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Katie Pennell
Daily Egyptian

Liberal arts students are encouraged to challenge themselves academically through a new program that aims to diversify areas of liberal arts study.

The Curriculum 21 program is designed to help students in the College of Liberal Arts make the most out of their undergraduate education by pursuing areas of study and activity that challenge and prepare them for the workplace, said Shirley Clay Scott, dean of the College of Liberal Arts.

"It's guidelines for students to sort of build a road map through their undergraduate experience," Scott said.

The program is available to liberal arts majors in good academic standing. Students must complete at least two semesters at SIUC after they enroll in the program. Documentation of program completion will appear on student transcripts.

The program requires students to pursue four of six elective objectives and one required activity. The six elective objectives include advanced writing proficiency, familiarity with the arts, at least four semesters in a non-native language, enhanced awareness of the world and other cultures, understanding and application of research, scholarship, or creative work, and service.

The required activity is for the student to make a formal speech that demonstrates that they can speak coherently and compellingly in public, said Anita Hutton, program coordinator.

Hutton said the goal of the program is to promote skills that will help students gain critical thinking skills and knowledge. Those skills aid students in life and in the job market by making students more attractive to employers, Hutton said.

"Those skills of thinking are perhaps the most important of all," Hutton said. Students in liberal arts have expended extra effort on their education long before Curriculum 21 was implemented, Hutton said, and the new program is designed to give them recognition for their efforts.

The students involved like the extra guidance in selecting their study objectives and getting recognition on their transcripts, Scott said.

Overall, helping students understand the goals and aims of a liberal arts education and to make the most out of their time in undergraduate study are the main program goals.

Scott said studies show liberal arts degrees are durable and flexible education, and Curriculum 21 is designed to enhance those benefits.

"We think that a liberal education, at its root, is a chief means of making life rich, lively and full," Scott said.

Reporter Katie Pennell can be reached at katie_pennell@dailyegyptian.com.