Every Soka student pursues a B.A. in Liberal Arts through Daisaku Ikeda College, choosing a concentration from five broad areas of study.
That shared structure is intentional. Concentrations draw from multiple disciplines and carry a lower credit-hour requirement than a traditional major, leaving room to explore outside your area of focus, or go deeper into it. A required semester abroad and a senior capstone project are built into every student’s path.
A General Education curriculum runs all four years alongside your concentration. By graduation, you’ll have the depth of focused study and the range to think across fields, ready for work in any direction you choose.
Soka's General Education curriculum covers writing and communication, science and mathematics, creative arts, language and culture, and more — 10 course areas that build the breadth to complement your concentration's depth.
At the heart of General Education is the Core course series, which introduces you to liberal arts thinking through the work of writers and philosophers throughout history who grappled with humanity’s most enduring questions.
Each January, intensive, 3.5-week courses called Learning Clusters will give you the opportunity to examine real-world issues through hands-on research and fieldwork.
You’ll also choose a language to study — Chinese, French, Japanese, or Spanish — which will determine your options for studying abroad during your third year.
By the end of sophomore year, you'll declare one of five possible concentrations, each designed to hone your expertise while keeping the broader picture in view.
Whichever you choose, you'll work closely with faculty who are invested in your growth. As you start delving into upper-division courses, you’ll practice your analytical skills and build an understanding of how the world’s most pressing issues span multiple academic disciplines.
After two years of language and culture study, every SUA student spends a semester abroad during their junior year at no extra cost. You’ll select a program in China, France, Japan, Senegal, or a Spanish-speaking country, where you’ll be immersed in your target language and live the culture on a daily basis.
A defining part of the Soka undergraduate experience, studying abroad challenges your comfort zone and helps you grow into an informed, compassionate global citizen.
Your fourth year culminates in the senior capstone, a year-long research project tackling a question within your concentration that you’re passionate about. With faculty mentorship and room to dig deep, you'll produce original scholarship that bridges theory and practice.
For many students, the capstone experience refines the direction they want to take after Soka, whether it’s graduate study or a job in their field of interest.
Every January, during a 3.5 week winter block, students go deep on a single problem — intensive 4-credit courses capped at 12, built around questions too specific for a standard syllabus. Clusters have taken students to Finland, Miami, and the L.A. and San Diego zoos, but most begin closer to home. Grants cover travel costs when a course goes out of town or abroad, with no additional charge to students. Every student completes a Learning Cluster in their first and second years.
Every Soka student studies abroad for a semester* — built into the four-year plan and covered by standard tuition. After two years of language study, you’ll spend a semester living and learning in one of more than 20 programs across four language tracks: Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish. The destinations span five continents.
*Students who are unable to travel abroad due to health conditions or immigration status may complete equivalent coursework on campus.
The B.A. in Liberal Arts has two interdisciplinary pathways for students who want to pursue focused coursework across concentrations. Both run alongside your concentration without replacing it.
SUA offers special academic programs including Fulbright student advising, Health Professions Advising, accelerated degree programs, and graduate school advising.
At Soka, the student-to-faculty ratio is 7:1. From your first semester to commencement day, your professors know your name, your questions, and your goals. And through opportunities to work as a research assistant, you can even contribute to their latest research.
