What is beauty? Whom should I love? How can I lead a happy life while serving the common good?
Beginning in fall 2025, University of Tulsa students will be able to immerse themselves in a rich exploration of these and related concerns by completing a major in humane letters.
Developed and delivered by UTulsa’s Honors College, the new major will focus on liberal arts education. In small-group seminars, students will engage with classic texts by influential thinkers and writers, from Homer, Plato, and Aristotle through St. Augustine, Dante, and Milton, to Martin Luther King Jr. and Toni Morrison. “Our goal is to give undergraduates a sustained opportunity to study classic texts as sources of wisdom about the questions at the heart of human existence,” said Jennifer Frey, dean of the Honors College. “We are carrying forward an ancient tradition of studying the liberal arts because they help us to discover the sources of our beliefs in truth, goodness, and beauty.”
Frey and her colleagues conceived of the humane letters major as a versatile academic foundation for students pursuing any specialized area of study at UTulsa. Thus, mechanical engineering and nursing students will be as much at home as those studying history or philosophy.
While majoring in humane letters will equip graduates for a multitude of careers and graduate studies, one in particular stands out: classical education. “This field addresses the whole person,” Frey explained; “its focus is on developing habits of mind and character that lead to a flourishing life, acquired through liberal study of what is true, good, and beautiful.” A principal goal of the major is to meet the mounting demand for teachers in the roughly thousand classical schools across the United States. “Our aim is for classical schools to see The University of Tulsa as one of the best places from which to recruit their teachers,” she noted.
Looking to the program’s future, the aspect Frey finds most exciting is that “it will empower students to explore big ideas in a truly interdisciplinary way that weaves together philosophy, history, languages, literature, religion, music, and art. Our major also reaffirms the university’s commitment to liberal education, which is always something to celebrate.”