Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies

Why Choose North Island College?

• A broad education. Liberal studies promotes the education of the whole person, through the promotion of crucial skills in communication, teamwork, self-reliance, critical analysis and creative expression. With a degree in liberal studies, you’ll possess a varied academic background and a greater ability to think, rationalize, and explore your world.
• Study overseas. A selection of liberal arts courses are offered in Europe during the summer, as part of the Liberal Studies Abroad program.
• In good company. When you take courses at NIC, you’re joining a vibrant, exciting, and expanding community of learning. In small classes, students develop strong relationships with their instructors and classmates.

Program Highlights

In 1996, North Island College and Vancouver Island University (VIU) formed a unique partnership to offer a Bachelor of Art degree in  Liberal Studies at NIC's Comox Valley campus. Students are admitted, pay fees to, and upon completion receive a credential from, Vancouver Island University, but take classes at North Island College.

What is Liberal Studies?

Liberal studies offers a significant alternative to traditional degrees in a single discipline. It draws its rich content from the humanities, arts and sciences, and treats it in a way which brings out the connections between different disciplines.

Liberal studies is:

• A critical and creative exploration of important issues raised by the most influential works of Western culture.
• A vibrant learning community of students and professors, who investigate together alternative conceptions of the universe and our place in it.
• A forum for active learning which does not rely on the work of so-called experts, but challenges students to develop their own understanding.
• An examination of current realities against the fascinating backdrop of the last three thousand years.
• Education of the whole person, through the promotion of crucial skills in communication (oral and written), teamwork, self-reliance, critical analysis and creative expression - skills at a premium in today's workplace.

The Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies is based around a series of core and companion courses. The six-credit core courses involve the analysis of interesting and significant works (in literature, philosophy, theology, science, social science, art, and music), and all four courses together ensure a varied and deep exposure to the western cultural tradition from ancient times to the present day. The three-credit companion courses include laboratories, enquiry seminars, art and music workshops, trips to special events, and opportunities for travel-study. They support the understanding, gathered in the core courses, of a particular historical period.

Courses are team taught by professors from both institutions with a wide range of academic backgrounds; the professors together with students form a community intent on maximizing the learning of all. In participatory seminars students develop skills in communication and critical thinking so prized in graduate school and in the professions of tomorrow.

Career Opportunities

Liberal studies is not for students who have decided in advance that their educational goal is a career in a single narrow discipline. Even these students, however, have much to gain from the rigorous skill-training and general cultural awareness they will receive by pursuing a degree in liberal studies or by taking some liberal studies courses as electives. Liberal studies is for you if:

• You do not yet want to confine yourself to a traditional discipline, but want a more general education in which the relationships among various disciplines are explored;
• You want to complement your work in a traditional discipline with a broad understanding of its context and relevance;
• Your goal is a career in law, public service, architecture, business, art, the media, education or any of a host of alternatives where a broad education is recognized as an important asset.
• Many possibilities for graduate study will also be open to those who combine a major in liberal studies with one in a specialized discipline. Our students have gone on to postgraduate and professional study in law, architecture, public administration, education, marine archaeology, communications, folklore studies, English, history, women’s studies, philosophy and so on, usually without having to complete a qualifying year. A certain number proceed to post-degree programs in elementary or secondary education, and many are working in ESL and adult education.

Liberal Studies Abroad

LBST 322, 323, 390, 391, 392, 412, 422, 490 and 491 are offered in Europe during the summer, as part of the Liberal Studies Abroad program. This opportunity for intensive, on-site study of a particular cultural period and place is extended to students within or outside the liberal studies program on a cost-recovery basis. Contact the department chair for further details or visit www.mala.ca/liberalstudies.

Admission Requirements

1. Normally, complete Year 1 and 2 university transfer coursework (54 credits minimum) or an Associate degree. However, the core courses LBST 310 and 320 may be taken by students with only 24 credits provided these include a course in Liberal Studies, English or Philosophy with a grade of B- or better.  This provision allows students to commence the Liberal Studies program on a part-time basis during their second year at NIC. Students should consult with a Student Advisor to ensure that all courses taken are eligible for transfer to Vancouver Island University.
2. For entry to Year 3, students must apply for admission to Vancouver Island University and,
3. As early as possible in the year of intended entry, contact Liberal Studies Department Co-Chair John Black, john.black@viu.ca, 250-740-6495, for instructions on how to register in the courses offered at NIC.

Program Requirements

Students must complete 120 credits in all, fulfill all Vancouver Island University's institutional BA degree requirements, including the degree English requirement, but with the exception of the normal residency requirement and take the courses listed below:

Years 1 and 2

• Normally, complete an Associate degree or the 54 credit minimum of coursework required for entry. Two courses in English are recommended.

Years 3 and 4

• 42 upper-level credits in Liberal Studies:
  • 24 credits in core courses LBST310, 320, 410, 420; 
  • 12 additional credits which may include: LBST400 (the Senior Project), LBST311, 321, 411, 421 (the companion courses), and no more than 6 credits from LBST322, 323, 390, 391, 392, 412, 422, 490 and 491 (taken as part of a Liberal Studies Abroad program.

Note:

1. The core and companion courses are all offered at NIC as evening classes during the period from September to April, over two years.
2. All remaining courses required to complete the 120 credits may be taken as electives, provided the Institutional BA Degree Requirements are met. At least 18 of the elective credits should be taken at North Island College.
3. In exceptional circumstances, deviations from the above regulations may be allowed by permission of the chair of the Liberal Studies department.
4. Students who complete the specified 42 credits of third- and fourth-year LBST courses, and at least 18 credits in electives at NIC, do not have to fulfill the normal Vancouver Island University BA Residency Requirement.
5. The core courses LBST-310 and 320 may be taken by students with only 24 credits provided these include a course in Liberal Studies, English or Philosophy with a grade of B- or better. This provision allow students to commence the Liberal Studies program on a part-time basis buring their second year at NIC.