Associate in Liberal Studies

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Liberal Studies

Associate in Arts in Liberal Studies

The Liberal Studies program is designed for students who have not yet chosen a concentration and provides a foundation of study that prepares students to transfer to four-year colleges and universities. The curriculum is built on a foundation of general education classes, supplemented with elective courses that develop depth in the prerequisite knowledge required for further study at the baccalaureate level. Students are encouraged to choose elective courses in a discipline in which they may major at the baccalaureate level.

Please note: A student is only eligible to receive one associate in arts in Liberal Studies degree. They may not receive a second or subsequent degree in Liberal Studies with different concentrations.

Areas of Concentration

Art
Biological Sciences
Education (K-8)
Education (7-12)
English
History
Mathematics
Political Science
Science
Social Work

Upon completion of the program, graduates will be able to:

Demonstrate skills as critical thinkers, readers and writers.
Describe the interaction of history, culture, literature, economics and science as studied within a broad liberal arts curriculum.
Analyze and solve quantitative problems.

Curriculum

Course Number	General Education Requirements	Credits
ENGL-100	English Composition	3
ENGL-115	Introduction to Literature	3
	Economics or Political Science Elective	3
	History Elective	3
	Psychology or Sociology Elective	3
	English Elective	3
	Arts and Humanities Electives	6
	Art or Music Elective	3
	Mathematics Elective	3
	Science Elective with Lab	4
	Liberal Studies Electives	27
	Total Credits Required For Degree	61

Liberal Studies Electives Areas

ACSS Academic Success	FREN French	PHIL Philosophy
ARTH Art Appreciation & History	GRMN German	PHYS Physics
ARTS Studio Art	HIST History	POLS Political Science
BIOL Biology	IDST Interdisciplinary Studies	PSYC Psychology
BIOM Marine Biology	LITR Literature	SOCI Sociology
CHEM Chemistry	MATH Mathematics	SPAN Spanish
ECON Economics	MUSI Music
ENGL English	NUTR Nutrition (NUTR-110 only)*
ENVR Environmental Science	OCEA Oceanography (OCEA-105/OCEA-205 only)

*Although NUTR110 meets Southern Maine Community College’s lab science requirement, it may not transfer as a lab science to another college/university.

The following courses may be used as Liberal Studies electives, but are limited to a total of six (6) credits (no more than two courses combined):

ACCT Accounting	EDUC Education
BHHS Behavioral Health and Human Services	MKTG Marketing
BUSN Business	MGMT Management
CJUS Criminal Justice	SWRK Social Work
ECED Early Childhood Education

*Courses transfer as general electives to USM

Elective Listing by Subject

In addition to the academic major course requirements, programs at Southern Maine Community College have general education/core course requirements. Students often have a choice within a subject area(s). Use the following list, in conjunction with your overall program requirements, to choose your general education/core courses.

Arts and Humanities: ARTS, ARTH, ENGL(110), FREN, GRMN, IDST(140, 150, 160), LITR, MATH(120), MUSI, PHIL, SPAN
Art: ARTS, ARTH
Economics: ECON
Humanities: FREN, GRMN, IDST(140, 150, 160), LITR, MATH(120) PHIL, SPAN
English: ENGL, LITR
History: HIST
Mathematics: MATH
Music: IDST(160), MUSI
Political Science: POLS
Psychology: PSYC
Science with Lab: BIOL, BIOM, CHEM, ENVR, OCEA(105 and 205), PHYS, NUTR(110)*
Social Science: ECON, HIST, IDST(170 and 180), POLS, PSYC, SOCI,
Sociology: SOCI

Please note: General education/core course requirements must be met with 100 level courses or higher. Developmental coursework does not count toward meeting these requirements. 

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