Academics
The College of Arts and Sciences offers curricula leading to the degrees of bachelor of arts and bachelor of science. All Arts & Sciences majors, except for Biochemistry & Computer Science, can work toward both degrees.
Bachelor of Arts Degree
Students who wish to graduate with a bachelor of arts degree must complete the College graduation requirements, the UNL Comprehensive Education requirements for Information Discovery and Retrieval and Integrative Studies, the Essential Studies requirements for the BA degree, the requirements for a major, and the requirements for a minor or minors if required by the major.
Bachelor of Science Degree
The bachelor of science degree is characterized by a strong prescriptive major, an essential scientific base, and the inclusion of a general liberal education as an important aspect of the degree.The major must include between 50-70 credit hours including required collateral courses in other departments. For students who wish to acquire two majors in two departments, the departments will be asked to make some accommodation for the students. In addition to the general education requirements, a student must establish a scientific base by completing courses in mathematics and natural sciences.
General Education Requirements
The general education requirements for students in the College of Arts and Sciences consists of four components:
- Information Discovery and Retrieval,
- Essential Studies,
- Integrative Studies, and
- Co-Curricular Experience
Nature and Objectives of General Education
The faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences has adopted the following statements on the nature and objectives of General Education. These statements provide the rationale for the requirements that follow.
General Education requirements are designed to further the purposes of general liberal education by encouraging study in several different areas and providing some common undergraduate experience for all students. A liberal education, including the general education requirements, major requirements, and electives, should:
- equip students with modes of thought and methods of inquiry that will help them gain access to unfamiliar bodies of knowledge;
- enable students to integrate knowledge from different disciplines and areas;
- encourage students to consider the ethical and moral implications of knowledge they acquire;
- help students discover, develop, and appreciate their own creative potential;
- help students understand and appreciate their own cultural heritage;
- cultivate in students a pluralistic outlook by helping them to acquire a knowledge of national and ethnic cultures other than their own;
- promote an appreciation of the nature, importance, and role of research in the creation of new and the reappraisal of old knowledge;
- foster new interests, develop intellectual curiosity, and stimulate a love of learning; and
- encourage students to engage in critical self-examination as well as thoughtful and active participation in society.
In seeking to accomplish the above, students should develop the following intellectual abilities:
- to reason critically,
- to analyze objectively,
- to think creatively,
- to perceive assumptions,
- to make judgments on the basis of thoughtfully considered values,
- to construct arguments and use evidence,
- to write and speak effectively, and
- to listen and observe perceptively.
- the aesthetic and intellectual experience of literature and the arts;
- the development and diversity of human culture throughout history;
- the behavior of human beings and the workings of their social, economic, and political institutions; and
- the nature of the physical and biological world.
For more information and specific requirements:
