Bachelor of Liberal Arts – Individualized Concentration
Custom BA Offerings
Some students find that traditional degree programs do not reflect the broad, interdisciplinary curiosity that drives them as they explore the world. Others have specific professional goals or areas of deep personal interest that aren't served by a standardized program. For such self-directed, reflective learners, we offer a custom BA program - the Individualized Bachelors of Arts Concentration.
Our program creates a space for you to individualize your study, encourages your commitment to lifelong learning, and enables your personal and professional growth. Once you enroll, you will:
- experience a supportive, student-centered learning environment
- work closely with a faculty advisor and two advisors of your choosing from outside Antioch University Seattle to design your course of study
- chair your own degree committee
- be able to take courses across many disciplines, create your own independent studies, and even enroll in courses at other universities
- be challenged to develop a critical and reflective conscience, and to meet high academic expectations
General Requirements
The degree requirements for graduation are satisfied when you complete:
A total of 180 quarter credits (at least 45 credits taken at Antioch University), including:
- Up to 48 credits of prior learning
- At least 60 upper division credits
- The Art of Learning, a first quarter course that begins the process of designing your own degree program
- Three core courses:
- Liberal Studies Seminar; Diversity, Power & Privilege; Inquiry & Research
- Four quarters of study at Antioch (or more)
- A portfolio of your work reflecting academic progress
- A Senior synthesis project and Symposium presentation
Length of Program
Most students graduate from the B.A. completion program in two years or less. Completion of 180 quarter credits is required for graduation.
Tuition & Fees
- Tuition: $560 per credit
- Required fees: $145 per quarter
- $6,865 tuition and required fees per quarter, full time (12 credits)
- $27,460 typical annual tuition and fees
- Credits documented for Life Experience: $140 per credit
Annual tuition and fees based on 2013-14 rates for four quarters. Antioch University Seattle students typically attend classes all year.
Career Opportunities
Whether you are hoping to start your career, advance it, or switch professions, , your faculty and degree committee will bring practical perspective to your degree and its value in the community once you graduate. Through their mentorship, you will identify and pursue opportunities that will allow you to do good in your community, and to do well for you and your family.
Program Summary
Creating your own degree attracts those who have very specific interests or unique needs for completing their BA degree. At Antioch University Seattle, you can design a program as individual as you are.
For example, you already may hold many upper and lower division college credits and hope to finish your degree in a specific field that does not relate to one of the structured areas of concentration. Or you may be interested in combining three areas of interest that appear to be unrelated such as your background in business administration and your interest in creative writing and depth psychology. Or you may simply be interested in pursuing studies unrelated to one of the structured areas of concentration such as naturopathic healing, Northwest marine life, or foreign language study. In cases such as this, creating your own area of concentration might be the best option for you.
You individualize your program with the help of your faculty adviser and a degree committee of your choosing. It’s very much of a building process. For your self-designed studies, you can draw your courses from many disciplines.
Curriculum
In your first quarter, you take a course called The Art of Learning, the first step in creating your own area of concentration and your degree committee. Along with all B.A. students, you take core courses in liberal arts and multicultural training and complete your senior thesis.
Otherwise, the individualized degree has courses and independent studies that match your specialized interests. As an Antioch University student you also may enroll in and get credit for classes at other colleges and universities, with approval from your faculty adviser.
Here’s a look at some of the recent concentrations students have created for themselves:
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Aaron Dietz
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
Antioch has a good reputation, he says, for being able to educate self-learners and for keeping students involved in the learning process. He says he was able to create classes geared toward writing and publishing his own book, something he says would have been much harder to do at a state college.
Bob Hasegawa
B.A. Liberal Studies, 2003
Now Eleventh District Democratic Representative, he says his experience at Antioch surprised him by pushing him beyond his areas of concentration and stretching him in directions he'd never thought of going.
Carson Marshall
B.A. Liberal Studies, MA Whole Systems Design, 2001, 2003
He learned the program supports everyone's unique exploration. He said he realized he could create the way he wants to present himself to the world.
Cheryl Honey
BA Liberal Studies , 2004
It was serendipitous that she ended up going to Antioch. She says her advisers taught her she had special gifts to offer this world and she didn't have to ask for permission to make her unique contribution.
Chris Plyman
BA Liberal Studies, 2009
He happened to be walking along Sixth Avenue in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood when he came upon Antioch University. It looked like a place where he could do some exploring, so this retired Army warrant officer decided to give it a try.
Colleen Crotty
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
Antioch teaches you to look at things differently and to get involved in the community. She says she wouldn't trade her experience for anything.
Danielle Cameron
B.A. Liberal Studies, M.A. Psychology, Art Therapy with Mental Health Counseling, 2002
She says the more she learned about Antioch, the more she realized it was a school most likely to help her get where she wanted to go. She says it is the school for students who are independently motivated.
Debra Sund
BA Liberal Studies - Individualized Program: Holistic Early Childhood Education , 2008
She very much appreciates the freedom at Antioch and the smaller class size. She says it has a supportive and comfortable atmosphere for an adult learner
Dimitri Azadi
BA Liberal Studies - Individualized Program: Leadership and Diversity Studies, 2009
When many of his friends came to Antioch for their undergraduate studies, they told him it was a wonderful experience. He says he feels as though he is putting energy into his own well-being at Antioch.
Dollviola Eldred
B.A. Liberal Studies - Current student, M.A. Psychology - Mental Health Counseling, 2007
The only thing she needed to succeed was a good education and — thanks to Antioch — she has advanced in her career and predicts she will continue to climb.
Lance Wischler
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
He says the personal attention he experienced from his first phone call to the admissions department was a factor in coming to Antioch. The personal touch allowed him to feel like he mattered, and that he was not simply another number to be shuffled through the process.
Margie King Bloch
B.A. Liberal Studies, M.A. Whole Systems Design — Organization Systems Renewal, 1997
She chose Antioch because she wanted to learn more about the changing face of leadership, and she wanted to do it in an experiential educational setting
Maria Teresa Blankenship
BA Liberal Studies - Individualized Program: Psychology, Health Healing & Herbalism; MA Psychology, Mental Health Counseling, 2006
With a background in nursing and her interest in health healing, herbalism and psychology, she created a program for herself that she describes as an unforgettable journey.
Mary Sherhart
B.A. Liberal Studies, 1999
She says Antioch is an intense experience, a great place for self-motivated and well disciplined people with lots of meaty life experience under their belts.
Oliver Chadd
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
He was up for the unique method in which Antioch educates. He says he was always a quiet student and knew Antioch was set up in such a way he would be in situations where he could not just fade into the background.
Patricia Cavit
BA Liberal Studies, 2005
She says her independant study was an excellent experience. She was able to investigate exactly the areas she was interested in and receive mentoring from the advisers who were supervising.
Rachel Beals
BA Liberal Studies, Spiritual Studies concentration, 2009
Antioch's Spiritual Studies concentration, she says, is a one-of-a-kind undergraduate program. Her priority? She wants to reduce the isolation and despair so many people face today.
Richard Long
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
He chose Antioch because of its commitment to adult education and its social ideology. He says if the concept that a student, through study, research and relationships, obtains the basic philosophies of the institution they attend, then he is a better student, friend and person.
Stephanie McDonald
BA Liberal Studies - Individualized Program: Depth Psychology; MA Psychology, Mental Health Counseling, 2007 & 2011
Antioch is a transformational place where you can find your voice, build confidence and thrive, according to Stephanie McDonald. After completing her BA, her desire to continue learning was on fire and she entered Antioch University Seattle's graduate program in mental health counseling.
Tina Grant
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
Antioch is a place where you can find what it is you want to do with the rest of your life. She says it is not that the teachers will tell you, but that they create a space for you to explore, experiment and find what it is that fills you with passion.
Young-wha Coulter
B.A. Liberal Studies, 2007
Getting credit for life experience was validating for Coulter, who had been a para-educator working with elementary special education children in the Highline School District.
