College of Arts and Sciences

College Degree Requirements

The College of Arts and Sciences is committed to producing graduates with strong training in their majors, a broad range of skills and knowledge across disciplines, the ability to adapt to meet new workforce demands, and the foundations to act as good citizens in their communities. To that end, the college has a set of common program requirements for all of its degrees. These requirements are intended to promote student success and ensure that students get a multidisciplinary breadth of education in Arts and Sciences in addition to the specialized training of their programs. (View the college’s Values and Priorities.)

These requirements show up in programs in two parts: a set of requirements listed outside of the program as “program requirements,” and common requirements that all programs must meet within their program.

These requirements will be included in each individual program and are effective for students in the catalog year 2024-2025 or later.

1. “Program Requirements”

Arts and Sciences majors must take the following:

A. Orientation requirements for all degrees (1 credit hour)

All Arts and Sciences students must take an orientation course that ensures they successfully manage the transition from high school to college and are able to take advantage of all the resources K-State offers for student success. They may take the college-wide orientation course (DAS 101) or an approved departmental orientation course. Students who are double-majoring across colleges or have transferred to a major in the College of Arts and Sciences from a major housed outside the college may satisfy this requirement through an approved orientation course from another K-State college.

B. Outside Concentration requirement (B.A. and B.S. only) (minimum 9 credit hours)

In addition to the requirements of their majors, Arts and Sciences students must select coursework from a different discipline as an outside concentration. The outside concentration may be satisfied by one of three options: a credential outside their department such as a certificate, minor, or second major; at least 9 credit hours in an outside area; or a 9-credit-hour microcredential outside their major. This provides the opportunity to develop skills and knowledge in a second disciplinary area. These courses may overlap partly with their majors (see below). Students who switch majors may use coursework from their previous major to satisfy this requirement. Coursework can come from any college at the university.

  1. A Certificate, Minor, Major, or Secondary Major offered outside the department housing the student’s major. For example, a Physics major might earn a Math minor. Students may also select approved interdiscplinary programs within their own department.
  2. At least 9 credit-hours of one prefix (e.g., HIST, PHYS, SOCIO), outside the main prefix(es) of the major. For example, a Statistics major might take 9 credits of ECON. No more than 5 credit-hours can also count toward coursework for the program unless the program itself includes an approved outside concentration of at least 9 credit-hours. All 9 hours must be at the 300 level or above OR at any level with a prerequisite in the same prefix.
  3. Any 9-credit-hour Microcredential. No more than 5 credit-hours can also count toward coursework for the program.
C. Overlays for all degrees (9 credit-hours, may overlap with other requirements)

All Arts and Sciences students must take 3 credits each in ethics, global perspectives and U.S. multicultural understanding. These courses may overlap with any other requirements and therefore may be satisfied with courses that also count towards the K-State Core, their outside concentration or requirements in the major.

2. Common requirements for B.S. and B.A.

Every Arts and Sciences major is designed to ensure that students get specialized training within their major as well as foundational training in other disciplines that supports the major and ensures some breadth of knowledge. For B.A. and B.S. degrees, the college requires the major to contain a certain number of credits in the natural and quantitative sciences, the social sciences and the arts and humanities, and requires that at least some of these be at an intermediate level (300 level or above or a second or later course in a sequence). Major programs may specify all or part of these credits with particular courses or give students the option to select any of the approved Arts and Sciences courses as “restricted electives.”

Note that many Arts and Sciences major programs offer both a B.S. and a B.A. option. These will differ in terms of how oriented they are towards math and science or the arts and humanities.

Courses used to satisfy K-State Core requirements may not also satisfy the B.A. and B.S. requirements.

Bachelors of Science (B.S.) Requirements

B.S. degree programs are designed to provide a student with a major grounded in math and/or science.

Natural and Quantitative Sciences, and Quantitative Social Sciences (12-14 credit hours): All B.S. degree programs must ensure that students take at least four courses in math and natural science above and beyond the K-State Core. At least two courses must be intermediate or advanced courses at the 300 level or above or be the second or later courses in a sequence (have a prerequisite in the same prefix). For example, BIOL 200—Organismic Biology—requires BIOL 198, therefore satisfying the intermediate requirement.

  1. One course in natural (physical or life) science (3-5 credit hours)
  2. One quantitative course (3-4 credit hours)
  3. Two additional courses in natural or quantitative science, or quantitative social science (social science with a MATH or STAT prerequisite) (6 CH)

Arts, Humanities, and Non-Quantitative Social Science (6 credit hours): All Arts and Sciences degrees require breadth across disciplines. B.S. degrees must ensure that students take an additional 6 credit-hours above the K-State Core, with at least 3 of those credits being intermediate or advanced (300 level or above, or have a prerequisite in the same discipline).

  1. Any course or combination of courses totaling 3 credit-hours in Fine Arts or Humanities (3 credit hours)
  2. Non-Quantitative Social Sciences: Any Social Science course that does not count as “quantitative social science” as defined in section C above (3 credit hours)

Programs may enforce these requirements via specific courses within their program, or may allow students to choose from a “restricted elective” set of all courses approved for these areas within Arts and Sciences.

A list of courses fulfilling these requirements is available below.

Bachelors of Arts (B.A.) Requirements

B.A. degree programs are designed to provide a student with a major in the liberal arts tradition, generally allowing some flexibility, with a grounding in humanities, arts, social sciences and a second language.

Second Language requirement

All B.A. students must either take a single second language through the fourth language course (e.g., Spanish 4) or take two languages each through second level (e.g., Spanish 2 and French 2). Any language offered though the department of Modern Languages, as well as American Sign Language, can be used towards this requirement. Students whose first language is not English may satisfy this requirement by meeting the English Proficiency Admission Standards for K-State or by completing the appropriate level of exit courses with the English Language Program.

Arts, Humanities, and Non-Quantitative Social Science (9 credit-hours): Majors must take 3 credit-hours in each of the following, with at least 6 credit-hours at 300 level or above OR at any level with a prerequisite in the same discipline.

  1. One course in Humanities (3 credit hours)
  2. Any course or combination of courses in Fine Arts (3 credit hours)
  3. One Non-Quantitative Social Science course (3 credit hours)

Natural and Quantitative Sciences, and Quantitative Social Sciences (6 credit hours): Majors must take at least one course in each of the following, with at least 3 credit hours at 300 level or above OR at any level with a prerequisite in the same discipline.

  1. Quantitative or Natural Science (3 credit hours)
  2. Quantitative or Natural Science or Quantitative Social Science (3 credit hours)

Programs may enforce these requirements via specific courses in their program or allow students to choose from a “restricted elective” set of all courses approved for these areas within Arts and Sciences.

See detailed listing of courses fulfilling these requirements below.

3. Overlays

These overlays are required for students in all Arts and Sciences degree programs (B.A., B.S., B.F.A., B.M., B.M.E., etc.). The overlays may be satisfied by courses taken for any other requirement: K-State Core, B.A. or B.S. program requirements, outside concentration, electives, or courses in the Program itself. As such, they do not necessarily add any credit hours to a student’s program.

3.1 Ethical Reasoning (3 credit hours)

One course addressing both:

  • different conceptions of rights and duties, the good, and justice, AND
  • methods for assessing alternative claims about these fundamental conceptions, evaluating the relative priorities of corresponding ethical principles, and negotiating the complexity of the application of those principles

Students who are double majors across colleges (i.e., one in Arts and Sciences and one in a different college) may be able to satisfy this requirement with an approved ethics course in their own college.

3.2 U.S. Multicultural Overlay (3 credit hours)

One course meeting ALL of the following criteria:

  1. Contains a preponderance of their content on race and/or ethnicities that are perceived as non-white.
  2. Promotes awareness of the structural nature of inequities in relation to race and ethnicity in contemporary U.S. culture.
  3. Incorporates readings and academic research on historically marginalized communities and structural inequities in the U.S. These readings will include writings and/or research by people from these communities and backgrounds. Discipline-specific exceptions will be considered with input from faculty in the discipline.
  4. Assesses student understanding of structural inequities in the U.S through reflective analyses incorporating written, statistical and/or oral methods.
3.3 Global Perspectives Overlay (3 credit hours)

One course of which at least half is devoted to one of the following:

  1. economic, political and social relations or interactions between or among different countries, in which the major focus is upon the interdependency of nations of the modern world, OR
  2. comparative study of the economic, political and social relations of modern nations, including Native, First Nation, Aboriginal or Indigenous nations; OR
  3. contemporary features or historical traditions of Native, First Nation, Aboriginal or Indigenous cultures; OR
  4. contemporary features or historical traditions of non-Western cultures.

Summarized new curriculum requirements slide presentation - Fall 2024 (pdf)

Currently approved courses

Restricted Electives

Overlays

Faculty/staff wishing to propose additions to course list or changes to Curriculog, should visit the A&S degree requirements, restricted electives, and overlays page.