Home / Office of the Registrar / University Catalog / August 2017 Catalog / College of Liberal Arts

College of Liberal Arts, Education and Human Development

Liberal Arts

Major Programs

The Liberal Arts section of the College of Liberal Arts, Education and Human Development offers major programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in:

Anthropology Music
English Philosophy
Film and Theatre Arts Political Science
Fine Arts Romance Languages
History Sociology
International Studies Urban Studies and Planning

Minor and Certificate Programs

Minor programs are offered in most of the above-listed areas. Interdisciplinary minors in Africana Studies, Asian Studies, Disaster Resilience Studies, European Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Environmental Studies, and Women’s and Gender Studies are also available. A certificate program in Hazard Policy Studies is available through the Department of Political Science.

Requirements for Bachelor of Arts Degree

The following course requirements must be completed by all students working toward a Bachelor of Arts degree in the College of Liberal Arts, Education and Human Development. Some curricula may demand more than the minimums designated below or may call for specific courses where the general requirements allow a choice. Each student should check his or her Major curriculum on the following pages to determine the additional requirements and restrictions which apply in that particular Major.

General Course Requirements

  1. Math - Six hours. Any combination of 1031, 1032, 1115, 1116, 1125, 1126, or higher can be used to meet this requirement except where otherwise specified in the curriculum. Limitations: No credits allowed toward graduation for Mathematics 1021, 1023 or for more than nine hours of math below the 2000 level.
  2. Science - Nine hours. Six hours of one science and three hours of a different science. One of the sciences must be Biology and the other must be Earth and Environmental Sciences, Chemistry, or Physics. NOTE: Credit toward graduation is not allowed for both Biology 1083 and 1053, or for Biology 1073 and 1063.
  3. English Composition - Six hours. ENGL 1157 and ENGL 1158/1159 or their equivalent. Completion of 1158 or 1159 with a grade of C or better.
  4. Literature - Six hours of literature from any department. Limitations: Writing and linguistics courses do not fulfill this requirement. NOTE: Some Liberal Arts Majors require specific literature courses. See your individual curriculum.
  5. Arts - Three hours to be taken from the departments of Fine Arts, Music, or theatre/dance/film-related courses in Film and Theatre. Communications-related courses, housed in the Film and Theatre Department, are not useable toward Arts credits.
  6. Humanities – Nine hours. To include at least one subject different from that used for the Arts requirement (above), and at least six hours at or above the 2000 level. (If the Arts requirement is fulfilled with a 2000 or higher-level course, reduce these six hours to three.) To be taken from the Departments of Film and Theatre (non-Art courses); English; Fine Arts; Foreign Languages; History; Music; and/or Philosophy. NOTE: Any literature course in English or foreign languages used to fulfill the College requirement of six hours of literature may not count toward the Humanities requirement.
  7. Foreign Languages - Three to twelve hours. Completion of course 2001 in one foreign language or completion of course 1002 in two foreign languages offered through the Department of Foreign Languages. Unless a student is placed (by placement test and/or transfer credit) above the first course, either three semesters of one language in course sequence or two semesters each of two different languages are required. (Exceptions: BA in International Studies and BA in Fine Arts: Art History.  See individual curricula.)

NOTES: 1) Students whose native language is Spanish should confer with the Foreign Languages Department
about Spanish 2003 and 2004, which are especially designed to meet their needs and which also meet this requirement. Languages other than Spanish or French that are offered through the Department of Foreign Languages and extend through the 2001 or 2011 level may be used to meet this requirement. 2) Some 2001- and 2002-level courses in languages other than Spanish and French may not be available each semester.

  1. Social Sciences - Twelve hours to include two different subject areas with six hours at or above the 2000 level from the following subjects: Anthropology, Economics, Education, Geography, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology and Urban Studies. NOTE: In some curricula, most or all of this requirement is met within other requirements.
  2. Oral Competency- Each student should demonstrate competence in the techniques of oral communication relevant to his/her major program. Students should be able to discuss with clarity ideas and factual material in formal small group class settings and in conferences with their professors. This requirement may be fulfilled by one of the following:
    1. Successful completion of an approved course in the student’s Major department or college that requires a demonstration of oral competence as a condition of receiving a passing grade in the course.
    2. Demonstration of oral competence in an approved course in the student’s Major department or college that does not require oral competence as a condition of receiving a passing grade. If a student demonstrates oral competency in such a course, an entry shall be made on his/her transcript that oral competency has been demonstrated regardless of the final grade in the course. If a student fails to demonstrate oral competency in the approved course(s) offered by a student’s Major department or college, the student may take a course outside his/her Major department as a means of meeting the general degree requirement for oral competency, upon approval of the student’s Major department.
  3. Electives - Number of hours varies by Major. See curriculum outline in General Catalog. Limitations: Courses must be from the list of approved Liberal Arts electives; however, nine hours of credit in subjects not on the approved list are allowed. (Within those nine hours a maximum of three hours of human performance and/or health-safety are permitted.)

NOTES: At least six hours must be in courses numbered 3000 or above in a subject or subjects other than the Major and from the approved list of electives. (EDHS/EDHP/EDPE courses may not be used to fulfill this requirement.) Liberal Arts students are encouraged to plan their choice of electives with the assistance of a departmental faculty advisor in the context of their overall educational goals.

Approved Electives

Most of the curricula provide considerable flexibility for devising a program adapted to the particular interests and educational goals of the individual student. To assure the construction of a cohesive program, all students are expected to consult with a Major advisor regarding electives as well as the courses specified for the Major. Many combinations are possible, but logical planning should be the basis of all programs.

Within the limitations noted above students in the College of Liberal Arts may elect, for degree credit, any course for which they have the prerequisites from the following subjects:

Accounting English Mathematics
Anthropology Film and Theatre Music
Arts and Sciences Finance Philosophy
Bacteriology Fine Arts Physics
Biology Foreign Languages Political Science
Botany Geography Psychology
Business Administration History Social Sciences
Chemistry Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration Sociology
Computer Science Humanities Urban Studies
Economics Journalism Women's and Gender Studies
Education* Management Zoology
Earth and Environmental Sciences  Marketing  

*Only courses in Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Foundations and Research, Library Science, and Special Education.

Other Subjects

Courses in subjects not listed above normally will be accepted to the extent of nine credit hours total. This limit may be waived, if the student presents to the Dean a logical plan clearly showing the relevance of such courses to the Major program and to the educational goals of the student. Such permission must be secured before the nine-hour limit is exceeded. A maximum of three hours of any Health/ Safety and/or Human Performance course, regardless of level, may be included in the nine credit hours total.

Business Administration Component

For students who wish to obtain a foundation in business, the following courses are recommended: Accounting 2100 and 2130; Quantitative Methods—Business and Economics 2785; Finance 3300; Management 3401; and Marketing 3501. Students who plan to take a substantial number of business courses should seek the advice of the appropriate persons in the College of Business Administration.

Requirements for Bachelor of Science Degree

The following course requirements must be completed by all students working toward a Bachelor of Science degree in the College of Liberal Arts, Education and Human Development. Each student should check the Major curriculum in Urban Studies and Planning (currently the only B.S. degree offered in the College of Liberal Arts, Education and Human Development) to determine the additional requirements and restrictions which apply in that Major.

General Course Requirements

  1. Math – Six hours.
  2. Science – Nine hours. Six hours of one science and three hours of a different science. One of the sciences must be Biology and the other must be Earth and Environmental Sciences, Chemistry , or Physics. NOTE: Credit toward graduation is not allowed for both Biology 1083 and 1053 or for Biology 1073 and 1063.
  3. English Composition –Six  hours. ENGL 1157 and ENGL 1158/1159 or their equivalent. Completion of 1158 or 1159 with a grade of C or better. 
  4. Literature – Six hours of literature from any department.  Limitations:  Writing and linguistics courses do not fulfill this requirement.
  5. Arts1 – Three hours. To be taken from the departments of Fine Arts, Music, or film/theatre/dance – related courses in Film, Theatre and Communication Arts. .
  6. Humanities1 – Three hours. To be taken from any of the humanities disciplines.
  7. Social Sciences1,2 – Six hours to be taken from the social sciences.
  8. Six of the twelve hours in humanities, arts, and/or social sciences must be at the 2000 level or above.
  9. See departmental list of acceptable courses.

Transfer Credit

Transfer credits acceptable for admission purposes will be valid for degree credit in the College only to the extent to which they represent courses acceptable in the curricula of the College. The College may decline to accept transfer credits in any course in which a grade lower than a C has been received. Validation may be required for credits earned more than 10 years before admission to the College. Regarding work from a two-year school, the college will honor up to 60 hours (64 hours for Jazz Studies students). The college will determine which hours are most useable toward the course of study.

University and Major Residence Requirements

Transfer students should note that the last 25% of coursework must be taken in residence while enrolled in the college from which the degree is to be earned. In the College of Liberal Arts, Education and Human Development, transfer students must take at least 50% of the hours in the Major subject (with a minimum of 50% of the hours in courses numbered 3000 or above) at UNO. Candidates for a degree must earn a C average in all courses in their Major subject taken while they are registered in the College.

Program Planning

All students should plan their programs in advance in order to receive maximum benefit from their college years. Besides examining their own goals, students should consult with advisors to take advantage of alternatives in General Degree Requirements and electives.

Students are responsible for knowing degree requirements and for enrolling in courses that fit into their degree programs. They are strongly encouraged to complete the requirements in English, Foreign Language, Mathematics, and Science at the earliest possible time in their college career.

Each student is also responsible for notifying the college office of graduation plans at the beginning of the semester preceding the student’s final semester. At that point, a graduation checkout sheet is prepared which outlines the student’s current scholastic position and indicates the course requirements remaining for the degree. The college encourages students to sign up for a graduation check-sheet when they have reached 75 hours of coursework.

Requirements for a Minor

With the exception of Film and Theatre and Music minors, a Liberal Arts Minor requires a minimum of 18 hours and a 2.0 average in the Minor field. See Minor in individual curricula for specific courses required.

At least nine hours of coursework must be taken at UNO, and for a minor requiring six or more hours at the 3000 level or above, at least six of those hours must be taken at UNO. For minors requiring fewer than six hours of 3000- or 4000-level courses all of these hours must be taken at UNO. No pass/fail courses will apply toward a Minor.

Minor in Africana Studies

The College of Liberal Arts, Education and Human Development administers the interdisciplinary Minor in Africana Studies. The purpose of this Minor is to acquaint the student with current and historical knowledge of the black experience in Africa, the Americas, and other parts of the world drawing from courses in the College of Liberal Arts, Education and Human Development as well as approved courses offered by the other Colleges. The Minor signifies the student has a basic, general understanding of the significant contributions made by African people in Africa and in the African Diaspora.

The requirements of the minor are as follows:

  1. Completion of the requirements of a degree in one of the colleges at UNO.
  2. Completion of History 1010, either English 2071 or 2072, and either History 3551 or 3552.
  3. Completion of nine credit hours to be taken from a list of approved courses. To complete 18 credit hours, the student must choose courses from a minimum of three disciplines. At least 50% of the credit hours must consist of courses at the 3000 level or above.
  4. The Coordinator may permit substitution of as many as six of these 18 hours with UNO Special Topic or Independent Study courses. Appropriate courses offered at UNO or other universities may be suggested as substitutes. The Coordinator may assign each student to a faculty advisor who will help the student design the Minor program. Courses on Africana Studies in the Major field that are counted as credit hours for that Major may not also be counted toward this Minor.

Interested students should contact the Coordinator of Area Studies Minors through the College of Liberal Arts, Education and Human Development office.

Minor in Asian Studies

The College of Liberal Arts, Education and Human Development administers the interdisciplinary Minor in Asian Studies. The purpose of this Minor is to acquaint students with current and historical knowledge of the Asian region, peoples, and cultures. The Minor signifies students have a basic and general understanding of this part of the world. The requirements of this Minor are as follows:

  1. Completion of the requirements of a degree in one of the colleges at UNO.
  2. Completion of four semesters (a minimum of 12 credit hours) of Chinese, Japanese, or other relevant language through 2002 or its equivalent.
  3. Completion of History 2201 and 2202 (the survey of Asian civilizations).
  4. Credit in courses on Asia to be approved by the Coordinator, for a total of 12 credit hours in addition to the language and history requirement. At least six credit hours must be at the 3000 level or above. In addition, six of the 12 credit hours must be chosen from at least two disciplines outside of history and language, with no more than nine credit hours from any one discipline. Courses on Asia in the major field that are counted as credit hours for that Major may not also be counted toward this Minor.
  5. A minimum 2.0 grade-point average must be attained in all courses in the minor program.

Interested students should contact the Coordinator of Area Studies Minors through the College of Liberal Arts, Education and Human Development office.

Minor in Disaster Management & Community Resilience

The Minor in Disaster Management & Community Resilience draws its required and optional courses from disciplines in the College of Liberal Arts, Education and Human Development, and the College of Business. This interdisciplinary Minor capitalizes on the unique expertise resident in UNO's faculty to provide students with an understanding of how hazards affect communities, government and non-profit agencies, businesses and social systems.

The requirements of the minor are as follows:

  1. Completion of the requirements of a degree in one of the colleges at UNO.
  2. Completion of four core courses: URBN 4150, SOC 4871, GEOG 4805, and HIST 2050.
  3. Completion of two courses from an approved list * (in addition to the core courses).
  4. A 2.0 grade-point average in all courses used to fulfill this Minor.

*Approved courses for this minor: SOC 4098 (when hazard-related topic); ANTH 4721; GEOG 4150, URBN 4140, URBN 4800 (hazard-related topic), URBN 4810; MURP 4140, MURP 4145, MURP 4800 (when hazard-related topic); PADM 4800 (when hazard-related topic), PADM 4810, POLI 4170; FIN 4311.

To meet the prerequisite requirements for some of the approved courses, students may need to complete more than the minimum 18 hours required for this Minor.

Minor in European Studies

The College of Liberal Arts, Education and Human Development administers the interdisciplinary Minor in European Studies. The purpose of this Minor is to acquaint the student with historical and current knowledge of the European region, peoples, societies, economies, and cultures. The Minor signifies students have a basic and general understanding of this part of the world.

The requirements of this Minor are as follows:

  1. Completion of the requirements of a degree in one of the colleges at UNO.
  2. Completion of courses in French, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, or other relevant languages through 2002 or its equivalent.
  3. Completion of six credit hours in one of two core curricula:
    1. Core I: Social Sciences (Anthropology 2052; Geography 3190, Geography of Western Europe; History 1001, 1002; Political Science 2600).
    2. Core II: Arts and Letters (English 2371, 2372; Fine Arts 2201, 2202; Music 2201, 2202; Philosophy 2311, 2312).
  4. Credit courses in European Studies to be approved by the Coordinator, for a total of 12 credit hours with a minimum 2.0 grade-point average, to include at least six credit hours at the 3000 level or above. These 12 credit hours must be chosen from a minimum of three disciplines and must cover different time periods. Courses on Europe in the Major field that are counted as credits for that major may not also be counted toward this Minor.
  5. A minimum 2.0 grade-point average must be attained in all courses in the Minor program.

Interested students should contact the Coordinator of Area Studies Minors through the College of Liberal Arts, Education and Human Development office.

Minor in Geography

A Minor in Geography requires the student take a total of 18 credit hours including the following:

  • Geography 1001 or 1002.
  • Six hours selected from among Geography courses at the 2000 level
  • Nine hours selected from among Geography courses at the 3000 level or above.
  • A letter grade of "C" or better must be earned in each course.

Minor in Women's and Gender Studies

The College of Liberal Arts, Education and Human Development administers the interdisciplinary Minor in Women's and Gender Studies. The purpose of this Minor is to acquaint the student with current and historical knowledge of the fields of Women's and Gender Studies. The Minor signifies the student has a basic and general understanding of existing scholarship on women and gender. The requirements of the minor are as follows:

  1. Completion of the requirements of a degree in one of the colleges at UNO.
  2. Completion of WGS 2010, Introduction to Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
  3. Credit in courses on Women's and Gender Studies, to be approved by the Director of Women's and Gender Studies, for a total of 18 credit hours with a 2.0 grade point average, to include at least 50% of the credit hours at the 3000 level or above.
  4. To complete the 18 credit hours, the student must choose from a minimum of three disciplines, with no more than six credit hours from any one discipline.

Interested students can contact the Director of the Women's and Gender Studies Program through the College of Liberal Arts, Education and Human Development office.

School of Urban Planning and Regional Studies

UNO’s School of Urban Planning and Regional Studies (SUPRS) faculty and students engage with and directly participate in research and service central to the recovery and restoration of the greater New Orleans area.  SUPRS offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in Urban Studies, a Master of Science degree in Transportation, as well as the Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP), the only professionally accredited urban planning program within the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas.  SUPRS guides students to meet the challenge of simultaneously preserving cultural traditions and building workable twenty-first century communities.  The academic programs are supported by the Center for Urban and Public Affairs and the UNO Transportation Institute, both of which offer additional research opportunities to students.