Liberal Arts and Sciences

Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg

University College Freiburg (UCF) was founded in 2012 at the University of Freiburg and is situated in the historical buildings of the Alte Universität. Here, the Artes Liberales were taught centuries ago as a cornerstone of university education. Today, the Alte Universität is home to exciting new explorations in higher education. UCF promotes and administers international, interdisciplinary teaching activities and houses high profile projects, like the Bachelor program in Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The four-year Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) is an English-taught interdisciplinary undergraduate program. It was established in 2012 at the University of Freiburg and is hosted by UCF, an interfaculty center for international, interdisciplinary teaching.

Liberal Arts and Sciences in Freiburg

Liberal Arts and Sciences is a philosophy of Bachelor level education. It reaches across academic fields while also offering discipline-oriented academic training in one particular Major. It encourages students to critically reflect on science and knowledge and to become skilled communicators and creative shapers of their environment. At University College Freiburg, we understand LAS education as a process of intellectual discovery and personal development in an interdisciplinary and international learning community.

At UCF, the key to an interdisciplinary, choice-driven education is understanding what (scientific) knowledge is, how it is produced, and how knowledge and society interact. This is reflected in the LAS program’s emphasis on the conditions, methods, and roles of science and in two professorships established specifically for the program: Epistemology and Theory of Science (Prof. F. Vogelmann) and Science and Technology Studies (Prof. V. Lipphardt).

Two colleges, two countries, two degrees

The University College Freiburg (UCF) and University College Maastricht (UCM) Maastricht University/ Netherlands provide a dual degree option in Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS). Per academic year each college offers up to five dual degree places. The selected participants will spend one year at the partner university.

The LAS program consists of three study areas:

The Liberal Arts and Sciences curriculum combines academic breadth and depth and provides students with choice and development opportunities within a structured framework and interdisciplinary learning community.

Core (56 ECTS credits) is a distinctive feature of the Freiburg LAS program: It fosters students' academic and personal development by offering a range of courses on reflections of science and knowledge as well as on responsibility and leadership. Furthermore, students are intensively trained in general academic key skills (for research, analysis, presentation, and writing). In order to put these skills into context and to exemplify the necessity and complexity of interdisciplinary thought and action, the first year of the program focusses on contemporary societal challenges (such as Global Inequality, Public Health, Environmental Issues).

The Major (104 + 16 ECTS credits) constitutes the students’ training in a specific academic field. It aims to provide sufficient depth to make admission into disciplinary M.A. or M.Sc. programs possible. After their first year of studies, students choose one of the following Majors:

In their Electives (64 ECTS credits), students can take courses outside of their Major, visit courses at other departments of the university, attend language classes, undertake independent projects, and/or use these credits for courses taken during a semester or year abroad.

LAS combines interdisciplinarity with scientific rigor, creating space for individual exploration while maintaining a firm academic base. The LAS Course Catalog and official Rules and regulations are available here.

The LAS Course Catalog, the Module Handbook, and the official LAS program stands for:

• Problem-oriented learning: Real-world problems and their complexity are the starting point of teaching and learning in the LAS program.

• Project-based learning: Students often work together in groups or teams and thereby combine knowledge acquisition with social and organizational skills.

• Independent enquiry: LAS students learn how to develop questions of their own and how to reach learning goals efficiently.

• Research-oriented learning: Especially the Majors are taught with a view to current research problems and horizons.

• Shared responsibility: In their different roles, lecturers and students are jointly responsible for teaching and learning success.

• Small group learning: Throughout the LAS program, most courses are restricted to a maximum of 20 participants.

• Internationality of staff and students including study abroad opportunities

Our target group is students with intellectual curiosity and responsibility, who are looking for breadth and depth in their academic training. The LAS program is selective. The grade- and interview-based selection emphasizes academic achievements and personal motivation.