The School of Liberal Arts

Mailing Address

School of Liberal Arts 102
Newcomb Hall
Tulane University New Orleans, LA 70118

http://tulane.edu/liberal-arts/

Telephone Numbers

Phone: (504) 865-5225
Fax: (504) 865-5224

Carole Haber
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Dean

Requirements for Students in the School of Liberal Arts

A liberal arts education helps students develop and improve necessary skills of critical thought and analysis, while learning to express complex analytical arguments clearly, concisely, and coherently in written prose and oral presentations. The essence of a liberal arts education is that it combines both breadth and depth. Breadth assures that students have a basic exposure to the diverse subjects of the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, with their distinctive ways of defining issues, thinking about problems, assessing evidence and reaching conclusions. Breadth also ensures that students have some understanding of the fine arts and how such works might be understood. Depth requires students to gain a deeper understanding of a discipline and its modes of thought, with all the subtleties and complexities that this entails, while learning how difficult it is to attain anything approaching true mastery.

Students completing a BA or BFA degree in the School of Liberal Arts must complete a minimum of 120 credits, 66 of which are above the 1000-level with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.000 and a major GPA of at least 2.000.

Students completing majors in Anthropology, Economics, or Linguistics may elect to complete a BS or BA degree. For information on the BS requirements, consult the relevant departmental section of this catalog.

The Faculty of the School of Liberal Arts believes that to achieve a breadth appropriate to the goals of the liberal arts education, students need to go beyond the requirements of the Tulane University Core Curriculum. Therefore, students in the School of Liberal Arts must enhance the general core with courses in the following areas:

Foreign Language Requirement

The Liberal Arts Faculty believes that in an era of globalization when people of all nations are increasingly mixing, doing business with each other, and needing to understand foreign cultures, students should strive to achieve real proficiency in a foreign language. As a step toward that goal, all students receive language instruction at the college level. Minimally, students demonstrate basic proficiency by passing a foreign language course at Tulane at the 2030-level or above. Students who demonstrate proficiency at the 2030-level upon arrival at Tulane must satisfy the foreign language requirement by taking a higher level course in that same language. Students may not satisfy this requirement on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. Language Courses at the 3000-level or above, taken in fulfillment of the foreign language requirement, may also count toward a major. Please see the Language Learning Center website for information regarding Foreign Language Placement requirements.

Writing Intensive Requirement

Writing is the most important skill that a student masters in a liberal arts education. In order to assure that all of its students have achieved a high level of writing proficiency by the time they graduate, the School of Liberal Arts requires them to take one approved writing-intensive course beyond the writing proficiency requirement of the general core. Students may satisfy this requirement by taking a course that is designated “writing-intensive” in the course schedule or, with the approval of the instructor, by signing up for a Writing Practicum associated with one of their regular 3-credit-hour courses that meets the same writing-intensive requirements.

If a course is to satisfy the writing-intensive requirement, it must require
1) At least 5000 words (20 pages) of expository, analytical writing, whether distributed among a number of short assignments or fewer, longer papers. Creative and technical writing assignments do not qualify for inclusion. Business School courses may not be used to fulfill this requirement. Creative writing theses may count as long as they include an analytic component of at least 20 pages.
2) Sole authorship by an individual student.
3) Regular, detailed evaluation by the instructor of the written work for organization, content, grammar and technical presentation.
4) Revision of at least one project totaling 2500 words, with re-evaluation by the instructor.

Students are encouraged, but not required, to satisfy the writing-intensive requirement with a course in their major. Students may satisfy this requirement with a capstone course in the major, as long as the writing requirements of the course achieve the defined minimum for a writing-intensive course, or with a senior honors thesis. There is a separate grade for all Writing Practica. A letter grade must be assigned for both the course and the practicum; the S/U option may not be used to satisfy the writing requirement.

Distribution Requirements

In order to achieve the minimal breadth that the faculty deems appropriate to a liberal arts education, all students in the School of Liberal Arts must take the following courses in addition to those required by the general core:

Humanities and Fine Arts:

One additional course in either the Humanities or the Fine Arts for students completing a B.A. or B.S. degree beyond the two required by the general core. Students must assure that at least one of the three courses is a Humanities course and at least one is a Fine Arts course.

Social Sciences:

One additional course in the Social Sciences for students completing a B.A. or B.S. degree beyond the two required by the general core. Students must assure that the three courses are not all from the same Social Science department or program.

Science and Mathematics:

The faculty of the School of Liberal Arts believes that an adequate exposure to mathematics and science is central to the goal of breadth in a liberal arts education. Therefore, Liberal Arts students completing a B.A. or B.S. degree must take one additional course in science or mathematics, beyond the quantitative reasoning requirement, the lab science requirement, and the math-science core requirement.

Service Learning

Courses that offer a service learning experience are available through various departments. In service learning, the student completes a community service activity that is tied closely to the academic content of the course. Some courses will require a service activity of 20 to 40 hours; others will offer students the option of an extra course credit for completing 40 hours of community service and an extra paper or project. Students complete a reflection component, such as a weekly journal or regular discussions of their community service experiences. Community sites for service learning include city schools, nursing homes, medical facilities, and other service and treatment centers. In the School of Liberal Arts, students may apply a maximum of two credits of service learning toward their degree. More information can be obtained from the Center for Public Service at http://cps.tulane.edu/.

Major Component

A major field of study gives each student the opportunity to explore a single area of inquiry in depth and to gain the self-confidence derived from mastery of a subject. Major programs are listed below and must be selected no later than the beginning of a student's fourth semester of college study. Students may elect to complete more than one major. They must complete all courses for each major and a total of at least 18 different courses in the two majors. At least half of the course work required for majors must be completed at Tulane University.

Major Programs

Coordinate Majors Programs

Some coordinate major programs also are available. These coordinate majors require a primary undergraduate major. Some coordinate majors restrict the choice of primary major. Students must complete all courses for each major and a total of at least 18 different courses in the two majors.

Self-Designed Majors

A student with a 3.000 cumulative grade-point average may construct a major program by grouping courses from different academic departments. Such self-designed majors must include at least 10 courses, more than half of which must be at the 3000-level or above; no more than two courses below the 3000-level may be taken in any one department. A self-designed major cannot be a student's primary major. A student wishing approval of a self-designed major must prepare a proposal including the title of the major, proposed list of courses, rationale, and appropriate departmental approval. This proposal must be submitted for review to the school's Committee on Undergraduate Academic Requirements before the end of the student's sixth semester. As these proposals often require revision and resubmission, they should be submitted earlier than this deadline. Detailed instructions for preparing the proposal can be found at tulane.edu/liberal-arts/upload/Self-Designed-Majors.pdf.

Minor Component

The liberal arts and sciences colleges allow students to complete one or two minors. The minor is optional and designed to give structure to the study of a secondary field of interest chosen by the student. Students must complete at least 27 credits in the major that do not overlap with the minor. Students who elect to complete the requirements for a minor must earn a grade point average of at least 2.000 in courses counting toward that minor. No courses counting toward the student's first minor will count toward the student's second minor. Individual departments may have additional restrictions on major-minor overlap. Students should consult the department listings for additional information.

Minor Programs

Internships

Some departments offer internships for academic credit as part of the major. An internship combines a relevant academic component with experiential learning. The academic component may, for example, consist of a term paper, a number of short papers, or discussions of a number of books. Internships ordinarily are open only to those students completing a major in the department that will award the credit. Students participating in internships register for Internship Studies (course numbers 4560, 4570) within the appropriate department after having made initial arrangements with a professor who will sponsor the internship. Registration is completed in the academic department sponsoring the internship. A student may not take a salaried position outside the university while earning credit for an internship, except where such an arrangement is required by the cooperating organization for insurance purposes. If a student must take a salaried position for this reason, a letter to this effect from the cooperating organization must be filed with the chair of the sponsoring department prior to the end of the add period.

Only one internship may be completed each semester. Students may earn a maximum of six credits toward the degree from internships. The sponsoring professor will assign a grade for the internship at the close of the semester after evaluating its academic and experiential aspects. Internships offered through departments in the School of Liberal Arts are open only to juniors and seniors in good standing.

An alternative internship experience is offered to students through the office of the Dean of Newcomb-Tulane College. This internship was created to accommodate students seeking internships with organizations requiring that interns earn credit for their experience. INTR 1990 carries one credit, which will apply toward the degree but will not apply toward any proficiency, distribution, major, or minor requirement. Only one credit of INTR 1990 may be applied toward the degree. INTR 1990 must be taken on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) basis and will count as one of the ten allowable (S/U) credits. Students who have completed fewer than 30 credits may not register for this course. Students desiring to register for INTR 1990 must receive approval from the associate dean of Newcomb-Tulane College.

The School of Liberal Arts Academic Awards

The Ann Royal Arthur Memorial Award in German was established in 1987 in memory of Professor Ann Arthur of the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages. It is awarded to a student who has demonstrated a commitment to the study of German.

The Sidney Beyer Prize for Excellence in American History was established in 1976 by Joel Beyer in memory of his father and is awarded to a superior student of American History.

The Purvis E. Boyette Memorial Freshman Essay Award was established in 1988 in memory of Professor Purvis E. Boyette of the Department of English.

The Brazilian-American Cultural Institute Award for Excellence in Portuguese is given by the Portuguese government, on recommendation of the faculty, to a student who has excelled in the study of Portuguese.

The Victoria R. Bricker Award for Excellence in Linguistics

The Almir Bruneti Award for Excellence in Luso-Brazillian Studies

The Glendy Burke Medal was established in 1848 by Glendy Burke. This awarded for excellence in the field of speech.

The Louis Bush Medal

The Classical Studies Prize awarded for excellence in Latin, Greek, or the study of ancient history, culture or archaeology.

The Premio Clavileno is awarded for excellence in Spanish.

The Alice Raymond Scudder Coates Scholarship in Art is awarded to either a student in any area of concentration in art.

The Rusty Collier Memorial Award in Studio Art is awarded to an art major.

The Charles Till Davis Prize for Excellence in European History.

The Charles E. Dunbar, Jr. Fellowships in Political Science are awarded each year to two political science majors who have demonstrated academic excellence and an interest in public affairs.

The France-Amerique Award is given for exceptional achievement in the study of the French language.

The French Government Prize is given by the French government, on recommendation of the faculty, to a student who has excelled in the study of French.

The Juanita Gonzalez Prize in Ceramics is awarded to the outstanding undergraduate ceramist in the Department of Art.

The Bodo Gotzkowsky Award for Research and Travel in Germany.

The Shirley Weil Greengus Memorial Award for Achievement in Political Science is awarded to the senior majoring in political science who has the highest scholastic average in the major.

The Henry Award recognizes outstanding achievement in the study of French.

The Jose Hernandez Award in Spanish-American Literature, established in 1985, is awarded to a graduating senior for excellence in Hispanic studies. The student must have excelled in at least one advanced course in Spanish-American literature.

The Anne Butler Hess Award, established in 1964 by Mrs. Robert D. Hess in memory of her daughter, is awarded to the graduating senior who has shown the greatest proficiency in philosophy.

The Italian Government Prize is given by the Italian government, on recommendation of the faculty, to a student who has excelled in the study of Italian.

The Japan-Tulane Friendship Award was established in 1987 by Jack Aron and Japan Air Lines for the best dissertation, thesis, or research paper on Japanese affairs.

The Arden King Award for Excellence in Anthropology.

The Elizabeth H. and Frederick "Fritz" Krauss Award is awarded to the outstanding undergraduate student majoring in Jewish Studies

The T. Krumpelmann Award for Achievement in German.

The Jonathon Lorino Memorial Award

The Ephraim Lisitzky Memorial Award, established in 1989, is granted to a student of exceptional achievement in the study of Hebrew language and Jewish history, culture, and religion.

The Dan W. Mullin Memorial Award, established in 1970 by Mr. Albert Salzer, is awarded for excellence in technical theater production.

The Charles H. Murphy Prize in Political Economy was established by the Murphy Institute to recognize an outstanding student majoring in political economy.

The Ashton Phelps Award in Communication Studies is given on recommendation of the faculty for excellence in communication studies.

The Pi Sigma Alpha Award, established in 1963 by the Tulane chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, is awarded annually to the senior who has done most to stimulate scholarship and intelligent interest in the subject of government.

The Russian Book Prize is presented by the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages for excellence in Russian.

The Henry Stern Prize in Art History is awarded to the student who produces the best paper in the field of art history.

The Elizabeth Watts Award for Excellence in Physical Anthropology.

The Robert Wauchope Award for Excellence in Anthropology.

Tulane UniversityNew Orleans, LA 70118504-865-5000website@tulane.edu