Many students today have varied interests, talents, and gifts and are often hard-pressed to narrow their college experience into one area of study. The Liberal Studies Program, part of the Division of Arts and Sciences, provides students freedom, flexibility, and creativity to design their own program of study by combining two or three areas of study together.
Students gain essential skills and knowledge, including self-awareness, technological literacy, global awareness, skillful communication, scientific reasoning, cultural competence, and critical thinking skills.
Areas of concentration within the liberal studies program include:
- Art
- Biblical Languages
- English
- History
- Math
- Music
- New Media and Digital Production
- Psychology
- Religion
- Sociology
Experiential Learning in Liberal Studies
Experiential Learning is a key part of The Concordia Experience and a dynamic component of the Liberal Studies Program. Given the freedom and flexibility of this program, students who are motivated may use a broad range of experiential learning opportunities to enhance their overall learning. Depending on the areas of study a student identifies, here are some examples of experiential learning:
- Hospital or community clinic
- MTV studio
- Semester study abroad
- “City as Text” studying such topics as “Broadway and Beyond,” or “The History of Mass Transportation in New York City,” or “Wall Street and Beyond”
- Summer archeological dig
- Habitat for Humanity project
- Volunteering at a local church or school
Liberal Studies Program Courses
Possible curriculum combinations that reflect creativity, flexibility, and exploration are:
- English and History/Pre-Law
- Religion and Art
- History and Biblical Languages
- Music and Psychology
- Art and English
- New Media and Art
- Sociology and Psychology
- Art, Music, and History
- Math, English, and History
- Music, New Media, and Sociology
These are just a sample of what is possible. The student decides what he or she chooses to study.
Liberal Studies Faculty
Serdar Arat
Professor of Art
M.A., M.F.A., SUNY-Albany; B.A., Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey
John Bahr
Dean of Experiential Learning and Associate Professor of English
M.Div., Union Theological Seminary; B.A., Concordia College-New York; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Rev. Dr. Patrick Bayens
Program Chair and Associate Professor of Religion
Ph.D., Marquette University; M.A., University of Kentucky; M.Div., Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne; B.S., Concordia University, Seward
Dr. Kate Behr
Associate Professor of English
D.Phil., Pembroke College, Oxford University; B.A., Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, University of London
Rev. Dr. Martin Conkling
Assistant Professor of Religion
Ph.D., M.Div., S.T.M., Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; B.A., University of Oklahoma
Kit Fitzgerald
Assistant Professor of New Media
B.A., Smith College
Dr. Kathryn Galchutt
Associate Professor of History
Ph.D., Marquette University; M.A., Marquette University; B.A., Concordia University, St. Paul
Dr. Kristen Koenig
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Ph.D., University of York; M.Sc., University of Oxford; B.A., Occcidental College
Judy Lass, L.M.S.W.
Instructor of History and Political Science
M.A., B.S., New York University, M.S.Ed., Fordham University Graduate School of Education; M.S.W., Columbia School of Social Work
Dr. John Loase
Professor of Mathematics
Ed.D., Ed.M., Columbia University; M.A., M.A., B.S., Manhattan College; College of New Rochelle, New York University, Bank Street College Hamilton College .
Dr. Mandana Nakhai
Professor of English and Writing
Assistant Dean, Division of Liberal Studies
Ph.D., M.A., B.A., University of Tennessee
Dr. Jennifer Roth
Assistant Professor of Business
Ph.D., M.A., Johns Hopkins University; B.S. University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Jason Thoms
Assistant Professor of Music
Ph.D., Michigan State University; M.M., Michigan State University; B.M., St. Olaf College
Liberal Studies Career Paths
Art Biblical Languages English Literature Writing History Math |
New Media Music Pre-law Religion Sociology |