The Bachelor of Arts in Great Books is a four-year program wherein students聽examine great works from the classical world to our present era.
Our seminar classes are thematically organized around topics that help us explore聽human flourishing, such as beauty, nature and the good life. The core texts are from聽a diverse range of authors, each examining what it means to be human in our world.聽Transformative conversations are held in seminar-style classes where students聽actively drive the focus and faculty serve as mentors.
Students who earn this degree will complete nine seminars and a unit in vocational聽discernment. Two internships and an academic minor prepare students to take their聽humanistic education into their chosen profession or pursuit of graduate school.
Come and prepare for your flourishing future through what Maya Angelou calls the聽鈥渓ife-giving power of literature.鈥
View the Admission Requirements for undergraduate programs.
Calculate what it would cost to attend FranU.
Learn more about financial aid and scholarship opportunities available to students.
Request more information about a program, or submit general questions about FranU and the admission process.
Freshmen and first-time applicants to the Great Books program at FranU are expected to meet the following admissions requirements:
For more information on admission requirements for first-time applicants, visit the First-Time Applicant page. If you are applying as a returning, transfer or international student, view the Undergraduate Admissions Requirements page for more information on admissions.
The mission of the BA in Great Books is to form leaders who understand the human experience and are prepared to serve our world as skilled professionals.
Prepare for your success through a humanistic education that celebrates:
Upon completion of the Great Books program, graduates will be able to:
What are you called to be? In the Great Books program at FranU, professors support you in discerning your calling. You will be connected with internships in the local community that provide valuable experience. When you graduate as a humanistic leader, you will have a strong network and career path.
The Great Books seminars are designed around the following themes:
FranU understands that financing your education is an important part of your decision to pursue a college degree. We aim to demonstrate care and professionalism while assisting students with finding financial aid opportunities and a large percentage of our student body receives some form of financial assistance through grants, scholarships or loans.
Learn more about financial aid opportunities on the Office of Financial Aid page. You can also use the True Cost Calculator tool to determine estimated costs.
You will join a community, both within FranU and beyond, examining many of humanity鈥檚 greatest works from antiquity to the present day, empowering you to inquire and seek goodness, truth and beauty with others.
Want to know more about why Great Books programs are worth it? Check out this article:
The Great Books program is interdisciplinary. Both in Great Books seminars and in complementary courses, you will study literature, theology, philosophy, science and much more. The various academic disciplines are approached in an integrative way, guided by FranU鈥檚 Catholic and Franciscan mission.
The BA in Great Books is designed to take four years for new college
students.Graduate of humanities programs are markedly employable in the ever-evolving 21st-century workplace. Navigating the contemporary work
environment requires flexibility and the ability to master ever-changing
contexts. Graduates of the Great Books program have transferable skills that hold their value over time, preparing students for a variety of careers,
including law, medicine, business and education.
You can work for non-profits as fundraisers or community outreach
managers, as teachers, as editors for marketing or publication companies, or as writers or authors of many kinds. You will also be prepared for the rigors of graduate school, which opens up a vast expanse of career opportunities upon completion of master鈥檚 and doctoral-level degrees
Learn more about putting your education into action by reviewing .
Yes, depending on how many electives your major allows, many programs offer the flexibility for you to minor in Great Books. We invite you to take elective classes in Great Books. Our seminars are inclusive, so you do not need a background in literature, just a curiosity about our fascinating world.
Each seminar class session is a conversational-based tutorial in which students take the lead on textual interpretation while the professor serves as a mentor. Within our intimate class setting, students tackle big questions that arise from the great texts they engage with their peers. Through thinking on their feet and guiding and participating in conversation, students prepare to be active young professionals.
Absolutely! We invite students to contact the director, Dr. Damon Boria, to
arrange a visit to our seminar classes. This is a great way to meet our
community and to witness our dynamic and welcoming seminars.
Dr. Damon Boria is Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Department. He earned his doctorate in philosophy from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. A member of FranU鈥檚 faculty FranU since 2013, his research interests include existentialism, environmental philosophy and philosophy of literature.
Phone: 225-768-1794 | Email: Damon.Boria@franu.edu
鈥淲hen I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.鈥 鈥 Maya Angelou
鈥淵ou think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.鈥 鈥 James Baldwin
鈥溾淚 think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us. If the book we're reading doesn't wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading it for?... A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.鈥 鈥 Franz Kafka
鈥淲hen the Day of Judgment dawns and people, great and small, come marching in to receive their heavenly rewards, the Almighty will gaze upon the mere bookworms and say to Peter, 鈥淟ook, these need no reward. We have nothing to give them. They have loved reading.鈥 鈥 Virginia Woolf
"And yet we have forgotten how to read: how to pause, liberate ourselves from our worries, return into ourselves and leave aside our search for subtlety and originality, in order to meditate calmly, ruminate and let the texts speak to us. This, too, is a spiritual exercise, and one of the most difficult." 鈥 Pierre Hadot
We鈥檙e proud to be named one of Baton Rouge鈥檚 top choices for higher education. This honor reflects our ongoing commitment to academic excellence, student success and community impact.
For information about our SACSCOC accreditation, please visit our Institutional Accreditation page.
Apply
Visit