Programs of Study

Liberty University’s educational philosophy is based on the integration of fundamental Christian beliefs and the liberal arts tradition. Its programs are designed to prepare students to assume leadership roles in society.

Degree Programs, Majors, Minors, and Certificates

Degree Programs. At the undergraduate level, Liberty University defines a degree program as a major. Concentrations and cognates within given majors are listed under the major. Liberty University defines a Concentration as a specific grouping of 18 or more credit hours that may be offered within the requirements for an Undergraduate Major or Graduate Program. A Cognate/Specialization is defined as a specific grouping of 9 to 17 credit hours that may be offered within the requirements for an Undergraduate Major or Graduate Program. A Program of Study is a degree with a specified Undergraduate Major or Graduate Program and concentration or cognate (if applicable).

The requirements for graduation for all undergraduate programs are listed in this Catalog and on Degree Completion Plans (DCP) which can be accessed at http://www.liberty.edu/dcps. Each Degree Completion Plan includes a Suggested Course Sequence page which can provide assistance to students in planning their classes for upcoming semesters.

Minors. Undergraduate students may take a specific grouping of 15 to 24 credit hours outside a student’s undergraduate major to complete a minor.

Certificates. Undergraduate certificates require a minimum of 18 credit hours. Each certificate differs; therefore, the student must follow the certificate requirements carefully.

Undergraduate students declare a major when they are accepted to Liberty. Students may process a change of major at any time following matriculation. The procedure for changing majors can be accessed at https://www.liberty.edu/registrar/change-of-major-or-minor/. Exceptions are majors which require acceptance into the program, i.e., Athletic Training, Cinematic Arts, Individualized Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies, Nursing, or teacher licensure.

Unless published in this Catalog, no other undergraduate degree programs or majors, minors, or certificates can be offered by Liberty. Students must be aware that Liberty has no responsibility to offer any degree program, major, minor, or certificate unless such information is found in this publication.

Teacher Licensure

Liberty University offers teacher preparation programs approved by the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Education.

Those who enter the teacher licensure program must complete the academic major, be subject to the same general education requirements as all other students, and complete academic and practicum experiences related to professional teacher training.

Those wishing to pursue teacher preparation programs should seek information from the Teacher Licensure Office in the School of Education. Licensure information is also available at http://www.liberty.edu/uguide.

Course Identification

Each course is identified by a four-letter prefix and a three digit number. The letters represent the academic area. The first digit will be 1, 2, 3, or 4 to indicate that the course is a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior level course, respectively. Graduate course numbers begin with 5 and above. The meaning of a course prefix can be found by using the course search tool in the left-side navigation. Searching by subject in the search panel will give the course prefix along with the meaning of the prefix.