College of Liberal Arts
UNDERGRADUATE
Overview
The mission of the College of Liberal Arts is to provide a learning community wherein students are provided both broad-based and specialized education and to vitalize the educational process by creating and transmitting knowledge through research, scholarship and creative activity.
The College of Liberal Arts offers a 21st century education by inculcating skills which students will apply throughout their lifetimes in increasingly complex and interdisciplinary ways: skills in critical thinking, oral and written communication, multilingual and multicultural competency, textual analysis, analytic reasoning and the scientific method. Faculty research scholarship and creative expertise in the visual and performing arts, humanities, and social sciences advance knowledge and contribute toward civic engagement and improvement of local and global communities through interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary initiatives across the College of Liberal Arts and the UT Arlington academic community, and in partnership with national and international colleagues
The college is characterized by a diversity of intellectual styles and interests. Departments and programs cluster into social sciences, humanities and fine arts. Liberal Arts disciplines address the rich meanings of human experience and expression and liberate the imagination.
The traditional objectives of liberal arts in the University are:
- to develop the tools for analysis, appreciation and communication; for written and oral expression; for comprehension, interpretation, and analysis of textual material; for analytic reasoning and scientific method; and for appreciation of aesthetic experience;
- to prepare students for a range of careers in academia and public and private sector organizations. Graduates of the college contribute to the region, the state and the nation as college and university professors, elementary and secondary teachers, legal professionals, in government agencies, social services, international business and industry, media and advertising, health and recreation, and cultural and entertainment industries; and
- to promote understanding and critical evaluation of the cultural milieux of the attitudes and the ideas that shape institutions and strategies in societies.
A liberal arts education prepares the student for leadership in whatever profession or vocation he or she chooses and is designed to help students live enlightened, purposeful, and effective lives in a challenging, complex, and global technological environment.
A center of learning and scholarship, the College of Liberal Arts and its departments and programs help students achieve an understanding and knowledge of the past, a comprehension of the realities of the present, and a sense of the vision and potential of the future. Our courses of study not only develop habits of mind (such as mastery in reading, communication, and critical thinking skills), but also address the meaning of human experience and expression.
The college promotes these goals in the following ways:
- By enabling students to develop the tools for analysis, appreciation and communication; for written and oral expression; for comprehension, interpretation, and analysis of textual material; for analytic reasoning and scientific method; and for appreciation of aesthetic experience;
- By enabling students to prepare for professions or careers by offering specialized major programs; and
- By enabling students to understand and evaluate critically the attitudes and ideas that shape contemporary society.
Because they deal with the meanings of human experience, the Liberal Arts are the oldest and most central study in higher education, with a past that reaches back to the origins of the university in the Middle Ages. The disciplinary units of the college provide current perspectives on the individual, society, culture, and the cosmos; the various courses of study taken together offer students a range of approaches to the human condition. Through their research and teaching, the faculty of the college seek to prepare students to achieve success in many different professions, to contribute to the community, and to lead enriched and enlightened lives.
Departments and Programs
The College of Liberal Arts offers programs of study in 12 academic units.
- Art and Art History
- Communication
- Criminology and Criminal Justice
- English
- History
- Linguistics and TESOL
- Modern Languages
- Music
- Philosophy and Humanities
- Political Science
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Theatre Arts
The college also offers interdisciplinary programs of undergraduate study in the Charles T. McDowell Center for Critical Languages and Area Studies, Mexican American Studies, Southwestern Studies, Women's and Gender Studies, African American Studies and Disability Studies. Military Science offers a program that leads to a commission in the U.S. Army. The Pre-Law Center is an advising and information resource for students in the Liberal Arts as well as in any other major at the university, who are considering legal and law-related careers.
Interdisciplinary Minors
Medieval and Early Modern Studies
Liberal Arts Advising
Individual degree programs in the College of Liberal Arts have undergraduate advisors who are available to help students with academic planning, course selection, and professional career advice.
Admission to the College of Liberal Arts
Admission is determined by application to the academic unit offering the degree of interest. Individual departments and programs in the College of Liberal Arts may set more specific and restrictive requirements than those stipulated in the Core Curriculum statement (See Degree Program), and may set additional requirements for admission to the major. Information may be obtained in department and program offices.
The College of Liberal Arts has a modern and classical languages requirement for the B.A. degree. Students must demonstrate proficiency in a modern or classical language at the first-year college level (1441 and 1442) unless the degree pursued does not require a modern or classical language.
The requirement for modern and classical language acquisition within the B.A. degree at UT Arlington is designed to help students become effective members of the global community. It is not only essential for a broad education, but also provides a basis for practical benefits to students with widely varying and highly specific objectives. Language proficiency may be demonstrated through the prescribed score on the CLEP test for the language, transfer of credits from another institution, successful completion of first-year language (1441 and 1442) at UT Arlington, or proof of a secondary education in a modern language (as evidenced by a diploma from a high school in which the language is the primary language of instruction). Although the College of Liberal Arts requires successful completion of only one year of a modern or classical language for the B.A., some degree plans may require more than one year. Thus, it is important that the student consult with the appropriate academic advisor in his/her intended major regarding this requirement.
Computer Use and Oral Communication Competencies
Students majoring in Liberal Art disciplines are also required to demonstrate computer use proficiency and oral communication competency. Methods for demonstrating these competencies vary across departments and programs within the College of Liberal Arts and are detailed in the sections of this catalog pertaining to the various majors.
Transfer Credits
Students entering the College of Liberal Arts may transfer up to 72 hours of academic credit from two-year institutions to be applied to a degree.
Teacher Certification
The College of Education, in cooperation with the College of Liberal Arts, offers programs leading to elementary, secondary and all-level certification. Students interested in teacher certification should consult the advisor or his/her major department or the Advising Center of the College of Education for more information.
Honors Degree in Liberal Arts
In addition to earning a disciplinary degree with Latin honors (summa, magna, cum laude), Liberal Arts students who wish to graduate with an Honors Degree in a Liberal Arts discipline must be members of the Honors College in good standing, have an overall GPA of 3.2, and complete the degree requirements in a disciplinary major. Please see the Honors College website for more information.
Study Abroad
The College of Liberal Arts offers many opportunities for students wishing to study abroad. Programs in Mexico, Spain, France, Italy, Germany and other locations are led by faculty from different departments. Semester-long programs with affiliated institutions are also available. Start with the Office for International Education's Study Abroad site.
Scholarships
Scholarships for outstanding undergraduate students are available from the College of Liberal Arts. Information about scholarships and applications may be found here. Students should also speak with their advisor about major-specific scholarships.
Pass-Fail
Any student majoring in the College of Liberal Arts may, with the permission of an advisor from his/her major department and of the department or academic unit offering the course, take any course approved with a pass/fail grading option on a pass-fail basis, provided that the course is not required for the student's degree and provided the student has sophomore standing (30 hours credit). Students seeking teacher certification may not take education courses on a pass-fail basis with the exception of student teaching which is offered only on a pass-fail basis. Junior-senior level military science courses also may not be taken on a pass-fail basis.
GRADUATE
Mission and Philosophy
The mission of the College of Liberal Arts is to provide a learning community wherein students are provided both broad-based and specialized education and to vitalize the educational process by creating and transmitting knowledge through research, scholarship and creative activity.
The College is characterized by a diversity of intellectual styles and interests. Departments and programs cluster into social sciences, humanities and fine arts. Liberal Arts disciplines address the rich meanings of human experience and expression and liberate the imagination by producing knowledge and creating beauty.
The faculty and administration of the college address the traditional objectives of liberal arts in the University:
- to develop the tools for analysis, appreciation and communication; for written and oral expression; for comprehension, interpretation, and analysis of textual material; for analytic reasoning and scientific method; and for appreciation of aesthetic experience;
- to prepare students for a range of careers in academia and public and private sector organizations. Graduates of the College contribute to the region, the state and the nation as college and university professors, elementary and secondary teachers, legal professionals, in government agencies, social services, international business and industry, media and advertising, health and recreation, and cultural and entertainment industries; and
- to promote understanding and critical evaluation of the cultural milieux and of the attitudes and the ideas that shape institutions and strategies in societies.
Accomplishing these objectives culminates in students reaping the creative, utilitarian and life enriching benefits of a liberal arts education.
History and Overview
The University of Texas at Arlington's College of Liberal Arts acquired its first graduate degrees in 1968, with the establishment of M.A. programs in English and History. Since that time, the number of M.A. programs offered has expanded to 13. In 1974, the college established its first Ph.D. level program, Humanities. The Humanities Program was reorganized in 1997 and replaced by three new Ph.D. level programs in English (Literature and Rhetoric/Composition tracks), History (transatlantic) and Linguistics.
Scholastic Activity and Research Interests of the Faculty
The faculty in the College of Liberal Arts excel in their roles as educators, creative scholars and researchers, and professional performers. Numerous faculty have received recognition for their work, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and two Pulitzer Prize nominations. The Jenkins and Virginia Garrett Endowed Chair in Greater Southwestern Studies and the History of Cartography was created in 1995 and is currently held by Professor Imre Demhardt. Ya’Ke Smith is the current Morgan Woodward Endowed Distinguished Professor in Film & Video. Sixteen faculty members have been members of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers, and eight faculty are Chancellor's Teaching Award recipients. Six of our faculty have won the prestigious Piper Award from the UT System. Thirteen faculty members have won the UT System Regents Outstanding Teaching Awards (instituted in 2009) and one has been inducted into the Regents Academy of Distinguished Teachers (instituted in 2013. Eighteen faculty members have won the University Outstanding Research Achievement Award and nine have been awarded the Distinguished Record of Research Award. Eight faculty from the College of Liberal Arts have been selected to be members of the Academy of Distinguished Scholars.
The scholarly activities and research of the faculty cover a range of areas represented within the 13 disciplines in the college. History faculty research interests center on transatlantic broadly defined, and research specializations of faculty include southern, western and southwestern history, frontier development, women and gender, urban and labor and public history. English faculty research strengths lie in the areas of American, British and comparative literatures; and rhetoric, composition and criticism. Linguistics faculty specialize in experimental linguistics, field linguistics, corpus linguistics and documentation of endangered languages. Numerous faculty throughout the college also conduct research on gender and women's issues. Anthropology faculty members recently became the first foreign archaeological team to excavate in Albania in more than 50 years.
Special Programs and Opportunities
The College of Liberal Arts provides a number of special programs and opportunities for graduate students. College lecture series and seminars, conferences, publications, academic centers, library collections and an art gallery provide a mosaic of events and resources that enrich the university community.
Lecture Series, Seminars and Conferences
- Each year the English Department sponsors the Hermann Lecture series, which brings scholars from UT Arlington and other universities together for discussions and master classes on an issue of general theoretical interest.
- The History Department presents the Walter Prescott Webb Memorial Lectures each March. Nationally prominent speakers make presentations on an annual topic, followed by a dinner in the University Center and a keynote address.
- Graduate students in Linguistics sponsor The UTA Conference in Linguistics and TESOL each year. This conference provides an opportunity for students to begin their professional careers by organizing the sessions, reviewing paper abstracts and presenting their own research.
- The Women's and Gender Studies Program hosts an annual, month-long Women's History Month Lecture Series during March that features a range of events from scholarly talks to film screenings to gallery exhibits to roundtable discussions. Speakers are invited from around the nation and around the globe and have included Pulitzer Prize-winners, ground-breaking scholars, and prominent female politicians.
- The Criminal Justice and Criminology Program sponsors a Brown Bag Lecture Series every spring semester, and students have the opportunity to receive credit for practicums.
- The Department of Political Science hosts the annual Haggard Lectures, bringing in nationally and internationally known scholars in the field.
- The Department of History hosts an annual student conference for the graduate students.
Publications
- The History Department publishes an annual volume comprised of Webb Lecture Series papers.
- The English Department houses the online journal, "Agora: A Graduate Journal of Theory" and "Early Modern Studies Journal."
- The Center for Theory houses the online journal, "Fast Capitalism."
- Individual departments/programs publish newsletters which provide news and information about and for students, faculty and alumni.
Centers
The College of Liberal Arts houses numerous centers designed to promote scholarship, research and teaching. These centers organize conferences, lecture series and workshops and provide a conduit for making faculty expertise available to the community. College of Liberal Arts centers are listed below and described in the Facilities for Advanced Studies and Research section of this catalog.
- The Center for Criminal Justice Research and Training
- The Center for Greater Southwestern Studies and the History of Cartography
- The Center for Mexican American Studies
- The Charles McDowell Center for Critical Languages and Area Studies
- The Center for African American Studies
- The Center for Social Research
- The Center for Theory
- The English Language Institute
- The Language Acquisition Center
Other Resources
- In support of the history M.A. and Ph.D. programs, the UT Arlington Library Special Collections houses the Jenkins Garrett Library of Texana and Mexican War historical material and the Cartographic History Library. In addition, Special Collections has material on UT Arlington's history since 1895, the history of organized labor in Texas and the Southwest, and Yucatan and Honduran archival materials.
- The Gallery at UT Arlington presents a full program of major exhibitions in its 4,000-square-foot gallery, including lectures, symposia, screenings and publications. The Gallery's program demonstrates the complementary roles of visual and verbal literacy.
- The Department of Music offers laboratory facilities and the Fine Arts Library contains an extensive collection of recordings and publications relating to musical performance and theory.
- Numerous student organizations exist on campus to provide students with the opportunity to interact with peers in their disciplines. These student groups include interdisciplinary organizations for graduate students interested in Medieval Studies and Rhetoric; and honor societies for Communication, Criminal Justice, English, History, Political Science, and Sociology, as well as specialized interest groups.
- Student awards, scholarships and teaching and research assistantships are available in many College of Liberal Arts departments and programs. Each spring the History Department awards an outstanding graduate student the Wolfskill Prize, a cash award and plaque representing superior attainment in history studies. The English Language Institute, a part of the Program in Linguistics, provides graduate teaching assistantships.
- The College also awards funds for research travel and for travel to conferences for presentation of original research.
Graduate Teaching Assistantships, Fellowships and Scholarships
The College of Liberal Arts offers a wide variety of research, travel, fellowship and dissertation funding for deserving students. Typically, these awards are designed to encourage research or creative activity that leads to the completion of your graduate degree. The College also maintains a Graduate Studies blog ( http://blog.uta.edu/cola_grad_studies/ ) and a graduate listserv that regularly announces awards.
A limited number of Graduate Teaching & Research Assistantships are awarded by most departments. You are encouraged to visit with faculty on availability and requirements of departmental assistantships during the application process.
Programs
The College of Liberal Arts offers the following graduate degree programs:
- Studio Art, M.F.A
- Communication, M.A.
- Criminology and Criminal Justice, M.A.
- English, M.A., Ph.D.
- History, M.A.; Transatlantic History, Ph.D.
- Linguistics, M.A., Ph.D.; TESOL, M.A.
- Modern Languages (French and Spanish), M.A.
- Music Education, M.M.
- Music Performance, M.M.
- Political Science, M.A.
- Sociology, M.A.
The College of Liberal Arts offers the following Dual Degree Programs:
Criminology and Criminal Justice M.A. & Social Work M.S.
Criminology and Criminal Justice M.A. & Political Science, M.A.
Criminology and Criminal Justice M.A. & Master of Public Administration
Political Science M.A. & Master of Public Administration
The College of Liberal Arts offers three Graduate Certificates:
Archival Administration
TESOL Certificate Program
Graduate Certificate in French and Spanish