The Liberal Arts Program represents a contemporary approach to the traditional concept of a broad, non-specialist undergraduate formation in the humanities that is tailored to the environment of a research intensive university. The program emphasizes a classical liberal arts education, yet approaches the liberal arts from a global perspective emphasizing diversity and difference and providing new ways of engaging the liberal arts.
The program will expose students to texts from, and histories of, a wide range of cultures, societies and different historical periods. Students will be able to choose from three intellectual streams: Literature and the Arts (including Theatre and Architecture), History, Culture, and Society, and Philosophy and Religion. Students will be expected to satisfy distribution requirements across regions of the world and historical periods. Instruction in a language other than English will also be a requirement.
The Liberal Arts Program affirms the Faculty of Arts' commitment to the humanities and its core mission to foster cross-disciplinary perspectives, diverse and engaged communities, and critical thinking by providing the tools for critical inquiry and teaching effective communication skills.