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| LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES |
Advisor: Victor Nelson-Cisneros (Associate Dean of the College).
Some students may wish to pursue a major other than an existing disciplinary
or interdisciplinary major. Such students may petition to major in Liberal
Arts and Sciences and should submit their LAS major application to the
Committee by the end of their second year. This option permits students,
with the help of two faculty advisers from different departments, to design
special interdisciplinary concentrations according to particular interests
and needs. It is assumed that the Liberal Arts and Sciences major is interdisciplinary
in its conception and is at least as rigorous as any departmental major.
Students selecting the Liberal Arts and Sciences major must fulfill the
appropriate College degree requirements as listed in the catalog. A minimum
of nine units or a maximum of fourteen units may be counted toward this
major.
Only two units at the 100 course level can be counted toward the major
(language courses at the 100 level cannot be counted as part of the major).
At least seven and no more than twelve of the units, designated as constituting
this major, must be above the 100-course number level. One or two of these
units may be General Studies 400 and General Studies 401.
Thesis Proposal: A student declaring an LAS major should outline his or
her thesis topic and the courses that will prepare the student to write
the thesis. In particular the student should address which courses will
provide the methodological and theoretical skills to write a successful
thesis on the anticipated topic. A written proposal must be submitted
to the Principal Advisor no later than the end of the junior year. The
thesis must be completed and turned in to the Principal Advisor no later
than block seven of the senior year.
Courses which constitute the major in Liberal Arts and Sciences are designated
on the transcript by two asterisks.
A student must submit the application for a Liberal Arts and Sciences
major to the Dean's Advisory Committee during the second semester of the
sophomore year. A student wishing to apply for this major after the sophomore
year, or to change from another major to the major in Liberal Arts and
Sciences, must present persuasive evidence that such a proposal is educationally
advisable and that circumstances make it possible to achieve a satisfactory
major. The student must also submit a written statement explaining why
the proposed goals of the major cannot be achieved through a departmental
major or through outside courses taken in addition to the requirement
of a departmental major.
The Principal Advisor works closely with the student in constructing the
initial proposal, reviews and approves changes to the original proposed
major, helps the student to conceptualize and complete the thesis and
turns in the final grade. The Associate Advisor reviews the initial proposal
providing criticism and suggestions, acts as a reader of the final draft
of the thesis and recommends a final grade to the Principal Advisor. Each
faculty advisor is expected to write a letter of support for the student's
proposed program.
The program of courses should be accompanied by a typewritten description
of the concentration proposed in the major -- that is, a rationale demonstrating
the cohesiveness of the proposed program of courses. Each course in the
proposed program should be listed by course number and title, along with
a statement as to how it relates to the written description of the major.
The original application for the major should contain some indication
of what this final project or theses will be (the General Studies 400 or 401 courses mentioned above).
At the end of the senior year, the faculty advisers will submit a report
to the Dean's Advisory Committee, evaluating what the student has accomplished
in the major.
Note: Examples of successful proposals are available at the reference
desk in Tutt Library.
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