2026-2027 Catalog
Liberal Studies, Social Science Emphasis, B.A.
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In addition to adhering to General Education Requirements and School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts Requirements , the Liberal Studies, B.A. major requires 54 units (some of which simultaneously fulfill general education requirements). Courses in the major must be taken for a letter grade and may not be taken on a pass/no pass basis unless the course is only offered on a pass/no pass basis. Students must complete all major course prerequisites with a C-or better. Students are not permitted to combine a Liberal Studies, B.A. major with any other SSHA major. Students who complete an emphasis track are not permitted to minor in the same subject of study that they choose to complete their specialization requirements.
Liberal Studies, B.A. Four-Year Course Plan
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Lower Division Requirements [24 Units]
Cornerstone Requirement [4 units]
Complete the following course: Social Sciences Specialization Requirement [8 units]
Complete eight lower division units in Social Sciences. Students will choose from one of the Social Science Specializations: Anthropology, Cognitive Science, Community Research and Service, Economics, Geospatial Technology, Interdisciplinary Public Health, Management and Business Economics, Political Science, Psychology, or Sociology. Students must choose the same Social Science Specialization to satisfy both the lower division and the upper division specialization requirements. Breadth Requirement [12 units]
Humanities and Arts Requirement [8 units]
Complete eight lower division units in Humanities and Arts from any of the following subjects: CCST; CRES; EH; ENG; GASP; HIST; PHIL; SPAN; WRI. *Excluding WRI 001 and WRI 010. Social Sciences or Humanities and Arts Requirement [4 units]
Complete four additional lower division units in either Social Sciences or Humanities and Arts from any of the following subjects*: ANTH; CCST; COGS; CRES; CRS; ECON; EH; ENG; GASP; GEOG; HIST; HS; MGMT; PH; PHIL; POLI; PSY; SOC; SPAN; WRI. *Excluding WRI 001 and WRI 010. Up to four units of lower division STEM coursework can substitute, with a petition process. Upper Division Requirements [30 Units]
Capstone Requirement [4 units]
Complete the following course: Social Sciences Specialization Requirement [16 units]
Complete 16 upper division units in Social Sciences. Students will choose from one of the Social Science Specializations: Anthropology, Cognitive Science, Community Research and Service, Economics, Geospatial Technology, Interdisciplinary Public Health, Management and Business Economics, Political Science, Psychology, or Sociology. Students must choose the same Social Science Specialization to satisfy both the lower division and the upper division specialization requirements. Elective Requirement [10 units]
Complete ten upper division units in either Social Sciences or Humanities and Arts from any the following subjects*: ANTH; CCST; COGS; CRES; CRS; ECON; EH; ENG; GASP; GEOG; HIST; HS; MGMT; PH; PHIL; POLI; PSY; SOC; SPAN; WRI. *Up to eight units of upper division STEM coursework can substitute, with a petition process. Social Sciences Specializations
Cognitive Science
- COGS 001: Introduction to Cognitive Science Units: 4
- Complete four additional lower division units from any of the following subjects: ANTH, COGS, ECON, GEOG, HS, PH, MGMT, POLI, or PSY
- COGS 101: Mind, Brain, and Computation Units: 4 or COGS 110: Philosophy of Cognitive Science (or PHIL 110) or PSY 160: Cognitive Psychology
- Complete three additional upper division COGS courses (one upper division PSY course can be substituted)
Community Research and Service
- CRS 010: Introduction to Community Engaged Research Units: 4
- Complete four additional lower division units from any of the following subjects: ANTH, COGS, ECON, GEOG, HS, MGMT, PH, POLI, or PSY
- Complete one upper division methods course from the following: ANTH 170, BIO 175. CSE 100, CSE 170, ECON 100, ENVE 155, ESS 132, GASP 172, GEOG 141, HIST 100, ME 170, PH 111, PH 112, PH 115, POLI 170, POLI 175, SOC 170, SOC 175, SPAN 107, SPAN 108.
- Complete two upper division courses from one of the following areas:
- Sustainability: ECON 120, ENGR 180, ENVE 160, ESS 141, ENGR 141, GEOG 141, WRI 115
- Analytics of Prosperity: ANTH 120, ECON 156, HIS 123, HIST 127, PH 110, PH 113, POLI 106, PSY 124, SOC 110, SOC 132, SOC 180
- Community Engaged Innovation: ANTH 110, ANTH 112, ANTH 114, ANTH 116, ENG 117, PH 102, PH 103, PH 108, WRI 115
- One community engaged research course from: CRS 100, CRS 195, PH 181, or ENGR 197
Geospatial Technology
- HS 002: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems Units: 4
- Complete four additional lower division units from any of the following subjects: ANTH, COGS, ECON, GEOG, HS, MGMT, PH, POLI, or PSY
- Complete four upper division courses from the following: ANTH 131, ANTH 171, ENGR 180, ENVE 152, GEOG 152, HS 112, HS 150, HS 161, HS 185, HS 192, HS 193, MIST 132
Interdisciplinary Public Health
- PH 001: Introduction to Public Health Units: 4
- BIO 003: To Know Ourselves: Molecular Basis of Health and Disease Units: 4
- PH 100: Introduction to Epidemiology Units: 5
- PH 105: Introduction to US Health Care System Units: 4
- Complete two courses from the following: ANTH 120, ANTH 121, BIO 060, BIO 140, BIO 161, ECON 145, GEOG 002, HS 002, PH 104, PH 106, PH 111, PH 113, PH 114, PH 115, PH 116, PH 118, PH 137, PH 185, PH 195, PSY 120, PSY 124, or SOC 161
Management and Business Economics
Psychology
- PSY 001: Introduction to Psychology Units: 4
- PSY 010: Analysis of Psychological Data Units: 5
- Complete four upper division PSY courses, with at least one course each from each of the following areas:
- Group A (Cognition, Brain, and Behavior: PSY 160-169, PSY 180-189, or any upper division COGS course
- Group B (Social-Personality, Development): PSY 130-139 or PSY 150-159
- Group C (Applied Psychology): PSY 120-129, PSY 140-149, or PSY 170-179
Transfer Students
Liberal Studies has designed its curriculum so that students transferring as juniors who are enrolled full-time will be able to complete the degree requirements within two years. Transfer Selection Criteria
Beyond meeting the UC Merced campus requirements and the school level transfer requirements, applicants must meet the following additional requirements to be admitted
to their intended major.
Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG): Liberal Studies will participate in the Transfer Admissions Guarantee program. For
students entering through TAG, the following requirements apply: - GPA: Minimum transferable unit GPA of 2.8, or higher
- Course Requirements: Satisfies lower-division breadth requirement. No additional major specific courses are required.
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