Academic Information

Undergraduate Programs

Liberal Education: Interdisciplinary Exploration and Integration
All students are required to complete a Liberal Studies Program which includes these major components:

• Essential Skills
• Modes of Inquiry
• Interconnecting Perspectives

In addition to this common core of 38-54 semester hours, each student completes two writing-enhanced courses. Moreover, a candidate for the Bachelor of Science degree must take an additional 6 hours of quantitative or formal reasoning-based courses, and a candidate for the Bachelor of Arts degree must demonstrate intermediate proficiency in one foreign language.

The Major: Focus and Depth
The disciplinary major provides a focus for applying and for concretely developing the skills, knowledge, and values initiated in the Liberal Studies Program and reinforced throughout the curriculum. The major is the means to study a field in depth, to integrate the knowledge, methods, and values of the discipline with real-world practice, and to foster the further development of individuals capable of succeeding in the nation's best graduate and professional programs as well as securing outstanding career opportunities. The majors are characterized by curricula that engage students in rigorous study of the breadth and depth of the discipline. Meaningful academic advisement, small communities of learning, research activity, honors programs, and integrative capstone experiences in each major enrich the student's study of the major and help achieve the University's liberal learning objectives.

Truman offers majors in the following disciplines:
Accounting (BS)
Agricultural Science (BS)
Art (BA)
Art, with Studio Art Concentration (BFA)
Art, with Visual Communication Concentration (BFA)
Art History (BA)
Biology (BA or BS)
Business Administration (BA or BS)
Chemistry (BS)
Classics (BA)
Communication, with Public Communication, Communication Studies, or Journalism Concentrations (BA)
Communication Disorders (BA or BS)
Computer Science (BS)
Economics (BA or BS)
English (BA)
Exercise Science (BS)
French (BA)
German (BA)
Health Science (BS)
History (BA or BS)
Interdisciplinary Studies (BA or BS)
Justice Systems (BS)
Linguistics (BS)
Mathematics (BA or BS)
Music (BA)
Music, with Composition, Instrumental, Piano, or Vocal Concentrations (BA)
Music: Performance (BM) 
Nursing (BSN)
Philosophy and Religion (BA)
Physics (BA or BS)
Political Science (BA or BS)
Psychology (BA or BS)
Russian (BA)
Sociology and Anthropology (BA or BS)
Spanish (BA)
Theatre (BA)

Graduate Programs

The Graduate Major: Advanced Study or Professional Preparation
Truman offers six select graduate programs whose missions complement the undergraduate Liberal Arts & Sciences design. Students may choose from the following majors:

Accountancy (MAc)
Biology (MS)
Communication Disorders (MA)
Education (MAE)
English (MA)
Music (MA)

The Accountancy, Communication Disorders, and Education degrees prepare students with liberal arts & sciences backgrounds for service to the community and beyond with advanced preparation in each professional field. Degrees in Biology, English , and Music provide advanced study in a liberal arts & sciences field, preparing students for further graduate work or a related career.

Faculty

The philosophy of the faculty at Truman promotes one-to-one interaction and an "open door" office policy. Truman's faculty displays a strong commitment to quality teaching and to serving as positive role-models in and out of the classroom. Our limited enrollment allows for an approximate 16:1 student/teacher ratio with three-fourths of our full-time faculty holding doctorates or terminal degrees. Approximately 95 percent of our freshman classes are taught by regular faculty who represent most major graduate institutions in the United States and several graduate institutions abroad.