Life University will officially launch a new Bachelor of Arts degree in Positive Human Development and Social Change in the Winter Quarter, 2017. The Bachelor’s Degree in Positive Human Development and Social Change (PHDSC) is unique among Liberal Arts degrees in the country for many reasons. It was developed by Dr. Thomas Flores, Assistant Professor of Positive Human Development and Social Change, and Dr. Brendan Ozawa-de Silva, Associate Professor of Psychology and Associate Director of the Center for Compassion, Integrity, and Secular Ethics at Life University, to capture the original strength of a Liberal Arts Education, while preparing students for the rapidly changing economic, intellectual, cultural and social challenges of the 21st century. Other faculty across the College of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies then contributed with additional syllabus design.
“As we were developing the program, we were doing lots of research on current approaches to Liberal Arts education, while at the same time, trying to address some of its deficiencies,” Dr. Flores notes. “We took notice of the now commonly acknowledged ‘skills gaps’ among millennials in relation to employment trends.
Across virtually every sector of employment markets, the research shows greater demand for skills in more holistic critical and creative thinking; effective communication and conflict resolution; leadership and working in team structures; and cultural diversity. What used to be considered ‘soft skills’ are now absolutely necessary in the job market. We also honored the current meaning and life purpose trends for millennials to tie their education to social good and positive purpose in the world. This is fully in line with Life University’s values and mission, and that is a major reason that the administration championed the creation of this degree.”
The degree offers a cutting-edge interdisciplinary curriculum and educational model. “What ties the degree together is that it is not interdisciplinary for the sake of being interdisciplinary. Rather, all the courses feed into the same thread of inner development and sustainable social change, and the interdependent relationship between the two. The very name ‘Positive Human Development and Social Change’embodies the University’s commitment to an education that leads to greater personal integrity and responsible global citizenship. The various parts of the degree fit together like puzzle pieces, all facilitated by the educational model,” adds Dr. Ozawa-de Silva.
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For more information on the degree progam, see: LIFE.edu/PHDSC.
About Life University
Founded in Marietta, Georgia in 1974, Life University is a health sciences institution most known for its chiropractic program, the largest single campus chiropractic program in the world. Life University is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, master’s, and Doctor of Chiropractic degrees, and also has programmatic accreditation through the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) and the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE). The mission of Life University is to empower students with the education, skills and values necessary for career success and life fulfillment, based on a vitalistic philosophy.
