Program Codes:
LACIN.AA
Associate in Arts Degree
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This program provides graduates a foundation for lifelong intellectual development and college transfer following associate’s degree completion. A Liberal Arts degree also develops a set of critical thinking skills students may use over the course of their professional careers.
Below are required courses and recommended course groupings and sequences for program completion.
Courses may have prerequisite and corequisite requirements. Check course descriptions for details.
Through a variety of writing projects requiring competence in clear, correct, and effective English, students use inferential and critical skills in the process of composing documented essays. Extensive reading materials serve as structural models and as the bases for discussion and for the writing of essays involving response, analysis, and synthesis.
RDG-011 may be taken as a co-requisite if not previously completed with a grade of "C" or better.
A grade of “C” or better in ENG-121
Introduction to the theory and practice of public address; the study of representative public addresses and the preparation and delivery of short speeches.
The development of clear, logical and effective speech communication is the goal of this basic discussion and debate course. The focus will be on reasoned decision making with the context of a free society. Topics will draw upon social values, personal responsibility and/or ethical behavior. Speech presentations will include large group discussions, panel discussions and debates that emphasize the ability to work in a team environment.
Take one of the two-course sequences below. Must take both courses in the chosen sequence.
The historical development of Western civilization from ancient times to approximately 1715 A.D. Emphasis is on the social, economic, political and cultural forces that helped to shape the West, beginning with the early Mediterranean civilizations and following through to the subsequent rise of European civilization.
Europe and the world since 1715. Emphasis is on the emerging nation-state political system, the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century, and intellectual history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the rise of totalitarianism in the twentieth century and the world balance of power since 1914.
Historical importance of the Puritan heritage, the American Revolution, the Constitution, Jacksonian democracy, Manifest Destiny and the Civil War to understand pre-Civil War America.
Historical importance of Reconstruction, the rise of big business, the Progressive Movement, the World Wars, the New Deal and the Cold War. Understanding American institutions and values from the Civil War to the present.
Choose one course designated in the course descriptions as General Education Humanities (GE HUM). Choose two modern language courses in sequence from either: CHN, FRE, GER, HIN, ITA or SPA. For students who completed at least two years of high school study in one modern language, their level of language will be determined by a placement test (excluding SPA-242).
Students must take 12-15 credits in General Education Mathematics, Science, and Technology courses. Choose one or two science courses (GE MST), one or two math courses (GE MST) and one technology course, in consultation with an academic advisor. For the technology elective, choose either CSC-105 or CSC-106.
Choose courses designated in the course descriptions as General Education Social Science (GE SS).
Choose one course designated in the course descriptions as General Education Diversity (GE DIV).
Physical/Health Education Elective
This course centers on the rudiments of film in order to understand the stylistic conventions, the business behind movie making and the ways movies reflect and change perceptions of language and life.
ENG-122 or written permission of the department chairperson
This course surveys the chronological development of motion pictures since their inception to the present, with an emphasis on key artistic principles and technical advancements. The course focuses on film as a changing, dynamic art form, a commercial industry, a world-wide cultural phenomenon, and a reflection of and influence on people's experiences, values and lives and changing standards of artistic taste. Students view numerous examples of classic films from various historical decades and genres as well as complete reading, writing and research assignments.
ENG-122 or written permission of the department chairperson
This course surveys the masterpieces of major genres of American cinema, focusing on the elements and visual styles of Hollywood storytelling through genres, including but not limited to Western, Film noir, war, romance, comedy, horror, musical and science fiction, which entertain audiences as well as mirror American attitudes and values. Students view various examples of classic American motion pictures and analyze them from a variety of cultural, historical, and intellectual perspectives, with an emphasis on key artistic principles and technical advancements. As well, students complete reading, writing and research assignments.
ENG-122 or written permission of the department chairperson
This course surveys the major masterpieces of international cinema. Students view films from various countries, including but not limited to Russia, Germany, Sweden, France, Italy, England, Japan, India and more, and analyze motion pictures from a variety of cultural, historical, and intellectual perspectives, with an emphasis on key artistic principles and technical advancements. Students view numerous examples of classic films from various historical decades as well as complete reading, writing and research assignments.
ENG-122 or written permission of the department chairperson
This study of the director-the basis and explanations of his/her creative process-offers a critical approach to studying the relationship between the personal, theoretical, social and historical elements in creating art, specifically motion pictures. This course surveys the great cinema directors, whose body of work has elevated film to the level of art, affording them the title of "auteur". Each has made a noteworthy, enduring and influential contribution to the development of film and the film industry. Each has directed a consistent body of work with a number of great movies, displays his/her own original style that has influenced other directors, and displays his/her own personal stamp that cuts across films, genres and decades.
ENG-122 or written permission of the department chairperson
Contact Name: Professor Mathew Spano, department chair
Contact Phone: 732.906.2591
Contact Email: MSpano@middlesexcc.edu
Department Web: https://www.middlesexcc.edu/english/
A Liberal Arts education helps students develop strong and ordered minds as they explore the world’s collected wisdom in literature, history, mathematics, science, philosophy and the arts. It teaches them to recognize and construct arguments, to appreciate diverse cultures and perspectives, and to have a sense of scholarship about the lives and events that have gone before. Liberal Arts emphasis on language helps students broaden their cultural perspective and become more aware of their own identity. Courses comprising a Liberal Arts education at Middlesex County College are the core of all liberal arts programs at the bachelor’s level. Students may select the general degree, the most flexible of all our Liberal Arts programs, or one of the many specialized options.
Algebra I is a prerequisite for all majors. Competency in Algebra I may be verified with a passing score on the College’s placement test or by completion of the appropriate course. Students must also have a grade of “C” or better in one year of high school laboratory science.
Once students complete required developmental coursework (if any), the degree can be completed in two years of full-time study. Students may shorten the amount of degree completion time by taking courses in the summer and winter sessions.