College of Arts and Sciences restricted electives and overlays—2025-2026

See the College of Arts and Sciences Degree Requirements page for definitions of the restricted electives and overlays. To see approved courses, visit Arts and Sciences Area Restricted Electives and Arts and Sciences Overlays. As updates are made each semester, previous lists will be archived on this site.

Process for changes

Changes or additions to the list of courses that count for the college’s common requirements for undergraduate degree programs must first be approved by disciplinary advisory committees. These committees provide recommendations to the college's Course and Curriculum Committee, which is responsible for oversight of these requirements. Proposals for additions or changes should be submitted via the following form:

Fillable form to propose additions to restricted electives or overlay list

If a department is only requesting approval for an existing course to be added to the designated requirement or overlay approved list with no other changes to the course, a Curriculog course change proposal will not be needed. Only the fillable form is required.

If a department is requesting a new course or changes in addition to the request for approval to be added to the designated restricted electives or overlay approved list, a Curriculog course proposal will be required.

A course may not satisfy more than one overlay or more than one requirement category.

Only courses within the College of Arts and Sciences are eligible to be listed as an overlay.

Definitions and rubrics for assessments

Committees

Members of the five advisory committees will be filled by tenured, tenure-track, or non-tenure-track faculty members from Arts and Sciences departments/units, excluding department/unit heads.

Members will serve 3-year terms except for the initial appointments for which term length will be staggered.

Annually, the associate dean for academic affairs will send out a call for nominations to serve on the committee in the upcoming academic year. A faculty member is eligible to be re-nominated for the same or another committee. The Dean’s Office will select committee members from among the nominees.

When possible, representation on committees will be spread out among disciplines.

Course and Curriculum Committee Members—2025-2026

Year indicates when term expires.

  • Arts and Sciences Requirement – Natural Science
    • To be decided – 2028
    • Ryan Rafferty, Chemistry – 2026
    • Bethany Plakke, Psychological Sciences – 2027
  • Arts and Sciences Requirement – Quantitative Social Science
    • Nathan Albin, Mathematics – 2027
    • Haiyan Wang, Statistics – 2026
    • Yoonjin Lee, Economics – 2028
  • Ethical Reasoning Overlay
    • Nathan Kellen, Philosophy – 2027
    • John Warner, Political Science – 2026
    • To be decided – 2028
  • Global Perspectives Overlay
    • Trevor Durbin, Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work – 2027
    • Rachel Levitt, Social Transformation Studies – 2026
    • Vera Smirnova, Geography and Geospatial Sciences – 2028
  • U.S. Multicultural Overlay
    • To be decided – 2028
    • Ethan Bernick, Political Science – 2026
    • TBD – 2028
    • Kimathi Choma, Assistant Dean – Non-voting ex officio member

Process

Each committee will convene at least once per academic semester. Meeting dates will be announced by email to department heads and directors of undergraduate studies. Additional meetings may be held if the committee deems it necessary.

In the spring of 2025, the committees developed an assessment rubric to rank objectives and criteria for course inclusion. These assessment rubrics will be posted here on the Arts and Sciences website.

One week prior to a scheduled meeting, the Arts and Sciences curriculum development manager will share with the committee the applications and accompanying documentation for courses under consideration. Submissions must be in before this deadline to be considered at that meeting.

Once the committee has made a determination, the Chair will communicate that decision to the Arts and Sciences curriculum development manager who will then work with the Arts and Sciences Course and Curriculum Committee for their approval. Once approved by the committee, the Arts and Sciences curriculum development manager will notify the department of the committee’s decision. Official overlay and requirements course listing will be updated once a semester, posted on the Arts and Sciences website, and integrated into DARS. Requests for additions to a list that requires a Curriculog proposal (i.e., courses with other changes or new courses) must be submitted in Curriculog in time for the proposal to go through the approval and routing process. Please see the Course Form Deadlines page.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Associate Dean Scott Tanona at stanona@k-state.edu or 532-6900, or Arts and Sciences Curriculum Development Manager Becky O’Donnell at bodonnel@k-state.edu or 532-6900.