Liberal Studies is a college major designed as a sort of catch-all for those dabbling in a number of established majors. The "liberal" part simply means that the student's primary courses are in the College of Arts and Sciences. For example, say that at Acme University, students are required to take 80 credits in their major. Aaliyah instead takes 20 credits in Physics, 20 credits in History,
. 20 credits in English, and 20 credits in Chemistry. She explains to her counselor that she is interested in pursuing a career writing about the history of the sciences. After going over Aaliyah's plan with her, the counselor concludes that it's a worthy area of study, and classifies Aaliyah as a Liberal Studies major. It is not that the degree is less or more worthy that if Aaliyah were a major in an established area. All it means is that what Aaliyah is studying does not quite fit the mold for an established major. Also know that no student can just randomly say he or she is in Liberal Studies. A counselor or adviser has to approve the entire course of study.
