The Liberal Studies Major is an interdisciplinary degree program that provides students with a broad liberal arts experience. The curriculum includes a diverse set of courses that reflect the liberal arts, major areas of knowledge considered a base for understanding the human condition. These areas include:

English Composition, Literature and Oral Communication
Mathematics and Logic
Science
Technology
History, Humanities
Foreign Language and Culture
Social Sciences
Human Development
Arts
Physical Education

This course of studies gives students a well-rounded general education that prepares them to enter a complex world with a grounding in various areas of study that affect human behavior and the world in which they live. It is not a specialization in one major with only a couple of courses in other disciplines but a more comprehensive, broadly based study.

Two tracks

There are two tracks to this major. The first is a degree for the general student who does not wish to get a degree in one of our established majors and who wants a more general, liberal arts education. The second track is preparation for completing the California Multi-subject (Elementary) Credential. For the general student, this is excellent preparation for those who wish to go to graduate school in the humanities as well as providing a comprehensive education for students who will go into fields for which our standard majors are not the basis for a position in that field. This also provides an option for students who wish to have a more general and comprehensive major. Since we have a limited number of majors, this is a good fit for students who do not find any of our current majors of interest but would like to be here at AJU. Such students might complete a humanities major at another institution. Without having humanities here, this can become an alternative for them.

For students wishing to go into elementary education, this provides the basic preparation for the credential program. Note, that unlike some states, California takes the philosophy that students do not receive a bachelor’s degree in education and a credential at the undergraduate level. Rather, they complete preparation for the credential by taking a general set of courses known as the Liberal Studies Major and then go on to complete a post-baccalaureate credential program.

Specific courses to fulfill each requirement will be determined with the student’s advisor.

General Track:

Education Track

DEPARTMENT CHAIR & ADVISOR

Sue Kapitanoff, Ph.D.
skapitanoff@ajula.edu
310-476-9777 x295

UCLA, B.A. (Psychology), 1980
CSU Northridge, M.A. (Social Psychology), 1984
UC Irvine, Ph.D. (Health Psychology), 1992

Sue Kapitanoff, Ph.D. is Chair of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and has been a lecturer in Psychology at AJU since 1992.

Dr. Kapitanoff has worked closely with students on the Prejudice Awareness Summit, an event originated by Jewish Women’s International and that the university has hosted for thirteen consecutive years. The Summit brings to the campus hundreds of Los Angeles Unified School District Middle School students for a daylong session on fostering tolerance among youth of various ethnic backgrounds.

Dr. Kapitanoff created the curriculum for the Sid B. Levine Service Learning Program, a four-year undergraduate requirement that instills in students the importance of giving back to the community through coursework as well as hands-on-field projects.

She also serves on the board of the Valley Women’s Center, an outpatient alcohol and drug program.