UC Merced · New major, Fall 2026
B.A. in Liberal Studies
An interdisciplinary degree that draws from fields across the social sciences, humanities, and arts to examine the human condition.
2nd in the UC
Liberal Studies at UC Merced launches in Fall 2026 as just the second Liberal Studies degree program in the UC system.
Guiding questions
What the major asks
Why do people think and act as they do?
How do cultures and institutions shape lives?
What does the past teach about the present?
How do people make meaning from experience?
By engaging with diverse forms of inquiry and ways of understanding self and society, students learn to integrate knowledge across disciplines and approach complex issues from multiple perspectives.
What you build
Skills employers value as difficult to automate and hard to find
Critical and creative thinking
Effective communication
Collaboration across differences
The ability to adapt to new information and changing circumstances
Graduates are prepared for a wide range of careers, graduate study, and leadership roles in their professions and communities.
A strong fit for
Who the major suits
Interests across fields
Students whose interests span more than one liberal arts field.
Maximum flexibility
Students who want maximum flexibility in how credits map to a degree.
Transfer and returning students
The major’s breadth and flexible course requirements make it a strong fit for students seeking to apply previously earned credit toward an efficient degree pathway.
Future teachers
Liberal Studies is the recommended major for students pursuing a career in elementary education.
Where the major starts and ends
Cornerstone and capstone experiences
Cornerstone · LBST 001
Introduction to Liberal Studies
- Explores how disciplines create and evaluate knowledge, and how identity and context shape inquiry.
- Includes academic and career planning to build an academic plan.
Satisfies
GE EthicsGE Diversity and Identity
Capstone · LBST 191
Capstone in Liberal Studies
- Integrates learning across the major through reflection on multidisciplinary study.
- Includes portfolio development and career preparation.
Satisfies
GE Culminating Experience
TEAL classrooms
Both courses meet in Technology Enabled Active Learning (TEAL) classrooms, emphasizing discussion, collaboration, and applied learning.
Optional
Emphasis tracks
Students may choose between two emphasis tracks to build a specialization. Either track provides a subject-matter core while preserving the breadth that supports a wide range of careers or further study.
Emphasis trackSocial Sciences
Emphasis trackHumanities & Arts
Pursuing a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential? Carefully consider whether to declare an emphasis track
Completing one means the degree will not satisfy California’s Subject Matter Competency requirement, and the California Subject Examinations for Teachers (CSET) would be required instead.
Program learning outcomes
Graduates should be able to
- 1Compare how different fields ask questions and solve problems.
- 2Critically analyze and integrate knowledge across fields to address complex, real-world issues.
- 3Demonstrate critical thinking and evidence-based problem-solving.
- 4Recognize complexity, diversity, and change in contemporary local and global problems.
- 5Communicate clearly in written, spoken, and visual formats, using evidence.
Degree requirements
See the catalog
