Spring 2025 Extended Priority Deadline: November 18, 2024
Spring 2025 Extended Regular Deadline: December 16, 2024
The Liberal Studies program is CUNY's first online BA in the liberal arts and sciences. Unlike most majors, which emphasize the mastery of a single discipline, Liberal Studies affirms the intellectual and professional value of learning to think across conventional disciplinary lines. Liberal Studies majors take classes in a variety of subjects, including English, history, philosophy, mathematics, and the social and natural sciences. Liberal Studies is also a "Z-Degree", meaning that the program may be completed without purchasing a single textbook. Recognizing that returning adults bring skills and knowledge acquired through prior college study or through work and life experience, the Liberal Studies degree also has ample space for transfer credit and credit for prior learning.
Liberal Studies coursework provides opportunities to learn through inquiry and engagement with a range of humanistic perspectives. Liberal Studies students also master skills consistently valued by employers: research, writing, collaboration, ethical awareness, critical thinking, and quantitative analysis. Our array of foundational and elective courses is anchored by a Liberal Studies Proseminar, which introduces the major, and a Capstone experience, in both of which students utilize an ePortfolio to showcase and reflect on learning obtained in the program. The Capstone also features a major research project on a topic of the student’s choosing. As they progress toward graduation, students also identify a core area of study: Literature and Communication, History and Global Studies, or Ethics and Quantitative Reasoning.
The fully online program provides flexibility, and the curriculum offers a broad and efficient pathway to degree completion. Graduates will leave the program having engaged with diverse viewpoints and bodies of knowledge; gained critically informed perspectives on pressing global and local debates; and executed independent and collaborative projects to share with prospective employers and graduate schools.
Career Prospects
The BA in Liberal Studies equips students for careers in any number of fields, including education, law, communications and marketing, and the government and non-profit sectors. The degree also provides a strong foundation for further graduate study.
Just as important, our program deliberately emphasizes sought-after competencies that enhance employee capacities across the workplace spectrum: the ability to think critically, work collaboratively, read and research carefully, communicate clearly, and write persuasively. By requiring our majors to develop and continually hone these skills, the Liberal Studies program empowers students to be the agents of their professional futures.
Articulation Agreements
Articulation agreements are formal agreements between CUNY School of Professional Studies, (CUNY SPS) and two-year colleges and universities, allowing students to transfer the maximum number of credits with ease to our BA in Liberal Studies program from institutions with which we have an established transfer process in place.
Your previous education and experience can help you finish your degree faster and save you money. Learn about the Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) opportunities available at CUNY SPS.
Feeling unsure about your writing skills as an adult student? You're not alone! Join us for an engaging webinar where you’ll gain insights and techniques to help you succeed in your first semester.
In our final webinar, we'll discuss tips on how to prepare yourself for success in your classes, plus introduce you to some of the resources, opportunities, and perks that are available to you as a student...
Applicants must possess at least 24 transferrable credits from an accredited institution with a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. Applicants need to demonstrate basic proficiency in reading, writing, and math.
Application Deadlines
Spring 2025 Extended Priority Deadline: November 18, 2024
Spring 2025 Extended Regular Deadline: December 16, 2024
MA in Youth Studies; BA in Liberal Studies; Child Development Associate Certificate 2024, 2020, and 2017
"CUNY SPS altered my career trajectory. After over 25 years working in youth and community development, the master's program faculty demonstrated the value of educating practitioners."
Exemplifying CUNY SPS' registration surge, students Wanda McNeill-Jones, Victor Otero, and Safiyah Tate share stories about the School's impact on their lives.
The CIED recognized a cohort of faculty and staff who had committed themselves to an intensive EDI training regimen through LinkedIn Learning. Those who completed the multiple training modules were distinguished as “EDI Ambassadors” by the CIED and earned a special certification badge. In part three of this four-part series, EDI Ambassadors Laura Collazo, instructional design/data assistant, Office of Faculty Development and Instructional Technology (OFDIT), and Test Flight facilitator, Office of Academic Affairs; and Dr. Kate Moss, doctoral lecturer, General Education and Liberal Studies, share their insights after completing EDI coursework earlier this year.
CUNY SPS students Irene Mei Zhi Shum (Advanced Certificate in Management) and Grant Bremer (BA in Liberal Studies) joined the Virtual All CUNY StorySLAM Program in Spring 2023. On May 17, they presented their stories at the Moth All CUNY Grand Slam Storytellers.
Full Curriculum
