The humanities major is an interdisciplinary program designed for students who wish to concentrate in more than one field or discipline. The major leads to a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree and offers considerable flexibility, but students should choose courses in consultation with their primary advisor.
In addition to courses taken within Humanities (HUMN), an outside area of study is required and can be fulfilled by choosing one of the following: a major, minor or certificate in another discipline (additional courses may be necessary to meet the required 18 hours); 12 hours in one discipline plus 6 hours in a different discipline; 18 hours chosen according to a common theme (to be determined in consultation with and approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies).
Requirements
Required Courses and Credits
A minimum of 54 credit hours is required for the major, including 21 upper-division HUMN credit hours. All required HUMN courses and all Outside Area of Study courses must be passed with a C- or better and cannot be taken pass/fail. No more than 45 credits in HUMN may be applied to overall graduation requirements. Students must have a GPA of at least 2.000 in the major in order to graduate.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| Any three of the following introductory courses: | 9 | |
| Forms of Narrative: An Introduction to Humanities | ||
| Visualizing Culture: An Introduction to Humanities | ||
| Conflicts in History: Civilization and Culture: An Introduction to Humanities | ||
| Sound and Meaning | ||
| HUMN 2000 | Methods and Approaches to the Humanities | 3 |
| One lower- or upper-division HUMN course | 3 | |
| Upper-division HUMN courses | 21 | |
| Outside Area of Study | 18 | |
| Choose one of the following courses of study outside of HUMN: | ||
A major, minor or certificate another discipline (additional courses may be necessary to meet the required number of credit hours if the minor or certificate requires fewer than 18 credit hours.) | ||
12 credit hours in one discipline plus 6 credit hours in a different discipline | ||
18 credit hours chosen according to a common theme (to be determined in consultation with and approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies) | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 54 | |
Graduating in Four Years
Consult the Four-Year Guarantee Requirements for information on eligibility. Because the humanities major is unique in requiring courses from a number of different departments in addition to its own courses, it is important that students wishing to graduate in four years declare the major early and meet regularly with a major advisor. The concept of "adequate progress" as it is used here refers only to maintaining eligibility for the four-year guarantee; it is not a requirement for the major. To maintain adequate progress in humanities, students should meet the following requirements:
- Complete the lower-division courses, including three of the following four 1000-level introductory courses (HUMN 1001, HUMN 1002, HUMN 1003, HUMN 1004) and HUMN 2000 by the end of the fourth semester.
- Complete at least two courses in the outside area of study by the end of the fourth semester.
- Complete 15 of the remaining credit hours by the end of the sixth semester—at least three of these must be upper-division humanities courses.
- Complete all remaining required courses by the end of the eighth semester.
Recommended Four-Year Plan of Study
Through the required HUMN coursework for the major, students will fulfill all 12 credits of the Arts & Humanities area of the Gen Ed Distribution Requirement.
| Year One | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Credit Hours | |
| one 1000-level HUMN course | 3 | |
| one 1000-level HUMN course | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Natural Sciences with lab) | 4 | |
| Gen. Ed. Skills course (example: lower-division Written Communication) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| one 1000-level HUMN course | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Skills course (example: QRMS) | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Natural Sciences) | 4 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 13 | |
| Year Two | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| HUMN 2000 | Methods and Approaches to the Humanities | 3 |
| Outside Area of Study | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution/Diversity course (example: Social Sciences/Global Perspective) | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Natural Sciences) | 4 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| HUMN upper-division course | 3 | |
| Outside Area of Study | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution/Diversity course (example: Social Sciences/US Perspective) | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Natural Sciences) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Year Three | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| HUMN upper-division course | 3 | |
| Outside Area of Study | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Skills course (example: upper-division Written Communication) | 3 | |
| Upper-division Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| HUMN upper-division course | 3 | |
| Outside Area of Study (Upper Division) | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Social Sciences) | 3 | |
| Upper-division Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Year Four | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| HUMN upper-division course | 3 | |
| HUMN upper-division course | 3 | |
| Outside Area of Study (Upper Division) | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Social Sciences) | 3 | |
| Upper-division Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| HUMN upper-division course | 3 | |
| HUMN upper-division course | 3 | |
| Outside Area of Study (Upper Division) | 3 | |
| Upper-division Elective | 3 | |
| Upper-division Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 120 | |
Learning Outcomes
Students with a major in Humanities will be able to:
- Understand, interpret and compare works of human expression and cultural practice (visual arts, literature, film, music, etc.) in a variety of historical and geographical contexts.
- Understand, interpret and apply critical theories about culture and cultural products.
- Develop and refine important skills such as critical thinking and close analysis.
- Learn to articulate complex ideas and interpretations through both written and verbal communication.
- Develop creative and flexible thinking and problem solving skills as they learn to integrate different interpretative approaches and disciplines into a focused program of study.