Liberal Arts and Sciences Requirements

Requirements for the LAS Major:

Students selecting the Liberal Arts and Sciences major must fulfill the appropriate College degree requirements as listed in the catalog. A minimum of nine units or a maximum of fourteen units may be counted toward this major.
Only two units at the 100 course level can be counted toward the major (language courses at the 100 level cannot be counted as part of the major). At least seven and no more than twelve of the units, designated as constituting this major, must be above the 100-course number level. One or two of these units may be General Studies 400 and General Studies 401.
Thesis Proposal: A student declaring an LAS major should outline his or her thesis topic and the courses that will prepare the student to write the thesis. In particular the student should address which courses will provide the methodological and theoretical skills to write a successful thesis on the anticipated topic. A written proposal must be submitted to the Principal Adviser no later than the end of the junior year. The thesis must be completed and turned in to the Principal Adviser no later than block seven of the senior year.
Courses which constitute the major in Liberal Arts and Sciences are designated on the transcript by two asterisks.
A student must submit the application for a Liberal Arts and Sciences major to the Dean's Advisory Committee during the second semester of the sophomore year. A student wishing to apply for this major after the sophomore year, or to change from another major to the major in Liberal Arts and Sciences, must present persuasive evidence that such a proposal is educationally advisable and that circumstances make it possible to achieve a satisfactory major. The student must also submit a written statement explaining why the proposed goals of the major cannot be achieved through a departmental major or through outside courses taken in addition to the requirement of a departmental major.
The Principal Adviser works closely with the student in constructing the initial proposal, reviews and approves changes to the original proposed major, helps the student to conceptualize and complete the thesis and turns in the final grade. The Associate Adviser reviews the initial proposal providing criticism and suggestions, acts as a reader of the final draft of the thesis and recommends a final grade to the Principal Adviser. Each faculty adviser is expected to write a letter of support for the student's proposed program.
The program of courses should be accompanied by a typewritten description of the concentration proposed in the major -- that is, a rationale demonstrating the cohesiveness of the proposed program of courses. Each course in the proposed program should be listed by course number and title, along with a statement as to how it relates to the written description of the major. The original application for the major should contain some indication of what this final project or theses will be. (See point 3 above.)
At the end of the senior year, the faculty advisers will submit a report to the Dean's Advisory Committee, evaluating what the student has accomplished in the major.
Note: Examples of successful proposals are available at the reference desk in Tutt Library.