Liberal Studies Curriculum (LSC)

Saint Michael's College believes that an educated person must have a grounding in a number of different fields, as a complement to the major. Our Liberal Studies Curriculum gives you the tools to pursue intellectual challenge in many fields of study, appreciate artistic expression and become a lifelong learner.

Whether or not you've settled on a major, you can look forward to taking a wide variety of courses in your first two years. If you already know what you want to major in, our curriculum allows you to pursue courses relevant to your major starting in your first year while simultaneously exploring the wider curriculum.

The following requirements apply to students who matriculate in 2013-2014:

First-Year Seminar (one course)

Foundations in Faith, Values, and Thought:

Fundamental Philosophical Questions (one course)

• One 100-Level Philosophy course

Study of Christian Traditions and Thought (two courses)

• One 100-Level Religious Studies course
• One upper-level course in the study of Christian Traditions and Thought.

Ethical Decision-Making

• Fulfilled by a course or courses in the major; every major is designed to allow students to fulfill this automatically.

Pathways to Understanding the World:

Global Issues that Impact the Common Good (one course)

• Courses from a variety of areas fulfill this requirement; consult the electronic catalog and KnightVision.

Historical Studies (one course)

• One qualifying course from the History Department or selected courses from Classics, Humanities or Fine Arts

Literary Studies (one course)

• One course in English Literature or selected courses from the departments of Classics, Humanities and Modern Languages

Processes of Scientific Reasoning (one course)

• One course with laboratory from the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Studies, Psychology or Physics

Quantitative Reasoning (one course)

• One qualifying course in Mathematics or selected quantitative courses from Computer Science, Economics or Psychology

Second Language (zero to two courses)

• Zero, one or two courses (depending on placement) from Chinese, French, German, Ancient Greek, Italian, Japanese, Latin or Spanish. Placement testing is available in other languages as well.

Social and Institutional Dimensions of Human Behavior (one course)

• One qualifying course from the Social Science departments

Participatory Learning and Competencies:

Artistic Experience (one half-course or full course)

• One half-course (or a full course) in creative or performing art from the areas of Studio Art, Digital Arts, Creative Writing, Dance, Music or Theatre

Experiential Learning

• Internship, Community-Engaged Learning Courses, Faculty-Student Research, Study Abroad or designated co-curricular experiences; may not be fulfilled in the first year of college studies.

Oral Communication

• Included throughout the curriculum; each major is designed so that the student fulfills this requirement automatically.

Written Communication

• Included in courses throughout the curriculum, especially in First-Year Seminars and in at least one designated course in each major.