Liberal Studies Requirements

Global and diverse societies require that engineers have an awareness of historical patterns, an appreciation for different cultures, professional ethics, the ability to work in multi-faceted groups, and superior communication skills. Cornell has a rich curriculum in the humanities, arts, and social sciences, enabling every engineering student to obtain a truly liberal education.
Students working in Duffield Hall

Liberal Studies Degree Requirements for Students

Examples of Learning Outcomes that Characterize Liberal Arts 

  • Understanding human life in cultural contexts through interpretive analysis of individual behavior, discourse, and social practice. (CA)
  • Ability to interpret continuities and changes – political, social, economic, diplomatic, religious, intellectual, artistic, and scientific – through time. (HA)
  • Appreciation of literature and the arts through critical study of art and its history, aesthetics, and theory. (LA/LAD)
  • Understanding the bases of human knowledge and decision-making, ranging from cognitive processes, to abstract reasoning, to the ability to form and justify moral decisions (e.g., cognitive psychology, linguistics, philosophy, ethics). (KCM)
  • Recognition of human life in its social context through the use of social-scientific methods, with topics ranging from attitudes of individuals to interpersonal and broad societal relationships. This includes understanding the challenges of building a diverse society, and/or examining the various processes that marginalize people and produce unequal power relations. (SBA)
  • Understanding of diverse cultures through the study of foreign languages. (FL)