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BA in Humanities

(58-86 hours; some courses may fulfill university core requirements.)

With faculty advisor approval, students will select one of nine emphases: art history, classical studies, comparative literature, English, foreign literature, history, media arts (film), music, or philosophy. The emphasis area does not constitute a major in that particular discipline—e.g., a humanities major who emphasizes art history does not receive the equivalent training in the history of art that an art history major does. The emphasis area is a portion of the course work devoted to a specific discipline that complements the student's interdisciplinary work in the major (see requirement 7 below).

Major Requirements

  1. When possible, honors sections are recommended.

  2. Complete the following:
    • Hum 250.

  3. Complete the following historical foundation courses:
    1. Hum 201 and 202.
    2. ClCv 110 or 241.
    3. Hum 240 or 242.
    4. And two courses from the following:
      • Hum 260, 261, 262.

  4. Complete one course from the following:
    • Phil 110, 213, 214.

  5. Complete an upper-division foreign language course (320 or higher) beyond the GE requirement. Majors are strongly encouraged to take a literature course in which works are read in the foreign language. Conversation courses, ASL, and music courses do not meet this requirement. The requirement may be met with European, Asian, or Middle-Eastern languages that have a written literary tradition and that are a language of scholarship. French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese are especially recommended, as are classical Greek and Latin.

  6. Complete the following:
    • Hum 350 (prerequisite: Engl 311 or Phil 311; Hum 201, 202, 250, and at least three of the remaining historical foundation courses [item 3 above]).

  7. Complete a core of 12 hours or more (more if music) in an area of emphasis from the following: classical studies, comparative literature, English, history, art history, foreign literature, philosophy, media arts (film), or music (n.b. philosophy or foreign literature courses taken to meet requirement 6 above may not count toward emphases in those disciplines). Students wishing to pursue graduate work in their emphasis area are strongly encouraged to devote their supporting course work (see requirement 9 below) as well to their emphasis. Faculty advisors must approve the student's emphasis area. Courses toward the emphasis area are to be selected from the approved list of courses available from the advisement center. Exceptions must be cleared by the humanities section head. At least 6 of the 12 hours must be in upper-division courses.

  8. Complete two capstone courses from the following: Hum 420R, 425R, 430R, 440R, 460R, 490R. (Prerequisite: Hum 250, 350; all historical foundation courses.)

  9. Supporting course work: an 8-9 hour block of course work that supports the student's education and career goals. The block of courses must be coherent and must be approved in writing by the student's faculty advisor. The following are possibilities:
    1. Students wishing to provide greater focus to their interdisciplinary work—especially those wishing to pursue graduate work in interdisciplinary humanities or in a particular humanistic discipline—should devote this block of course work to a particular specialty (e.g., a period or area of concentration) or further work in their emphasis area.
    2. Students wishing to combine a humanities major with preparation for professional schools (e.g., MBA programs) that may require specialized background or quantitative skills beyond those already received may use this block of course work to acquire and strengthen those areas (e.g., CS 142, Acc 200, etc.).
    3. Any university minor will qualify.