Undergraduate Graduation Requirements

At Ottawa University, we understand the liberal arts as an interdisciplinary discourse that blends focus and breadth, connecting the major/professional field with wider contexts and larger wholes, extending to the global community.  To this end, Ottawa University’s liberal arts studies program provides all students a shared core curriculum that develops critical thinking and long-term value for intellectual and ethical interrogation.  The liberal arts have a history that we seek to honor, albeit in a way responsive to contemporary reality. 

One feature that distinguishes Ottawa University from other universities that offer liberal arts and pre-professional education is Ottawa’s unique Liberal Arts Studies program (LAS).  Virtually all colleges and universities that grant a Bachelor’s degree require students to complete some kind of general education program.  These institutions often ask students to take courses in a variety of disciplines to ensure breadth, with the expectation that graduates will leave the University with more at their intellectual disposal than the knowledge of their major.  At Ottawa University, the curriculum provides opportunity for students to study elements of multiple disciplines, while at the same time reinforcing critical thinking skills through a sequence of interdisciplinary courses.