 3		3
Minor 3		3
Social science directed elective 5		3
	Semester Credit Hours	15
Third Year
Fall
Life and physical sciences		3
Social and behavioral sciences		3
Minor 3		3
Minor 3		3
Humanities directed elective 4		3
	Semester Credit Hours	15
Spring
Creative arts		3
Literature directed elective		3
Minor 3		3
Minor 3		3
Social science directed elective 5		3
	Semester Credit Hours	15
Fourth Year
Fall
Language, philosophy and culture		3
Minor 3		3
Minor 3		3
Social and behavioral sciences		3
Literature directed elective		3
	Semester Credit Hours	15
Spring
LBAR 491	Research	3
Language, philosophy and culture or creative arts		3
Minor 3		3
Minor 3		3
General elective 3,6		1
	Semester Credit Hours	13
	Total Semester Credit Hours	120

¹

Must make a grade of C or better.

²

Complete two consecutive semesters of the same foreign language.

³

Students must complete 37 hours of general electives of which 30-36 hours should be used to satisfy the requirements for two university approved minors. One minor must be chosen from outside of the College of Liberal Arts. Minors must be declared in consultation with the major advisor.

⁴

Select from 300- or 400-level courses with a prefix of AFST, ARAB, ASIA, CHIN, CLAS, ENGL, FILM, FREN, GERM, HISP, HIST, HUMA, INTS, ITAL, JAPN, JOUR, LBAR, LING, LMAS, MODL, MUSC, PERF, PHIL, RELS, RUSS, SPAN.

⁵

Select from 300- or 400-level courses with prefix of ANTH, COMM, ECMT, ECON, POLS, PSYC, SOCI, WGST.

⁶

100-499 courses not used elsewhere.

 Graduation requirements include 3 hours of International and Cultural Diversity courses and 3 hours of Cultural Discourse courses. A course satisfying a core category, a college/department requirement, or a free elective can be used to satisfy this requirement. The required 6 hours may be met by courses satisfying other areas of a degree program.  See your academic advisor for further information.