Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies

Format: Online
Application Deadlines
  • Fall 2024 Priority Deadline: April 1, 2024
  • Fall 2024 Regular Deadline: June 18, 2024
Graphic of a blue with 'CUNY SPS' writte on it and a ribbon that says 'Z-Degree'

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.

Admissions Criteria

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

  • Fall 2024 Priority Deadline: April 1, 2024
  • Fall 2024 Regular Deadline: June 18, 2024
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Student/Alumni Profiles

Miguel Colon

BA in Liberal Studies 2023

Recent News About Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies

CUNY SPS EDI Ambassadors Laura Collazo and Dr. Kate Moss

CUNY SPS EDI Ambassadors Share Their Thoughts on Inclusivity

November 02, 2023

CUNY SPS Blog

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.

Moth All CUNY Grand Slam Storytellers

June 09, 2023

The Moth

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.

CUNY SPS Aligns General Education, Liberal Studies Curricula With Career Competencies

April 24, 2023

National Association of Colleges and Employers

CUNY SPS' general education and liberal studies faculty describe how they worked together to revise the program outcomes so that it provided students with more career readiness skills.

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Fellowship

April 25, 2022

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) at CUNY

Kate Moss, a doctoral lecturer in the general education and liberal studies programs at CUNY SPS, has been awarded a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Fellowship and will participate in Applying a Scholarly Lens to Our Instructional Practice, a June CUNY Innovative Teaching Academy (CITA) Institute, along with 14 other SoTL Fellows from across various CUNY campuses. As part of the institute, Dr. Moss will be continuing her research on whether changes to discussion board assignments in the CUNY SPS class COM 110: Digital Literacy will increase student engagement.