About the Degree
If you’re a junior or senior who has earned at least 80 credit hours but you’re struggling to graduate, the Applied Liberal Arts & Sciences BA degree might be for you.
The Applied Liberal Arts & Sciences (ALA&S) program offers current or recently enrolled UA students the opportunity to earn a bachelor of arts degree by completing two minor programs and a Capstone course. To enroll in this program, students must meet several eligibility requirements.
Rather than focusing your energies on a single major and minor, ALA&S gives you an opportunity to turn your diverse academic experiences and interests into a general studies liberal arts degree you can use in a wide range of careers and graduate programs.
Because every student’s course of study is different, ALA&S advisors will work with you to identify your best — and quickest — path to graduation.
How the Program Works
The ALA&S BA is a multidisciplinary degree option that combines study in two subjects with a capstone seminar that provides career readiness training, resume workshops, and other tools to help you make the most of your degree after graduation.
The ALA&S major is comprised of two existing UA minors, at least one of which will be in the College of Arts and Sciences. Courses for the major can include any approved, active course for an existing minor at UA. Because minors vary in credit hour requirements, the number of hours required to complete the degree program will vary. Students will be subject to the requirements for the approved minors as specified in the UA catalog for their catalog year. All requirements for the degree must come from the same catalog year.
Because the major will correspond to the requirements for two existing UA minors, it can include coursework you completed while previously enrolled at UA.
In addition to the requirements for the two minors, students must complete — with a minimum 2.0 GPA in all areas — the following:
- the general education requirements for the College of Arts and Sciences
- a total of 120 credit hours with at least 36 hours at the upper level (including at least 6 upper-level hours completed in residence per approved minor)
- a capstone experience course (ALA 495) aimed at work-force readiness and application of your major in your future career
Steps to Enroll
Step 1
Students can’t declare ALA&S as a major on their own, like they can do with other majors, so if you think you’re a good candidate for this special program, speak to your academic advisor or contact ALA&S directly.
Step 2
Next, you’ll attend an informational meeting with an ALA&S director or registrar, who can answer your questions about the program. If you and the ALA&S advisor agree that this is your best option for moving toward graduation, the next step is completing the ALA&S application. This process requires students to identify the minors they would like to complete for the major and to write a one-page statement discussing their academic and professional goals. ALA&S will also review your academic record in DegreeWorks.
*Students may attend one of the weekly info sessions with Dr. Amanda Espy-Brown or Mrs. Latandra Smith to learn more and have their general questions answered in person.
- Tuesdays: 1:00pm & 1:30pm
- Wednesdays: 9:30am & 10am; 1:30pm & 2pm
- Thursdays: 9:00am & 9:30pm (AEB)
Info Sessions are usually held in person but can be held virtually.
Email AppliedLAS@ua.edu to schedule.
Step 3
If you’re accepted into the program, you’ll work with an ALA&S advisor to determine which minors to pursue to put you on the fastest path to graduation. Because every student in ALA&S pursues an individualized course of study, the advising process for the program is one-on-one and more student-centered than you might be used to. This is a good thing! The purpose of ALA&S is to help you graduate, so we want to identify the best way for you to do that.