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What Can Students do with an LSA major?

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What is the program in literature, science, and the arts?

The LSA program at Iowa is a unique alternative to departmentally-based and discipline-driven courses. Rooted in strong traditions of fundamental liberal arts and sciences, the LSA major emphasizes skills in writing, analytical thinking, and discussion as it coordinates courses that cross departmental boundaries. The aim of this program is to educate students to reason well, to communicate clearly and persuasively through speech and writing, and to provide them with flexibility in their choices and breadth of curriculum. LSA courses focus on team-teaching and small discussion groups; the courses are designed to assist students in understanding various disciplines and professions–sociology, philosophy, physics, statistics, cultural studies or business, law, medicine, and teaching–and in applying this knowledge to practical problem-solving.

Rooted in strong traditions of classic liberal arts, the LSA major emphasizes skills in writing, analytical thinking, and discussion while requiring coordination of courses across the disciplines of the liberal arts.

Who are faculty and students in LSA?

LSA faculty offer courses that encourage the exploration of knowledge through discussion. LSA students desire a rich liberal arts education in rigorous courses that intersect departments and disciplines in the college. LSA majors prefer to personalize their course of study in ways that are coherent with their interests and goals. Graduates of the LSA program believe that the intellectual, creative, and personal life is informed by education, and that learning does not end when degrees are awarded.

Faculty member Paul Heidger at the Division Convocation

What can Students do with the Major in LSA?

An LSA major furnishes a broad range of prospects for self-advancement. What makes the LSA major attractive is the breadth and depth of the curriculum, which provides students with the opportunity to develop interesting combinations of study. LSA majors have pursued a wide variety of careers that include occupations in law, history, biology, pharmacy, theology, internet development and design; jobs with business and industry in sales, management, and writing; and positions in teaching and social service.