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Through Clark’s Program of Liberal Studies (PLS), you’ll learn to understand the world in diverse ways and to make vital connections across subjects — capacities that are crucial to success in today’s complex global economy.

PLS courses will strengthen your communication and critical-thinking skills and enable you to build valuable knowledge in essential areas, including history, the natural sciences, and language and culture. You’ll address important questions faced by scholars, researchers, and government and industry leaders, across history and throughout the world. And you’ll expand your intellectual horizons, explore potential career paths, and refine your interests.

You are required to take eight PLS courses over four years, and your adviser will work with you to choose courses that match your interests. PLS courses fall into two categories: Critical Thinking courses and Perspectives courses.

These courses are designed to help you cultivate the essential critical-thinking skills that you’ll use in every course at Clark and throughout your life. All students take one course in each of the following two areas:

  • Verbal Expression (VE) courses place special emphasis on the relationship between writing and critical thinking.
    Sample courses: Introduction to Literature · Heart of a Poet – Heat of Poem · Writing: Sense of Place · Art and Science of Management · Modern Drama · Writing About Film
    Based on your writing placement, you may be required to take one or both of the following:

    • English as a Second Language (ESL)
    • Expository Writing
  • Formal Analysis (FA) courses introduce students to formal, symbolic methods of analysis.
    Sample courses: Calculus I · Linear Algebra · Introduction to Management Information Systems · Principles of Economics · Financial Intelligence · Discovering Environmental Science

Perspectives courses introduce you to different ways of thinking, learning, and knowing in six different disciplines. You must complete one course in each of the following categories, with each course taken in a different academic department:

  • Aesthetic Perspective (AP) courses emphasize artistic expression and the perception, analysis, and evaluation of aesthetic form. These courses will enhance your appreciation and understanding of the arts.
    Sample courses: Introduction to Graphic Design · Age of Michelangelo · Drawing: Eye, Mind, Hand · Jazz History · Creative Actor · Modern Dance
  • Global Comparative (GP) Perspective courses introduce you to comparative analysis through the exploration of diverse cultures, political systems, or economic structures. You’ll examine similarities and differences in a global context, gaining the tools to analyze the human experience.
    Sample courses: Economics and the World Economy · Miracles of Asia · Introduction to Cultural Anthropology · Revolution and Political Violence
  • Historical Perspective (HP) courses develop your capacity to understand the present in relation to the past. All courses are broad in scope and introduce you to the diverse ways scholars think about the past, present, and future.
    Sample courses: Survey of U.S. History to 1865 · History of Ancient Greek Philosophy · American Race and Ethnicity · History of American Broadcasting · Public Schools and Democracy
  • Language and Culture Perspective (LP) courses foster the study of language as an expression of culture. You may study foreign languages or take English-language courses, each of which highlights the relationship between language and culture.
    Sample courses: Intermediate Hebrew, Japanese, Chinese, French, or German · Readings in Hispanic Literature · French Popular Culture
  • Natural Scientific Perspective (SP) courses teach the principal methods and results of the natural sciences. Courses include laboratories or similar components to introduce you to methods for observing natural phenomena and the experimental nature of scientific study.
    Sample courses: Introduction to Biology · Introductory Chemistry · Biodiversity · Introduction to Computing · Exploring the Universe · Forensic Science · Oscillations, Waves and Optics
  • Values Perspective (VP) courses examine the moral dimensions of human life. Courses focus not only on the systematic formulation and analysis of moral and ethical claims, but also on how moral decisions affect both the individual and society.
    Sample courses: Creating a Culture of Innovation · Holocaust: Agency and Action · Topics in Men and Emotion · Business Ethics and Law · Food Justice and Food Movements

Note: The sample courses listed above are based on past offerings and may not be available or applicable.  Students should consult with their adviser about the official course offerings and their PLS applicability each semester.

Expand Your Thinking

Featured Courses

man playing saxaphone
MUSC 151

Take note of jazz, from the beginning

Some people say that jazz is America’s only original art form. How did jazz develop from Scott Joplin’s ragtime to the free-form repertoire of Charles Mingus? In Jazz History, you’ll study the evolution of jazz from its beginnings among African-Americans in 19th-century New Orleans to the jazz-rock fusion we hear today. You’ll come to understand, if not appreciate, the roots and progression of a wide range of jazz styles like Dixieland, swing, bop, progressive, cool, free-form, and third-stream. (Aesthetic Perspective)

man playing saxaphone
MUSC 151

Take note of jazz, from the beginning

Some people say that jazz is America’s only original art form. How did jazz develop from Scott Joplin’s ragtime to the free-form repertoire of Charles Mingus? In Jazz History, you’ll study the evolution of jazz from its beginnings among African-Americans in 19th-century New Orleans to the jazz-rock fusion we hear today. You’ll come to understand, if not appreciate, the roots and progression of a wide range of jazz styles like Dixieland, swing, bop, progressive, cool, free-form, and third-stream. (Aesthetic Perspective)

MUSC 151

Take note of jazz, from the beginning

Some people say that jazz is America’s only original art form. How did jazz develop from Scott Joplin’s ragtime to the free-form repertoire of Charles Mingus? In Jazz History, you’ll study the evolution of jazz from its beginnings among African-Americans in 19th-century New Orleans to the jazz-rock fusion we hear today. You’ll come to understand, if not appreciate, the roots and progression of a wide range of jazz styles like Dixieland, swing, bop, progressive, cool, free-form, and third-stream. (Aesthetic Perspective)

india woman on film screen
SCRN 114

Tap into your inner film critic

Watching a movie is easy, but how do you critique a film and write for a particular audience? In Writing About Film: Methods of Film Analysis, watch weekly films with a professional filmmaker and writer, then learn how to apply major critical approaches. Practice writing everything from journalistic film criticism to analysis based on film theory. (Verbal Expression)

india woman on film screen
SCRN 114

Tap into your inner film critic

Watching a movie is easy, but how do you critique a film and write for a particular audience? In Writing About Film: Methods of Film Analysis, watch weekly films with a professional filmmaker and writer, then learn how to apply major critical approaches. Practice writing everything from journalistic film criticism to analysis based on film theory. (Verbal Expression)

SCRN 114

Tap into your inner film critic

Watching a movie is easy, but how do you critique a film and write for a particular audience? In Writing About Film: Methods of Film Analysis, watch weekly films with a professional filmmaker and writer, then learn how to apply major critical approaches. Practice writing everything from journalistic film criticism to analysis based on film theory. (Verbal Expression)

whale swimming in ocean
BIOL 084

Dive into Earth's biodiversity

How did life evolve into a wide range of species, from microorganisms to whales? How are other living things affected when species become extinct? How might we conserve and protect species? In Biodiversity, explore these questions and more. Even if you’re not a biology major, but are interested in evolution and extinction, this course is for you. (Natural Scientific Perspective)

whale swimming in ocean
BIOL 084

Dive into Earth's biodiversity

How did life evolve into a wide range of species, from microorganisms to whales? How are other living things affected when species become extinct? How might we conserve and protect species? In Biodiversity, explore these questions and more. Even if you’re not a biology major, but are interested in evolution and extinction, this course is for you. (Natural Scientific Perspective)

BIOL 084

Dive into Earth's biodiversity

How did life evolve into a wide range of species, from microorganisms to whales? How are other living things affected when species become extinct? How might we conserve and protect species? In Biodiversity, explore these questions and more. Even if you’re not a biology major, but are interested in evolution and extinction, this course is for you. (Natural Scientific Perspective)

woman buying veggies at market
GEOG 101

Get a taste of real food politics

In Food Justice and Food Movements, you’ll explore the role of the industrial food system in the United States and beyond, and learn about its ecological, cultural, social, economic, and moral impacts. You’ll also work on the national student-led Real Food Challenge, through which Clark aims to serve 20 percent “real food” by 2020. (Values Perspective)

woman buying veggies at market
GEOG 101

Get a taste of real food politics

In Food Justice and Food Movements, you’ll explore the role of the industrial food system in the United States and beyond, and learn about its ecological, cultural, social, economic, and moral impacts. You’ll also work on the national student-led Real Food Challenge, through which Clark aims to serve 20 percent “real food” by 2020. (Values Perspective)

GEOG 101

Get a taste of real food politics

In Food Justice and Food Movements, you’ll explore the role of the industrial food system in the United States and beyond, and learn about its ecological, cultural, social, economic, and moral impacts. You’ll also work on the national student-led Real Food Challenge, through which Clark aims to serve 20 percent “real food” by 2020. (Values Perspective)

french cafe outside tables
FREN 124

La vie quotidienne

Exercise your French while exploring the multiple manifestations and transformations of French popular culture, from the 1940s to today, as disseminated in film, music, the media, cartoons, bande dessinée, and popular literature. In Popular Culture in France, you’ll examine aspects of French culture such as youth culture, slang, sports, food, and humor, and the common portrayal of topics like family, love, foreigners, and other social issues in the media. (Language and Culture Perspective)

french cafe outside tables
FREN 124

La vie quotidienne

Exercise your French while exploring the multiple manifestations and transformations of French popular culture, from the 1940s to today, as disseminated in film, music, the media, cartoons, bande dessinée, and popular literature. In Popular Culture in France, you’ll examine aspects of French culture such as youth culture, slang, sports, food, and humor, and the common portrayal of topics like family, love, foreigners, and other social issues in the media. (Language and Culture Perspective)

FREN 124

La vie quotidienne

Exercise your French while exploring the multiple manifestations and transformations of French popular culture, from the 1940s to today, as disseminated in film, music, the media, cartoons, bande dessinée, and popular literature. In Popular Culture in France, you’ll examine aspects of French culture such as youth culture, slang, sports, food, and humor, and the common portrayal of topics like family, love, foreigners, and other social issues in the media. (Language and Culture Perspective)

female student writing in boo
EDUC 060

Democracy’s path to equality

Since Colonial times, Americans have looked to free public education as the means by which its citizens access economic opportunity, achieve equality, and develop political maturity. In Public Schools and Democracy, you’ll explore how free public education has evolved over four centuries, and assess the effectiveness of today’s schools in carrying out this mission. (Historical Perspective)

female student writing in boo
EDUC 060

Democracy’s path to equality

Since Colonial times, Americans have looked to free public education as the means by which its citizens access economic opportunity, achieve equality, and develop political maturity. In Public Schools and Democracy, you’ll explore how free public education has evolved over four centuries, and assess the effectiveness of today’s schools in carrying out this mission. (Historical Perspective)

EDUC 060

Democracy’s path to equality

Since Colonial times, Americans have looked to free public education as the means by which its citizens access economic opportunity, achieve equality, and develop political maturity. In Public Schools and Democracy, you’ll explore how free public education has evolved over four centuries, and assess the effectiveness of today’s schools in carrying out this mission. (Historical Perspective)

north korean female soldier
PSCI 092

Whose war anyway?

In most cultures, war traditionally has been perceived as a strictly male domain. But in fact, women have assumed both active and passive roles in violent conflict since the beginning of time: occasionally as combatants, more often as civilian supporters, and, all too frequently, as “collateral damage.” In Women and War, you’ll examine the impact of war on women as part of an attempt to gain a broader understanding of women’s role in society, both domestic and international. (Global Comparative Perspective)

north korean female soldier
PSCI 092

Whose war anyway?

In most cultures, war traditionally has been perceived as a strictly male domain. But in fact, women have assumed both active and passive roles in violent conflict since the beginning of time: occasionally as combatants, more often as civilian supporters, and, all too frequently, as “collateral damage.” In Women and War, you’ll examine the impact of war on women as part of an attempt to gain a broader understanding of women’s role in society, both domestic and international. (Global Comparative Perspective)

PSCI 092

Whose war anyway?

In most cultures, war traditionally has been perceived as a strictly male domain. But in fact, women have assumed both active and passive roles in violent conflict since the beginning of time: occasionally as combatants, more often as civilian supporters, and, all too frequently, as “collateral damage.” In Women and War, you’ll examine the impact of war on women as part of an attempt to gain a broader understanding of women’s role in society, both domestic and international. (Global Comparative Perspective)

laptop
ENT 216

Build your financial IQ

Explore the art of finance and why it matters. What do you need to know to assess an organization’s financial health — or your own? Do you know how to calculate the return on your investments? The best way to maximize your cash flow? How a business can make a profit but run out of cash? In Financial Intelligence, you’ll learn how to answer these kinds of questions, and acquire the vocabulary and knowledge to better understand “what the numbers mean.” (Formal Analysis)

laptop
ENT 216

Build your financial IQ

Explore the art of finance and why it matters. What do you need to know to assess an organization’s financial health — or your own? Do you know how to calculate the return on your investments? The best way to maximize your cash flow? How a business can make a profit but run out of cash? In Financial Intelligence, you’ll learn how to answer these kinds of questions, and acquire the vocabulary and knowledge to better understand “what the numbers mean.” (Formal Analysis)

ENT 216

Build your financial IQ

Explore the art of finance and why it matters. What do you need to know to assess an organization’s financial health — or your own? Do you know how to calculate the return on your investments? The best way to maximize your cash flow? How a business can make a profit but run out of cash? In Financial Intelligence, you’ll learn how to answer these kinds of questions, and acquire the vocabulary and knowledge to better understand “what the numbers mean.” (Formal Analysis)