School of Honors and Liberal Studies program develops skills of thinking and imagining that will help students deal with the fundamental questions of human existence, regardless of their career goals.
Thus, in the common course of studies required of all students, the emphasis is on the careful reading and discussion of many of the most important books in literature, history, philosophy, theology, mathematics, and sciences. Classes are small. Students learn to read critically, to speak precisely, to write effectively, and to listen attentively by being required to use some or all of these skills daily. The curriculum is designed not only to help students know, but to help them develop the skills they will need as they take their places in the adult world and in the worlds of the various professions. The honors faculty, housed in the Whitney Young School, are hired and evaluated specifically for their demonstrated ability to teach in a great books curriculum that crosses traditional academic boundaries.
While the Whitney Young School of Honors and Liberal Studies is related to other “great books” programs throughout the country in its basic orientation, the curriculum at Kentucky State University is not a pale copy of ideas developed at private universities. The courses and curriculum in the School have been developed and adapted to take advantage of the particular conditions at Kentucky State University, and this development is an ongoing process. Class size ranges from 10 to 15 in honors courses.
Whitney Young School of Honors and Liberal Studies students take part in all activities of the University, such as social and academic clubs, student government, choir, band, and intramural/intercollegiate athletics. Students have an opportunity to put the leadership skills that they learn in classes to practical use by serving on the Whitney Young Student Council. The Council was originally created by student initiative and organizes service and social events and acts as a forum for student suggestions and concerns.
The Honors Program offers an entire liberal studies core for freshmen and sophomores. Students who complete the honors core may opt for an honors associate of arts in liberal studies degree. The Honors Program also offers an honors bachelor of liberal studies degree and liberal studies minor.
Students who take the honors core pursue a sequence of freshman and sophomore courses in the School to fulfill in an alternative and briefer way the University's liberal studies requirements. The honors core is open to qualified students of all majors. Depending on their major, honors students will fulfill all or most of their liberal studies requirements in the honors core.
Students in majors other than natural science, engineering, mathematics, and nursing by virtue of taking the entire honors core (48 semester credit hours) fulfill all liberal studies requirements.
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