Program of Liberal Studies (BA)
The normal method of instruction in the Program is through the reading and discussion of primary texts. The student is asked to take an active role in the learning process. Particularly in the seminar, the authors of the great books are considered to be the primary teachers.
The Program requires writing throughout the curriculum, especially in the tutorial classes. In the final year, all students have the option to write a senior thesis, usually involving extensive research, under the direction of a faculty advisor. The senior thesis offers students a particularly intensive writing experience and an opportunity to investigate in depth a specialized topic of interest.
Despite the Program’s 68-credit curriculum, Program students may carry second majors, supplementary majors, minors, and concentrations, and they may participate in study abroad programs. When necessary, students may satisfy a limited number of Program requirements by taking non-departmental courses with comparable content. Such exemptions are granted only with the permission of the Program’s Director of Undergraduate Studies and are subject to strict limitations.
Students normally declare a PLS major by the beginning of April of the first year. Declaration of major forms are available by early March in the department office (320 O’Shaughnessy) and website. Students interested in entering the Program are urged to complete the University science and mathematics requirements in the first year. Students may join the Program after the beginning of the sophomore year, although this requires one to make up one or more courses.
Sequence of Courses
| Sophomore Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours | |
| PLS 20201 | Literature I: The Lyric Poem | 3 |
| PLS 20301 | Philosophical Inquiry | 3 |
| PLS 23101 | Great Books Seminar I | 4 |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| PLS 20302 | The Bible and Its Interpretation | 3 |
| PLS 20412 | Fundamental Concepts of Natural Science | 3 |
| PLS 23102 | Great Books Seminar II | 4 |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Junior Year | ||
| First Semester | ||
| PLS 30301 | Ethics | 3 |
| PLS 30411 | Scientific Inquiry: Theories and Practices | 3 |
| PLS 30501 | Music and Meaning | 3 |
| PLS 33101 | Great Books Seminar III | 4 |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| PLS 30202 | Lit II: The Longer Forms | 3 |
| PLS 30302 | Political and Social Theory | 3 |
| PLS 33102 | Great Books Seminar IV | 4 |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Senior Year | ||
| First Semester | ||
| PLS 40301 | Christian Theological Tradition | 3 |
| PLS 40601 | Intellectual and Cultural History | 3 |
| PLS 43101 | Great Books Seminar V | 4 |
| PLS 48701 | Thesis-Tutorial | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| PLS 40302 | Metaphysics and Epistemology | 3 |
| PLS 40412 | Science, Society and the Human Person | 3 |
| PLS 43102 | Great Books Seminar VI | 4 |
| PLS 48702 | Thesis-Tutorial | 2 |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Total Hours | 95 | |