Liberal Studies Program

  • ITEP Freshman 2023 Cohort
  • ITEP Cohort 2019 - Class of 2023
  • 2022 ITEP Freshman Cohort
  • ITEP Freshmen 2021 - #1
  • ITEP Freshmen 2021 - #2
  • ITEP Freshman 2020 Cohort
  • 2019 ITEP Freshman Cohort
  • Optima Energy Sustainability Scholarship
  • 2022-2023 Literacy Scholars for the Future of Los Angeles (LSLA)
  • 2023 Multicultural Literacy Scholars (Dr. Krystal Howard)
  • Ronnett B. Simon Scholarship Recipient

Interdisciplinary Studies and Liberal Studies

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The Department of Interdisciplinary Studies and Liberal Studies offers a wide variety of support services in order to advise and mentor new and continuing students towards graduation. Liberal Studies majors, Humanities minors and Sustainability minors can take advantage of the following services:

  • Academic Advisement (General Education and Major/Minor)

  • University Policy and Procedure Advisement

  • Credential Admission Preparation (ITEP)

  • Graduation Planning

Students interested in the Liberal Studies Teacher Preparation Major are required to first complete a virtual information session prior to scheduling a virtual advisement appointment with an advisor. To find the appropriate information session, select “New Students” at the top of this page.

If you have been advised and would like to schedule an appointment, please call our main office at (818) 677-3300. We will respond to your request as soon as possible during regular business hours, calls will be answered during the following hours 8am-5pm Monday through Friday.

If you are interested in becoming a Liberal Studies Major, you can self-enroll in the Liberal Studies Canvas page where you will find links to course plans, faqs, campus resources, professional development workshops, and information on applying to the credential program and student teaching: https://canvas.csun.edu/enroll/D9W36A.


Services We Offer

Students interested in declaring a Humanities minor may call the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies and Liberal Studies to schedule a virtual advisement appointment.

Students interested in declaring the Sustainability minor can email Dr. Sindhuja Bhakthavatsalam: sindhuja.bhakthavatsalam@csun.edu to schedule a virtual advisement appointment.

Scholarship Opportunity

Dear Interdisciplinary Studies and Liberal Studies Majors,

The Department of Interdisciplinary Studies and Liberal Studies is excited to announce two scholarship opportunities. The deadline for applications is Monday, April 15 at 11:59 pm. Please submit the required application materials on the Liberal Studies Majors Canvas page under the Assignments tab.

The Armine Papouchian Liberal or Interdisciplinary Studies Scholarship

A scholarship of $5,000 will be awarded to one student who is currently enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Studies BA degree or the Interdisciplinary Studies Option of the Liberal Studies BA degree, and who will be enrolled full time at CSUN in the Fall 2024 semester. 

Applications from students who demonstrate financial need to complete their studies will be given particular attention.

Application Requirements: Currently enrolled at CSUN and will be enrolled in the fall semester, 3.0 or higher GPA, and enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Studies BA degree or the Interdisciplinary Studies Option of the Liberal Studies BA degree.

Application Materials: 1-page single-spaced essay explaining how the scholarship will benefit them in their academic goals.

Ronette B. Simon Scholarship

A scholarship of $1,200 will be awarded to one student who is currently enrolled as an ITEP-Freshman or ITEP-Junior Liberal Studies major at CSUN and about to begin student teaching in the Fall 2024 semester. Students applying must live inside the Greater L.A. area. 

Application Requirements: Currently enrolled as an ITEP-Freshman or ITEP-Junior at CSUN and about to begin student teaching in the fall, 3.0 or higher GPA, lives inside the Greater L.A. area 

Application Materials: 1-page single-spaced narrative that includes the following: why they want to be a teacher; teaching experience and other contributions towards teaching; previous awards and recognitions; and work experience, teaching philosophy, and future goals.


CSUN Interdisciplinary Studies and Liberal Studies Statement in Solidarity with Black Lives Matter 

The faculty, advisors and staff of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies and Liberal Studies at CSUN grieve with the families of George Floyd, Breanna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, David McAtee, Sean Reed, Tony McDade, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland and countless others whose lives have been lost to structural police violence and systematic state terror. We stand in unwavering solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. As educators of future elementary school teachers, we know all too well the systemic and pernicious racial injustices of the school-to-prison pipeline and the specific plight of Black and Brown students in this country. We remain committed to promoting anti-racist pedagogies and to providing our CSUN students and thereby their K-6 students with the necessary tools to fight for more investment in public education and to produce a more equitable, compassionate, and just society.  

CSUN Interdisciplinary Studies and Liberal Studies Statement in Solidarity with APIDA 

The faculty, advisors and staff of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies and Liberal Studies grieve with the families of Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Delaina Ashley Yaun, and Paul Andre Michels. We stand in solidarity with Asian, Asian American, Pacific Islanders, and Desi American communities who have confronted, often silently, far too much racist and sexual violence along with xenophobia not just on March 16th, 2021, but from the very beginnings of our country. As a department that trains and prepares our diverse, largely female, students to become elementary school teachers, we work to clarify the intersectionality of gender, race and sexuality and to support curriculum that foregrounds these connections. We are especially aware of the power of racist rhetoric that has historically been used to justify state violence and fearmongering against Asian, Asian American, Pacific Islanders, and Desi American communities (APIDA). We strive to educate our future teachers to dismantle the pernicious structures of white supremacist misogyny in our society and in our educational institutions. 

In community and solidarity, 

The Department of Interdisciplinary Studies and Liberal Studies at CSUN