The history and philosophy department on the Hammond campus added Bachelor of Liberal Studies as a new degree program. BLS was previously only offered at the Westville campus.

Renee Conroy, interim associate dean of CHESS, said the new degree program can include creative arts, economics, chemistry, literature, and other areas of study from across the university.

“This means that the application of the BLS degree to future educational pursuits or professional careers is relatively unbounded,” Conroy said. “Students can use this degree to pursue graduate school or employment in any of the fields in which they design their plans of study.”

Kathleen Tobin, interim department head of history and philosophy, said she is looking forward to new opportunities that will be available for students.

“This is great for students who can’t decide on a major or focus,” Tobin said.

Conroy said the Hammond campus offered a Bachelor of Arts in Multidisciplinary Studies, which is more restricted than the program design for the new degree program.

Conroy also said that the new degree program will help students acquire leadership positions, ground them in selected fields and establish strong critical thinking and analytical skills.

“Every student’s academic work is ‘bookended’ with a Great Issues course, which provides those who pursue the degree several opportunities to reflect with care on how their focused studies in other fields intersect intellectually and historically with core topics and texts in the humanities,” Conroy said.

The gateway course to the program, “Introduction to Great Issues,” will be held at the Hammond campus in Spring 2018.