If It’s a Liberal Arts Degree, Then What Do You Actually Specialise In?

How majors, minors, and specialisations work inside liberal arts degrees in India and beyond

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The Confusion Students Usually Have

Most students who look at liberal arts programmes for the first time share a version of the same worry: “I’ll study a little of everything and graduate with nothing specific.”

That worry is understandable. “Broad” sounds vague. “Flexible” sounds like it might mean unfocused. And without a clear subject in the degree title, no “B.Com in Finance” or “B.Tech in Computer Science,” it is not obvious what the degree contains.

The short answer is that this worry is based on a misreading. Serious liberal arts programmes almost always include depth in one main field. Most also include a secondary area of study, called a minor or concentration. The difference from a conventional specialised degree is not the absence of depth. It is the presence of greater breadth, more combination options, and more time to decide before committing to a direction.

This guide explains how that actually works, in plain English, using verified examples from real Indian and international institutions.

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Liberal Arts Does Not Mean “No Depth”

A liberal arts degree is typically built from two layers.

The first is breadth: a set of courses across multiple disciplines that the student takes regardless of their eventual field. This might be called a foundation curriculum, core curriculum, or distribution requirement depending on the institution. At Ashoka University, this includes the Critical Thinking, Writing and Communication, and Quantitative Reasoning foundation courses that all students must complete. At Azim Premji University, the Common Curriculum includes components in critical reading, writing, public reasoning, and creative expression, all compulsory. At FLAME University, the first year is explicitly labelled “EXPLORE” and consists largely of Foundation Core and “Universes of Knowledge” courses.[^1][^2][^3]

The second layer is depth: a concentrated body of courses in one primary field, often called a major. This is where the student builds genuine specialisation, in economics, psychology, history, computer science, or whatever their chosen field is.

Many liberal arts programmes also include a third layer: a minor, concentration, or secondary area of study that gives the student meaningful exposure to a second field without the full commitment of a major.

Liberal arts is not breadth instead of depth. It is breadth plus depth, with more flexibility in how those are combined than a conventional specialised degree typically allows.

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How Majors, Minors, and Specialisations Work

These terms appear across institutions with slightly different definitions, but the underlying logic is consistent.

A major is the primary field of study that defines the student’s degree. It typically requires a substantial number of courses, enough to build genuine command of the subject. At Ashoka University, a minimum of around 18 courses (around 72 credits) are required to complete a major. At Krea University’s SIAS, students complete required and elective courses toward their major in accordance with guidelines set out by each individual major description.[^4][^2]

A minor is a secondary field, taken alongside the major but requiring fewer courses. At Ashoka, a minor requires around 6 courses (around 24 credits) outside the major field. At Krea, students may take additional courses across disciplines that fulfil the requirements of a minor, or simply reflect disciplinary breadth without forming a formal minor.[^2][^4]

A concentration is similar to a minor but may be more tightly defined. At Ashoka, students may choose to declare either a minor or a concentration at the end of the third semester.[^5]

A double major allows the student to complete the full requirements of two separate major fields. Krea’s SIAS offers double majors: any two subjects available as majors can be combined to form a double major for the current academic year.[^4]

Different institutions use this vocabulary differently. Some call what Ashoka calls a “minor” a “specialisation.” Some use “track” or “pathway.” The underlying concept, one main area of depth, one optional secondary area, broader elective courses across both, is shared across most serious programmes.

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How This Differs From a Traditional Specialised Degree

A student who joins a B.Com programme commits to commerce from day one. The curriculum is shaped almost entirely around that field. Electives exist, but the room to take courses outside the stream is limited.

A student who joins a liberal arts programme at Ashoka, FLAME, or Krea enters a broader environment first. At Krea, the first year exposes students to multiple disciplines, and the major is picked in the second year, after the student has actually tried courses across fields. At Ashoka, students can begin taking major courses in the second semester but are not required to formally declare the major until the end of the third semester.[^6][^7][^2]

This design reflects a specific philosophy: that 17-year-olds are often not yet certain what they want to study in depth, and that the decision to commit to one field is better made with more information than is typically available at Class 12 level.

The practical difference is meaningful:

	Liberal Arts Degree	Traditional Specialised Degree
Entry point	General programme; field chosen later	Field chosen at admission
First year	Broad foundation across disciplines	Often field-specific from semester 1
Major	Declared after exploration (typically end of Year 1 or Year 2)	Usually fixed at entry
Minor / second field	Typically available	Often limited or not formalised
Elective freedom	Higher	Lower
Degree title	May depend on major chosen	Determined at admission

Neither structure is universally better. The liberal arts model suits students who are genuinely exploratory and want time to form their academic identity. The specialised model suits students who are certain of their direction from the start. The guide Liberal Arts vs Engineering vs Management: How to Decide covers that broader decision in detail.

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How Indian Universities Actually Structure This

The verified structure at four major Indian institutions illustrates how differently this can look in practice.

Ashoka University

Students enter a single undergraduate programme and formally declare their major by the end of the third semester. The final degree is either a B.A. (Honours) or a B.Sc. (Honours), depending on the major chosen. A student who majors in Economics graduates with a BA (Hons) in Economics. A student who majors in Physics or Computer Science graduates with a BSc (Hons).[^5][^2]

The major requires a minimum of around 18 courses (around 72 credits). The minor requires around 6 courses (around 24 credits) outside the major. Students may also choose a concentration instead of a minor. The degree title is determined by the major, not set at the point of admission.[^2][^5]

FLAME University

FLAME’s structure is one of the clearest examples of how liberal arts can produce multiple degree types within a single educational model.

Students at FLAME enter a shared first year. From there, the programme offers four distinct degree pathways:[^8][^9]

• B.A. (Hons): for majors including Economics, Psychology, Literary and Cultural Studies, International Studies, Environmental Studies, Journalism, Public Policy, and Sociology
• B.Sc. (Hons): for majors including Applied Mathematics, Data Science and Economics, and Computer Science
• BBA (Hons): for majors including Finance, Business Analytics, Marketing, Human Resource Management, and Entrepreneurship
• BBA (Communications Management) (Hons): a distinct degree title for students pursuing Communications Management, with specialisations in advertising, digital marketing, and related areas[^10]

All of these pathways exist within FLAME’s liberal education model. A student who entered the same broad first year as a classmate may graduate with a BBA (Hons) while that classmate graduates with a BA (Hons), the educational philosophy is shared, but the final degree title is determined by the specialisation chosen.[^9][^10]

Three-year exit options (B.A., B.Sc., BBA, BBA (CM)) aligned with NEP 2020 are also available.[^9]

Krea University (SIAS)

Krea’s School of Interwoven Arts and Sciences awards BA, BSc, BA (Honours), and BSc (Honours) degrees. Whether a student receives a BA or a BSc is determined by the major chosen. All majors and minors are housed in three divisions: Humanities and Social Sciences, Literature and Arts, and Sciences.[^11][^4]

Students are exposed to multiple disciplines in the first year and choose their major at the start of the second year. A student may complete a major and also choose a minor, or pursue a double major. A capstone project or thesis is required in the final year.[^6][^4]

Azim Premji University

APU’s undergraduate programmes are organised differently. Students apply to a specific programme, BA in Economics, BA in History, BA in English, BSc in Biology, BSc in Physics, and so on. The degree title is therefore known at entry.[^12]

What makes APU a liberal education model is the Common Curriculum: a set of compulsory courses across critical thinking, writing, reasoning, and creative expression that all students complete regardless of their primary subject. The rigour in the major is paired with breadth across the common curriculum. Students in the Biology BSc are still expected to engage with writing, reasoning, and social questions, and vice versa.[^3][^13]

Shiv Nadar University (IHS)

Shiv Nadar University’s BA (Research) in Interdisciplinary Humanities and Social Sciences is a newer model that builds specialisation differently. The first year consists of around 17 mandatory core courses across natural sciences, social sciences, AI, ethics, environment, business fundamentals, writing, and quantitative skills. From the second year onward, students choose one of three specialisation tracks: Sustainability Studies; Archaeology, Heritage and Historical Studies; or Society, Culture and Technology.[^14][^15]

The degree awarded is a BA (Research) in Interdisciplinary Humanities and Social Sciences regardless of specialisation, the interdisciplinary nature of the programme is reflected in the degree title itself.[^15][^16]

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Degree Title vs Academic Structure

A key point for families to understand: in some institutions, a student’s final degree title depends entirely on the field they choose within a shared liberal education framework.

At FLAME, two students may go through the same foundation year together, and one may graduate with a BBA (Hons) in Marketing while the other graduates with a BA (Hons) in Psychology. At Ashoka, the distinction between a BA and a BSc is also determined by the major. At APU, the degree title is fixed at entry because students apply to specific programmes.[^9][^5]

At Shiv Nadar’s IHS programme, the degree title does not change by specialisation, the programme itself is the identity on the certificate.[^15]

This matters for two reasons.

First, it means families should not evaluate a programme only by its broad institutional name. The relevant question is: what degree title does this pathway actually produce, and what does that mean for the student’s transcript?

Second, it means that “liberal arts” describes the educational model, the pedagogy, the breadth, the flexibility, the combination of subjects, not necessarily a single degree label. As the guides What Are Liberal Arts and What is Liberal Education explain in detail, the distinction matters: liberal education refers to the philosophy of how a degree is taught; liberal arts refers more to the academic disciplines involved. A student can receive a BBA through a liberal education model. They are not opposites.

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How This Works Outside India

For global context: the major-minor structure in Indian liberal arts programmes is directly borrowed from the US liberal arts college model, which has operated this way for well over a century.

At Amherst College or Williams College in the United States, students enter a general undergraduate programme, complete distribution requirements across fields, and then declare a major, typically by the end of the second year. A student might major in History and minor in Mathematics. Both appear on the degree, but the degree itself is typically a Bachelor of Arts regardless of the specific major.[^17]

In Europe, liberal arts and sciences programmes operate similarly. Amsterdam University College (AUC), a joint initiative of the University of Amsterdam and VU Amsterdam, offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences, where the student selects a major track (e.g., Social Sciences, Humanities, Science) and builds specialisation within that framework.[^18]

The Indian model is converging toward these structures, though with variation across institutions. The common thread is that specialisation exists; it is simply reached through a process that begins broader and narrows over time, rather than starting narrow.

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What This Means for Careers and Postgraduate Study

Employers and graduate-school admissions offices are primarily interested in what the student actually studied in depth, the skills they built, and whether the transcript shows a coherent academic direction.

A student with a BA (Hons) in Economics from Ashoka, a BSc (Hons) in Data Science from FLAME, or a BA in Philosophy Politics and Economics from APU is not academically vague. They have a primary subject. They have a transcript showing courses in that field. The fact that they also took courses in other disciplines is typically treated as an asset, not a problem.

For postgraduate study in particular, law school, an MBA, a research master’s, or a foreign graduate programme, what matters is the depth and rigour of the undergraduate coursework, the clarity of the student’s intellectual interests, and whether the overall academic record is coherent. A well-chosen major-minor combination from a serious institution addresses all three.

For more detail on where liberal arts graduates actually end up and what their career trajectories look like, the guide What Can You Do After a BA in Liberal Arts? covers employment data and career paths.

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How Students Should Choose a Major-Minor Combination

The freedom to combine subjects is an advantage of liberal arts. But freedom without thought can produce a combination that is internally incoherent or that does not support any clear future plan.

When thinking about a major:

• Start with genuine intellectual interest, not professional fashion. A student who is drawn to literature but chooses economics because it sounds more employable will typically perform worse in both.
• Consider the primary field you want to be identified with on your transcript and in the eyes of future employers or postgraduate programmes.
• Check whether the institution you are applying to actually offers a serious version of the major you are considering, not just the subject name, but the course options, the faculty, and the depth of the programme.

When thinking about a minor:

• Look for a combination that has an internal logic. Economics and Data Science, Psychology and Public Policy, Literature and Media Studies, these pairings are complementary. Random combinations chosen purely for variety add less.
• Ask whether the minor supports the likely next step after graduation. A student who wants to go into development work might pair Economics (major) with Environmental Studies (minor). A student who wants to go into content production might pair Literary Studies (major) with Communication (minor).
• Avoid choosing a minor only because it reduces the course load outside the major.

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What Students and Parents Should Actually Do

1. Read the academic structure page for each university you are considering, not the marketing brochure, but the official programme structure, curriculum, or academic handbook page. This is where major-minor rules, credit requirements, and degree-title logic are documented.

2. Find out when the major is declared. At Ashoka and Krea, the major is declared after initial exploration, end of third semester and start of second year, respectively. At APU, students apply to a specific degree programme. At FLAME, students enter a shared programme and the degree pathway is shaped over the first year. Know which model you are entering.[^8][^6][^2]

3. Identify a likely major and one possible minor before applying. Students who enter with at least a tentative academic interest perform better in SOPs, interviews, and early course planning than those who enter with no sense of direction. This tentative view can change, that is normal and expected. But having one gives you a starting point.

4. Check what degree title you will graduate with and verify whether it depends on the major or specialisation you choose. At FLAME, the degree title (BA vs BBA vs BBA-CM) changes based on the chosen pathway. At Shiv Nadar’s IHS programme, the title remains BA (Research) in Interdisciplinary Humanities and Social Sciences regardless of specialisation track.[^15][^9]

5. Connect your tentative major to a future plan, even a rough one. If you want to work in policy, does your likely major prepare you for that? If you want to go to law school, does your combination build the analytical and writing skills that help? If you are uncertain, say so honestly, but try to identify what you want to be uncertain about, rather than leaving the entire question open.

6. Do not assume that “liberal arts” means your degree lacks focus. Every institution covered in this guide provides genuine specialisation. The difference from a conventional degree is how you get there, through broader exploration before commitment, not through a refusal to commit.

For the broader question of whether to study liberal arts in India or abroad, and what those two options actually look like in practice, the guide Studying Abroad vs Studying in India for Liberal Arts covers the full comparison.

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Endnotes

¹ Major, minor, and specialisation structures reference official programme pages and academic handbooks from FLAME, Ashoka, Azim Premji, Krea, and Shiv Nadar.

² Degree nomenclature and credit requirement details draw on published curriculum documents and institutional academic policies.

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References

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2. Undergraduate Programme - Ashoka University’s undergraduate programme features a well-structured curriculum comprising four es…

3. Common Curriculum - Common Curriculum · Understanding India courses · Creative Expressions 1 and 2 · Advanced Reading, W…

4. Interwoven learning experience - This programme offers students the opportunity to engage with the intersecting domains of business a…

5. Student Handbook 2024 - Even before the declaration of the Minor or Concentration, students may take courses towards what wi…

6. Krea Undergraduate Advantage - The uniquely designed UG programme offers a range of majors, minors and electives, all housed under …

7. Admissions Process and Key Policies - All applicants will be evaluated on their level of engagement with their academics, extra-curricular…

8. Undergraduate Program Details - B.A., BBA, B.Sc., … - The core courses such as AI for the Disciplines, Critical Reasoning, Academic Writing, Digital Liter…

9. Undergraduate (UG) Program Courses - FLAME University Offers a 3 year Undergraduate Program steeped in liberal education. Students can sp…

10. Academic Programs - Offers four-year B.A. (Hons), B.Sc. (Hons), BBA (Hons) and BBA (Communications Management) (Hons) un…

11. School of Interwoven Arts and Sciences (SIAS) - We offer a distinctive undergraduate curriculum in the humanities, social sciences, literature, arts…

12. Undergraduate Programmes - The undergraduate curricula provides students with flexibility, rigour, opportunities for field prac…

13. BSc in Biology (2024-2028) - The curriculum of the major is designed to develop capacities for critical thinking and quantitative…

14. Shiv Nadar University Launches India’s First B.A. … - Shiv Nadar University Launches India’s First B.A. (Research) in Interdisciplinary Humanities & Socia…

15. BA (Research) Interdisciplinary Humanities and Social … - Total Program Credits are 160 · The core courses 68 credits · Major courses 60 credits · University-…

16. BA (Research) Interdisciplinary Humanities and Social … - We are proud to launch a new Interdisciplinary BA program in Humanities and Social Sciences, providi…

17. Financial Aid Costs for International Students - For 2026-2027, the typical student expense budget and charges include: Direct Costs. Billed to Stude…

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