Liberal Arts and Sciences/Humanities A.A.

School: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Academic Dept: Humanities
HEGIS: 5649

Important Note about Program Requirements

The requirements listed below are for students entering into this program from Fall 2023 to Summer 2024. Students who entered the program during a prior semester will find their specific requirements listed in the Catalog under which they entered. Archived Catalogs are accessible through the dropdown menu above.

Program Description

Humanities is the broadest of the academic disciplines because it is concerned with the whole spectrum of one’s social, intellectual, artistic, and spiritual history. Humanities study reflects many aspects of human aspiration and achievement. Academic subjects commonly included in humanities are literature, modern languages, philosophy, and the arts.

The Liberal Art and Sciences: Humanities degree allows students to explore their interests within the humanities while allowing them a great deal of flexibility in choosing their coursework in other academic areas.

The Associate in Arts degree at Westchester Community College parallels most liberal arts programs in four-year colleges and universities. Most graduates of this degree program transfer to four-year institutions to continue their education. By choosing their courses carefully, many graduates can transfer with full credit and complete the bachelor’s degree in two additional years of study.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Humanities degree a student will:

Demonstrate knowledge of the methods and conventions in the field of English or Philosophy and at least one other Humanities’ discipline.
Demonstrate the ability to develop, research and document analytical responses to one or more of the following: films, literary or philosophical texts, works of art, musical compositions or performances, theatrical works.
Demonstrate the ability to produce clear, creative written expression of ideas.
Demonstrate the ability to determine distinctive features of a non-English speaking culture.
Demonstrate knowledge of the structure and vocabulary of a language outside of English.

Program Requirements

60 credits are required for the degree:

General Education - 31 credits
Required Degree Courses - 29 credits

General Education Requirements - 31 Credits

Communication - Written and Oral (3 credits): ENG 101 Writing and Research
Humanities (3 credits): ENG 102 Writing and Literature
Mathematics (and Quantitative Reasoning) (3 credits): choose from this category of general education courses
Natural Sciences (and Scientific Reasoning) with Lab (4 credits): choose from this category of general education courses with lab
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (3 credits): choose from this category of general education courses
Social Sciences (3 credits): choose from this category of general education courses
The Arts (3 credits): choose from this category of general education courses
World Languages (3 credits): choose from this category of general education courses
US History and Civic Engagement (3 credits): choose from this category of general education courses
World History and Global Awareness (3 credits): choose from this category of general education courses

Where specific courses are not listed within the categories above, courses must be selected from the list of all general education courses .

Required Degree Courses - 29 credits

Philosophy (3 credits): select any Philosophy (PHIL) course
Social Sciences (3 credits): select ONE course from any of the following disciplines
- Anthropology (ANTHR), Economics (ECON), Geography (GEOG), Political Science (POLSC), Psychology (PSYCH), Sociology (SOC)
Free Elective (5 credits): select any college course(s)
English or Communications Electives (6 credits): select TWO of the following
Liberal Arts Electives (12 credits): select FOUR from the following:
- Any Arabic course (ARBAC)
- Any Chinese course (CHINS)
- Any English course (ENG)
- Any French course (FREN)
- Any German course (GER)
- Any Italian course (ITAL)
- Any Japanese course (JAPNS)
- Any Russian course (RUSSN)
- Any Spanish course (SPAN)
- ART 108 - Art of the Ancient World: Prehistory to Fourteenth Century
- ART 109A - Contemporary Art
- ART 109 - Art of the Modern World: Fifteenth Century to Contemporary
- ART 128 - History of Photography
- FILM 100 - Introduction to Film
- FILM 101 - Film 1895 to 1945
- FILM 102 - Film 1945 to Present
- FILM 103 - The Great Directors
- FILM 109 - Film – American Cinema
- FILM 113 - Film Study: World Cinema
- FILM 125 - Writing for Film
- FILM 220 - Fiction Into Film
- MUSIC 100 - History of Western Music: Up to 1800
- MUSIC 101 - History of Western Music: 1800 to Present
- MUSIC 102 - History of Electronic Music
- MUSIC 103 - History of Jazz
- MUSIC 110 - Basic Musicianship
- MUSIC 111 - Music Theory 1
- MUSIC 150 - Music Appreciation 1
- THEAT 101 - Introduction to the Theatre
- THEAT 103 - Western Drama

Program Map

The program map is a recommended semester-by-semester schedule of courses based on degree requirements and serve as a general guideline to help students complete their program in two years. Although designed for full-time enrollment, these are easily adaptable for part-time study. For additional, individualized guidance, students should review Degree Works and consult an Academic Counselor or Faculty Advisor to ensure they are on track to complete their program.

Semester 1

Course	Credits
ENG 101 Writing and Research	3
Mathematics (and Quantitative Reasoning) Gen. Ed. Course	3
The Arts Gen. Ed. Course	3
US History and Civic Engagement Gen. Ed. Course	3
World Languages Gen. Ed. Course	3
Semester Total Credits	15

Semester 2

Course	Credits
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Gen. Ed. Course	3
ENG 102 Writing and Literature	3
Natural Sciences (and Scientific Reasoning) Gen. Ed. Course with Lab	4
Social Sciences Gen. Ed. Course	3
World History and Global Awareness Gen. Ed. Course	3
Semester Total Credits	16

Semester 3

Course	Credits
Social Sciences Course	3
Philosophy Course	3
English or Communications Elective	3
Liberal Arts Elective	6
Semester Total Credits	15

Semester 4

Course	Credits
English or Communications Elective	3
Free Elective	5
Liberal Arts Elective
Semester Total Credits	14

Minimum Total Credits: 60

Transfer Opportunities

Westchester Community College is committed to facilitating a smooth transfer process to ensure that graduates of the college are prepared to transfer with junior status, and are able to complete a bachelor’s degree within two years of full-time study upon transfer. View 4-year institutions’ transfer agreement information by program here.

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