Liberal Studies

Overview

The Liberal Studies Associate of Arts degree prepares students for transfer to a university program in Communications, English, Humanities, Journalism, Philosophy, or related areas of study. To ensure seamless transfer, students must develop their specific program in close coordination with a Cochise College advisor and in cooperation with department faculty.

Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this program will be able to do the following:

• Understand, analyze, and articulate the major topics in the Liberal Arts, including Communications, English, Humanities, Journalism, and Philosophy.

Communications Concentration

• Demonstrate an understanding of, analyze, and articulate basic communication skills and processes as they relate to a variety of communication situations.
• Demonstrate an understanding of, analyze, and articulate the theories and techniques of persuasion.
• Critically analyze oral presentations.
• Research, construct, and deliver public speeches.

English Concentration

• Analyze and critique various worldwide forms of written and visual texts, with emphasis on British and American authors.
• Construct, according to MLA guidelines, a sustained, sophisticated, and original argument on a specialized topic by using a variety of research strategies and scholarly sources.
• Employ writing technologies to create academic and professional writing for various audiences and purposes. 

Humanities Concentration

• Demonstrate an understanding of, analyze, and articulate the fundamentals of art, architecture, history, philosophy, music, literature, and film from ancient times to the present.
• Demonstrate an understanding of and articulate the value of the humanities in a cultural context.

Journalism Concentration

• Demonstrate an understanding of, analyze, and articulate the basics of mass communications media.
• Gather, write, and evaluate news and other kinds of communication in newspapers, television, radio, magazines, wire services, books, movies, computer/digital form, and other media.
• Analyze and articulate news values, interviewing techniques, basic newspaper writing formats, and legal and ethical concerns of media, communication, and journalism professionals.
• Demonstrate an understanding of and analyze public speaking, the fundamentals of speech as they relate to communicating with an audience, and the theories and techniques of persuasion.
• Prepare and critically analyze oral presentations.
• Research, construct, and deliver speeches.

Philosophy Concentration

• Identify, analyze, and articulate the history, key figures, and major branches of philosophy.
• Conduct critical reading of selected classical and contemporary texts and analyze their connections to the individual, to society, and to other bodies of knowledge.
• Engage in oral argumentation and write critical or analytical essays.
• Identify, analyze, and articulate the elements of formal logic, symbolic logic, logical fallacies, induction, argument, and language.
• Identify, analyze, and articulate the elements of moral philosophy with emphasis on the philosophical analysis of contemporary issues.

Admissions Requirements

There are no special admissions requirements for this program.

Degree Maps

Degree & Certificates

• Liberal Studies - AA Degree (Catalog)
  Concentrations: Communications, English, Journalism, Humanities, Philosophy