Liberal Arts Curriculum Requirements

All BFA and BA students must complete the following Liberal Arts requirements for their degree (33 Units):

Investigation and Writing*
Nonfiction Writing*
Humanities Core A
Humanities Core B
Natural Science
Mathematics
Social Science
Studies in Global Culture
Elective
Critical Theory A**
Critical Theory B**

*Writing Placement Examination (WPE) required upon matriculation.
**Must be taken at SFAI.


The Liberal Arts requirement offers students grounding in the humanities and the social and natural sciences and is founded on the premise that reading and writing are the principal means of engaging and understanding the world around us. The sequence of courses emphasizing critical thinking, reading, and writing allows a student to arrive at a more complex understanding and experience of his or her practice in light of literature, history, philosophy, criticism, and art history.

A three-year sequence of core courses anchors the liberal arts requirements.

Year 1
The Writing Program (ENGL-110, ENGL-100, ENGL-101, ENG-102) is the foundation of a student’s progression through the School of Interdisciplinary Studies. Writing courses are designed to develop skills in critical reading and analysis, with an emphasis on recognizing and crafting persuasive arguments. The small seminar format of writing program classes allows for close contact with faculty and substantial feedback on writing in progress. See Writing Program for more information.

Year 2
Humanities Core A (HUMN-200) and Humanities Core B (HUMN-201) develop historical understandings of the philosophical, social, political, and economic issues that have significantly shaped human life. Course offerings for Humanities Core A include a thematic or regional emphasis, and date from antiquity through 1500. Humanities Core B explores the emergence of the modern era from a global perspective (approximately 1500–1900). These courses enhance analytic skill and develop oral and written expression to prepare students for the critical theory sequence and other advanced work. Prerequisites include ENGL-100 and ENGL-101.

Year 3
Critical Theory A (CS-300, formerly HUMN-300) provides students with a strong foundation in the theoretical subjects that most contribute to an analysis of the contemporary world, including semiotics, Marxism, psychoanalysis, poststructuralism, feminist theory, and postcolonial theory. While these modes of critical inquiry greatly enhance understandings of social life in the broadest possible sense, the course focuses on analyzing multiple forms of cultural production including visual images, various genres of writing, and the “texts” of commercial culture. The course develops written and verbal analytic skills with the goal of enriching the quality of students’ thought, discourse, and artistic production. Critical Theory B (CS-301, formerly HUMN-301) includes special topics courses that build upon the theoretical foundations of Critical Theory A.

See Courses for more information about other Liberal Arts courses.