Programs

UMass Dartmouth's Bachelor of Liberal Arts, Online Degree Completion Program offers a fully online degree completion program to students who wish to earn a multidisciplinary degree. Students who complete the program receive a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts.

The Bachelor of Liberal Arts (LAR) degree completion program offers students opportunities to learn a variety of skills in multiple subject areas. LAR degree completion graduates will:

• Understand the diversity of disciplinary perspectives and relationships across diverse fields of knowledge
  
• Identify and formulate multidisciplinary research questions based on key concepts, literature, practices, and issues of their areas of concentration
  
• Demonstrate critical thinking and communication skills that relate their academic knowledge to civic engagement and issues in their communities
  
• Conduct research that evaluates and employs primary and secondary resources effectively, using appropriate disciplinary conventions for citation and documentation
  
• Develop, write, and present original analyses in clear, grammatical prose

With these skills, students will graduate capable of fulfilling the top three expectations of the new college-educated employee:

• strong communication abilities (oral and written)
  
• ability to assess a situation well and develop a course of action
  
• an ability to work independently

Given its broad academic scope, the Liberal Arts degree provides the foundation for long-term career development and change.

Students who enter the LAR degree completion program transfer in up to 60 credits from a community college or 75 credits from a four year institution. These credits often fulfill the distribution and general education courses that are pre-requisites for upper level course work in the LAR major.

Please note that the Liberal Arts degree completion program is designed as a fully online program and the following course schedule enables a student to complete the LAR major requirements in two years if desired. When available, classroom courses offered at our Dartmouth, Fall River or Cape Cod campuses may be substituted for the same online course.

Learn more about this program:
To receive more information and connect with the program director, please click on inquire now to the right.

Click here for more information on earning your Bachelor of Liberal Arts, Online Degree Completion Program.

Type of Fee	Amount
Tuition per course	$912
Technology Fee per course	$150
College Fee	$36-87
Library Access Fee	$18
Registration Fee (one time per semester)	$30
Total for a three credit course*	$1146-$1197

The University of Massachusetts is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).

Did you know?

University of Massachusetts has earned several awards for its distance learning programs, faculty and technology including:

• University of Massachusetts Lowell’s B.S. in Information Technology Ranked Among Top Affordable Online IT Degrees by Get Educated in 2011
• UMass Ranked Among Top 10 Best Colleges in Online Education in Communication & Public Relations Degrees, 2011 by The Best Colleges
• UMass Ranked 2nd Among Top 10 Online Bachelor of Business Administration Degrees, 2011 by The Best Colleges
• UMass ranks 19th highest-rated university in the world by the Times of London.
• UMass ranked 56th in the Times of London's Top 200
  
• UMassOnline, UMass Boston President's Special Achievement Award, Valerie C. Haven, Sloan-C 2010 Awards
• University of Massachusetts Ranked Among Top 28 Best Value in Online Education for Human Services & Psychology Professionals, 2009 by Get Educated
  
• Ranked Top 10 Online Degrees Colleges- September 2009 (Online Degree Reviews.com)
  
• UMassOnline Awarded Public Sector of the Year by Mass Technology Leadership Council , 2008
  
• Most Outstanding Online Teaching and Learning Program, UMass Lowell's Online Graduate Behavioral Intervention in Autism Program, Sloan Consortium Excellence Awards, 2008
  
• 'Excellence in Online Teaching' Award, Dr. Jeannette E. Riley, Sloan Consortium Excellence Awards, 2008
  
• 21st Century Best Practices Award, United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA)
  
• Program of Excellence, University Continuing Education Association (UCEA)-Journalism Certificate
  
• Excellence in Faculty Development, Sloan-C Excellence Awards
  
• Excellence in Online Programming, Sloan-C Excellence Awards
  
• Excellence in Online Teaching, Sloan-C Excellence Awards
  
• UMass Amherst Isenberg MBA, Top 10 national rankings, #4 Best Professors (2005, 2006, 2007 Princeton Review: Best Business Schools rankings)
  
• 4th in Primary Care Education, U.S. World Reports
• Excellence in Distance Teaching Education - United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) 

Program Requirements

Fully online Liberal Arts degree completion students are asked to declare their concentrations when they apply to the program. Liberal Arts degree completion students must also complete the distribution requirements for the College of Arts & Sciences, as well as the university general education requirements.

LAR 201: Introduction to Studies Across the Disciplines (3 credits)

An introduction to the writing, research and communications skills required in multidisciplinary studies, which includes a study of the humanities and social sciences as disciplines. Students will learn about the various disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, read and analyze texts from the humanities and social sciences, and develop critical understanding of disciplinary research practices for the humanities and social sciences. LAR 201 has a pre-requisite of ENL 102. Students are encouraged to complete LAR 201 during the their sophomore year.

Concentrations in Humanities (15 Credits) (choose one)
 

• English Literature
  
• Philosophy

Concentrations in Social Sciences (15 Credits) (choose one)

• Political Science
  
• Women's Studies

LAR 401: Capstone Seminar in Multidisciplinary Studies (3 credits)

A seminar course with substantial multidisciplinary research and writing. Students will engage in in-depth research of primary and secondary sources across a variety of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. They will research, reason, and write employing the appropriate conventions of the disciplines they are studying. Topics will vary according to instructor. This course may be repeated with different topics. Students are encouraged to complete LAR 401 during their senior year.

Note: Many concentration courses have pre-requisite courses. It is the student's responsibility to complete these courses. It is strongly recommended that you take courses in the listed sequence.

Total credits for the major: 36

Please note that the Liberal Arts degree completion program is designed as a fully online program and the following course schedule enables a student to complete the LAR major requirements in two years if desired. When available, classroom courses offered at our Dartmouth, Fall River or Cape Cod campuses may be substituted for the same online course.