The mission of the Bachelor of Arts Program in Liberal Arts (LABA) is to serve students whose academic interests are not fully met by Niagara University ’s traditional major programs. LABA is a multidisciplinary program that allows students to pursue majors not otherwise available at Niagara University by combining studies in two or three disciplines in the university’s College of Arts and Sciences.

There are two broad options within LABA. The first is to follow one of the already-established paths defined by the program’s Model Majors. On the other hand, the program also offers creative, thinking students the opportunity to design individualized majors especially suited to their own particular interests or career goals. Working closely with faculty from each of the relevant disciplines and the Office of Career Development, these students plot their own course of study around some core problem, topic, or theme that cuts across traditional disciplinary boundaries.

Beyond guiding students to a sophisticated understanding of their program topic, the central goals of the LABA Program are to produce independent, critical thinkers who are able to find and to understand the interconnections between academic disciplines; who can synthesize diverse types of knowledge; and who are self-conscious about the relationship between their studies and their career goals. In this way, the Program aims to create graduates who are well prepared for life after college, whether in graduate studies or employment in a variety of fields, including education, law, government, business, or journalism.