Liberal Studies
The Department of Liberal Studies continues the Mercer tradition of making a liberal arts foundation for professional and personal development accessible to working adults students throughout Georgia. The Department provides a Mercer education that not only equips students with a strong educational foundation for careers and intellectual growth, but also prepares them for fuller and richer citizenship in a world in which different cultures, social institutions, and technologies interconnect in multiple and changing ways.
The Department of Liberal Studies offers two degrees. The B.A. in Liberal Studies is a self-designed major that allows students to design a major grounded in interdisciplinary study and based on their learning goals. Students select major concentrations that may include Communication Studies, Historical Studies, Literary Studies, Religious Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, and more. The B.A. in Communication offers concentrations in Digital Media Communication, Organizational Communication, and Public Relations.
Our students are of various ages and backgrounds, but share a common goal of completing their college degrees to complement their active professional lives and to achieve their personal goals. The differences in age, background, and life experience creates a community of learning that prepares our students for pursuing graduate degrees, rewarding careers, and personal enrichment. Students who bring with them previous academic work may find that with these programs, they are able to complete their studies in good fashion by combining their work in various fields.
Wesley N. Barker, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Religious Studies
barker_wn@mercer.edu
Mission and goals
The Department of Liberal Studies is committed to:
- Providing a learning environment that is personal, challenging, respectful, and
supportive of each student’s academic goals - Assisting students in the refinement of their thinking, writing, and speaking skills
- Providing a liberal arts foundation and connection to the professional programs
- Providing students with the opportunity to pursue, in conjunction with an
academic advisor, a Bachelor of Arts degree in either Liberal Studies or Communication - Enabling students to gain the personal and academic resources to serve them as life-long learners
- Fostering a perspective that will nurture responsible vocation, relationships, and citizenship, both locally and globally
Liberal Studies Programs
Department of Liberal Studies
Meet Our Professors
Chair and Associate Professor of Religious Studies
Assistant Professor of Communication; Program Coordinator, B.A. in Strategic Communication
Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies
Associate Professor of Comparative Literature and Philosophy
Instructor of Liberal and Historical Studies; Executive Director of Advising Services and Enrollment
Assistant Professor of Writing and Literature; College-Wide Writing Coordinator
Assistant Professor of Atlantic World History
Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary and Historical Studies; College Writing Coordinator
Assistant Professor of Writing and Interdisciplinary Studies
