Liberal arts study at ACU permits the student to explore a wide range of disciplines and personal interests at the graduate level. The M.L.A. student may take graduate courses from any area in which he or she can meet the specific course prerequisites. Thus, the student can gain understanding in a broad graduate curriculum within the context of Christian higher education. The program is not designed to produce a career credential as are more traditional master's degree programs. The liberal arts program seeks the intellectual development and professional enhancement of adult students.
Students typically select courses in the humanities, social sciences, business and religion.
In the humanities, courses in areas such as literature and history seek to address such enduring questions as what we are to live for and how we should conduct ourselves. In the social sciences, courses in such areas as psychology, sociology and family studies endeavor to assist the student in forming a critical awareness of the complexity of human affairs and interrelationships and in establishing the ethical framework for making informed decisions about human affairs and the social institutions that promote orderly human discourse. In business, courses in such areas as management and finance endeavor to assist the student in understanding the theoretical and practical framework of everyday human interchange. In religion, a wide range of courses address the nature of man's being and purpose and man's interaction with fellowman and with God. Religion courses also include application courses in areas such as missions or biblical teaching.