Liberal Education 2022-2023
LIBERAL EDUCATION MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of Bemidji State University's Liberal Education curriculum is to create an environment where students of diverse backgrounds and abilities can acquire the knowledge, the skills, the values, and the confidence necessary for effective and responsible participation in our changing global society.
LIBERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
Goal Area 1: Communication (2 courses, 6 credits)
Goal Area 2: Critical Thinking (requires completion of the rest of the Liberal Education program)
Goal Area 3: Natural Science (2 courses, including 1 with a lab component [LC], 7 or more credits)
Goal Area 4: Mathematics (1 course, 3 or more credits)
Goal Area 5: History and the Social and Behavioral Sciences (2 courses, 6 or more credits)
Goal Area 6: Humanities and the Arts (2 courses, 5 or more credits)
Goal Area 7: Human Diversity in the United States (1 course, 2 or more credits)
Goal Area 8: Global Perspective (1 course, 3 or more credits)
Goal Area 9: Ethical and Civic Responsibility (1 course, 2 or more credits)
Goal Area 10: People of the Environment (1 course, 3 credits)
Goal Area 11: Performance and Participation (1 course, 1 or more credits)
Required Credits: 42
If the required courses are completed in less than 42 credits, additional Liberal Education credits must be taken, from any goal area, to bring the total to 42. For students planning to use the completed program to satisfy the general education requirements of another state institution, as provided by the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum, 40 credits must be in Goal Areas 1 through 10.
Goal Area 11 is a Bemidji State University graduation requirement. Students who have completed the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum prior to transfer to Bemidji State University and students who already hold an AA or baccalaureate degree are exempted from the Goal Area 11 requirement.
Graduation planning forms for Liberal Education are available online at https://www.bemidjistate.edu/mybsu/resources/forms/.pdf. Complete the Graduaton Summary and Application Form.
MINNESOTA TRANSFER CURRICULUM (MnTC)
Goal Areas 1 through 10 comprise the 40 credit Minnesota Transfer Curriculum. A minimum 2.00 GPA is required in MnTC coursework. Grades A, B, C, and D, are accepted in transfer. MnTC is designed to expedite the transfer of courses within the Minnesota State Colleges & Universities system (Minnesota State), and to or from the University of Minnesota. If a MnTC goal area is completed at one school, it is deemed to be completed at another Minnesota State school. If a student plans to transfer to the University of Minnesota without having completed the entire MnTC, a course-by-course evaluation will be done according to the University's liberal education requirements. Individual courses may be accepted in transfer. Students who complete the MnTC and then transfer to the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities have fulfilled the University's first-year writing requirement, as well as the liberal education requirements.
POLICIES
Some courses are listed in two goal areas, and may be used to meet the requirement in both goal areas. However, the credits may be counted only once toward the total. If credits taken do not total 42, the student must take additional credits (from any Liberal Education goal area). Forty credits must be from Goal Areas 1 through 10.
Courses not approved for Liberal Education will generally not be accepted as substitutions for approved courses.
For student transferring out of BSU to other state institutions, the MnTC will be validated with the completion of Goal Areas 1 through 10 and a minimum of 40 credits.
ASSOCIATE OF ARTS (A.A.) IN LIBERAL EDUCATION
Bemidji State University offers a curriculum (60 credits minimum) that leads to a two-year Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree in Liberal Education. The 60 credits include all Liberal Education requirements plus electives. With proper advising, this program may be used as the basis for continuing on in a four-year bachelor's degree program. For transfer students, 20 credits and a minimum of one semester must be completed at Bemidji State University.
THE HONORS PROGRAM
The Honors Program is an alternative Liberal Education program that emphasizes an interdisciplinary academic curriculum different from the Liberal Education program and a student’s major. See "Honors" in Section VII for information.
DIMENSIONS OF STUDENT LEARNING AT BEMIDJI STATE
Liberal Education and other programs use the Dimensions of Student Learning for self-assessment.
1. Intellectual Development
- Higher Order Thinking: Use critical thinking and appropriate frameworks for inquiry.
- Knowledge, Value and Abilities Related to the Arts, Humanities, Sciences and Specialized Fields of Study: Understand concepts, ideas, and theories from various disciplines and abilities associated with specialized fields of study.
2. Understanding of Self / Relating to Others
- Values: Examine, evaluate, and express values.
- Communication: Present ideas clearly and effectively in visual, written, and oral form.
- Human Diversity: Recognize the experiences and contributions of diverse groups and cultures.
- Self Development: Demonstrate awareness of concepts, knowledge, and actions which promote one’s well-being.
3. Participation in an Emerging Global Society
- Readiness for Careers: Demonstrate knowledge, ethics and abilities as they relate to one’s specialization and career choice.
- Responsible Citizenship: Participate as a contributing member of a changing global society.
STUDY-TRAVEL COURSES
For Goal Areas 3 through 11, departments may propose, subject to approval, study-travel courses (domestic or abroad) using the All-University course numbers specified under “Others” at the end of each goal area’s course listing.