All degrees in the College of Liberal Arts include required course work in the natural sciences, social sciences, mathematics, humanities, and fine and performing arts, while permitting some liberty in the selection of courses within these areas. In these courses, the student is introduced to the fundamentals of scholarship in the main branches of knowledge, is provided with an orientation that may help identify a field of knowledge that attracts the student's interest, and prepares a foundation to support scholarship in his or her chosen field. <br><br>Course work in a student's major, minor, related area, or electives (depending upon the type of degree chosen) provides access to advanced instruction and specialized equipment to prepare the student for responsible leadership in the professional, civic, social, and economic spheres of society, and creates a foundation that may enrich character and provide the resources for living a meaningful and useful life.<br><br>Graduate work in physics is planned primarily to meet the needs of students who are looking forward to professional careers in physics, either as teachers or as research physicists. The M.A. degree does not require a thesis, it is based on graduate class work and an oral examination.