2024-2026 Undergraduate Catalog
James H. Gilliam Jr. College of Liberal Arts
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 Return to: College of Liberal Arts
Dean: Mbare Ngom
Assistant Dean: Charlene Chester
The College of Liberal Arts is the largest academic division at the University. In addition to offering twelve undergraduates degree programs that represent disciplinary focuses, it also offers a large portion of the courses in the General Education Program. All Morgan students, regardless of major, take courses and engage in other activities which reflect the historical foundations of liberal education.
Mission
The mission of The College of Liberal Arts, consistent with that of Morgan State University, is to offer high-quality academic programs and to promote effective student-centered teaching and learning, outstanding student achievement, cutting edge faculty research and scholarship, and broad ranging service to the professions and the community.
The College is a learning community of productive and committed educators that provides a gateway of opportunity for a multi-racial, culturally diverse student population, and it works in close partnership with them toward achieving excellence in liberal learning, in training for the professions, in preparation for advanced study and in training for leader-ship and service in the community, especially the urban communities of the state, nation and world. Consistent with Morgan’s classification as a doctoral research university, the College is strongly committed to basic and applied research and to creative activities in all areas, especially those in which it offers graduate degrees; and it strongly emphasizes the integration of research and scholarly activities into enhancing all aspects of under-graduate and graduate education. Although Morgan is a research university, the College maintains a strong commitment to effective teaching and to providing a supportive environment for learning and for student success.
The College of Liberal Arts offers a corps of educational programs and services that emphasizes its core values and components of learning capacity.
In all respects, the College of Liberal Arts is engaged in Creating Opportunities to Reach Excellence.
Core Values
According to its philosophy and values, the College of Liberal Arts is a learning community that offers a corps of educational programs and services that promotes:
- Intellectual curiosity
- Independence
- Interdependence
- Self-awareness
- Service
- Commitment to problem-solving
- Leadership
- Commitment to life-long learning
- Competency in written and oral communication,
- Achievement
Goals
In the broad sense, the goals of the College of Liberal Arts are:
- to recruit and retain a highly qualified and culturally diverse and productive faculty that demonstrates scholarship, personal involvement, effectiveness in and compassion for teaching students, and service to the University and the broader community;
- to recruit and retain a diverse student population with demonstrated potential for learning and for preparing for roles of leadership and service and a population that includes not only those who are well prepared to pursue a college education, but also other students who, by other traditional measures, may need special academic support and development activities to assist them in taking advantage of the opportunity to pursue a college education; and to nurture and assist all of them in persisting to graduation through effective teaching, faculty advising and utilization of the university support systems;
- to provide a sound and up-to-date curriculum that emphasizes the interrelationship of the various academic
- disciplines and provides students with sound preparation for work in the professions, for advanced graduate and professional study, for leadership and for service to the community;
- to instill in students a desire to develop self-awareness, value formation, a global perspective, a devotion to service, a capacity for leadership, and a commitment to life-long learning;
- to foster the spirit of independent inquiry and evaluation evident in basic and applied research;
- to encourage a commitment to investigating the issues and solving the problems associated with the urban community; and
- to promote continuous assessment of student learning and program effectiveness.
Degree Programs
The College of Liberal Arts offers nine (9) undergraduate degree programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), the Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Degrees.
Students may find specific requirements for majors in the section for the departments in the College of Liberal Arts in which they are domiciled.
Minors
The College of Liberal Arts offers minors in twenty-four areas.
These minors are excellent liberal education supplements to virtually all majors offered at the University, including those in the sciences, business, engineering, legal studies and education. Students may find specific requirements for minors iby clicking on the link at the bottom of the page. Please see Dr. Chester in the Office of the Dean for further assistance with any CLA minor.
Pre-Law
The College of Liberal Arts offers a pre-law track in Philosophy. For more information about this opportunity, please consult the philosophy major’s section.
Admission to Degree Programs
Students who meet the admission requirements of the university are eligible for admission to degree programs in the College of Liberal Arts. Unless specifically prohibited by university regulations, students should declare their majors as early as possible and should contact the appropriate department for further directions.
Retention in Degree Programs
In order to remain in good standing as majors in degree programs in the College of Liberal Arts, students must meet the university’s standards for satisfactory academic progress outlined under Academic Policies. When students are placed on probation by the university standards or attain less than a 2.0 average in the major, they are also on probation in the major. They are limited in the number of semester credits which they may pursue, they are required to repeat courses in requirements for the major in which they have earned failing grades, and they may be required by the department to report more frequently for faculty advising and to limit the number and kinds of courses in which they enroll. Students who are dismissed for unsatisfactory progress by the university are also dismissed as degree candidates in their majors. Readmission to the university constitutes readmission as a degree candidate in the major.
Academic Advising
Academic advising is an important part of students’ undergraduate education. In the College of Liberal Arts, academic advising is high on the list of priorities and is a requirement for retention in the major. Departmental chairpersons assign students faculty advisers from the point of their matriculation as majors in one of the degree programs in the College. Students are required to hold conferences with their faculty advisers a prescribed number of times per semester, depending on their classification and/or their academic standing.
Requirements for Graduation
Students earning degrees in the College of Liberal Arts must meet the following graduation requirements:
General Education Requirements:
In order to qualify for graduation, students must complete the courses outlined as “General Education Requirements” and “Requirements for Graduation” in the university catalog. In some instances where students have options, particular majors impose limitations on the courses that students may select to fulfill General Education Requirements. Such limitations are spelled out under requirements for the major in those departments.
Liberal Arts Core:
All students earning degrees in programs in the College of Liberal Arts must complete the six-credit Liberal Arts Core, which is designed to complement the General Education Requirements and to give students greater exposure to the liberal arts. Courses used to meet the Liberal Arts Core requirement may not be used simultaneously to satisfy other requirements. In order to qualify for graduation, students must choose one (1) of the following Liberal Arts Core (LAC) options:
Great Books
Students must complete the following two courses: GENL 398 - Seminar in Great Books I -GENL 498 - Seminar in Great Books II —Six hours; 6 credits.
Great Issues
Students must complete the following two courses: GENL 399 - Seminar in Great Issues of Contemporary Society I -GENL 499 - Seminar in Great Issues of Contemporary Society II —Six hours; 6 credits.
Fine and Performing Arts
Students must complete the following two courses: GENL 397 - Seminar in the Visual Arts and GENL 497 - Seminar in the World Of Music —Six hours; 6 credits.
Service Learning and Civic Engagement
Students must complete the following two courses: GENL 396 - Service Learning I and GENL 496 - Service Learning II —Six hours; 6 credits.
Foreign Languages
Students must complete six (6) credits of the same foreign language. Students’ competency level will be determined by the Department of World Languages for the purpose of specifying the level of a foreign language which they are eligible to take to meet this requirement. Students may not use these courses simultaneously to satisfy other requirements, including the Foreign Language requirement for the B.A. degree.
Complement to the Major
Students may take any combination of 300-and/or 400-level courses in a single discipline outside of their major in the College of Liberal Arts or in the School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences.
In addition, all students may select the combination of MISC 200 - Leadership Development I (Military Science II) and HIST 327 - American Military Experience to satisfy Option 6.
English 350: Writing Practicum may not be used to satisfy the Liberal Arts Core Requirement.
Major Requirements:
In order to qualify for graduation, students must complete the requirements specified in the programs in which they are majoring.
Required Average:
In order to qualify for graduation, students must have earned a cumulative average of 2.0 or better, must have a major average of 2.0 or better and must have no outstanding grades below “C” in the major (which includes all required courses taken in the major and required supporting courses).
Junior-And Senior-Level Courses:
In order to qualify for graduation, students must have taken two-thirds of all of their junior- and senior-level (300 and 400 level) requirements in the major at Morgan State University, and must complete their last thirty hours at the University, unless granted prior writ- ten permission by the Dean to take courses elsewhere.
Senior Comprehensive Examination:
Please note that as of Fall 2019, students with majors in Economics, English, Philosophy and Religious Studies, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology no longer require Departmental Comprehensive Examinations in order to qualify for graduation.
Other College-Wide Policies
Independent Study:
The College of Liberal Arts approves independent study for students only when the course has not been offered regularly enough for the student to complete degree requirements within the statute of limitations. In addition, the College does not approve independent study for students who have taken the course previously and failed it. As a general rule, the College also limits to one (1) the number of courses which students may pursue on an independent study basis during any academic session.
Taking Courses at Other Institutions:
Once students have matriculated in disciplines in the liberal arts at Morgan State University, they may not take courses at other institutions for the purpose of transferring them to Morgan without prior written permission from the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Once prior written permission has been given, students may transfer credits, but not grades, for those courses to Morgan. As a general rule, the College of Liberal Arts does not grant permission for students to take a course at another institution if students have taken and failed the same course at Morgan. In addition, it does not permit students to take courses at another institution if the same courses are being offered at Morgan during that semester or session. This policy applies to CO-OP programs, as well.
Excess Credits:
The College of Liberal Arts adheres strictly to the university policy concerning granting permission to take excess credits during any semester. It does not make exceptions for the purpose of enabling seniors to be graduated. The College grants permission to pursue excess credits (maximum of three credits) only to students with cumulative averages of 3.0 or higher at Morgan.
Statute Of Limitations On Transfer Evaluations:
Transfer students admitted to a program in the College of Liberal Arts must appeal the evaluation of their transfer credits within one (1) year of the date on which the transfer evaluation is issued to them. After that date, the evaluation becomes permanent, and it may not be challenged later for the purpose of meeting requirements for graduation.
Repeating Courses Transferred To The University:
Students who repeat Morgan courses for which they have been given transfer credit will automatically lose those corresponding transfer credits. Once the course has been taken at Morgan, it will not be expunged from the record.
Familiarity with Academic Policies:
In the College of Liberal Arts, students are held responsible for being knowledgeable of published policies and procedures at the university. Under no circumstances will ignorance of published policies and procedures be accepted as a reason for making exceptions to them.
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