The University Studies component of the Murray State University undergraduate program aims to provide students with a broad-based, liberal arts and sciences education as a foundation for their academic specialty.  University Studies courses should: develop students’ communication skills; encourage students to think creatively while gathering, analyzing, and evaluating information to reach logical decisions; and familiarize students with the roles and applications of science and technology toward resolving problems in an ever-changing world. Furthermore, students will gain a critical understanding of the world's historical, literary, philosophical, and artistic traditions. Within this broad context, students will come to understand the dynamics of cultural diversity, of competing economic and political systems, of social responsibility, and of complex moral and ethical issues.

The core of the University Studies program consists of five courses (or requirements). Students completing a bachelor’s degree at Murray State University must complete one semester of composition (ENG 105 or ENG 104), one semester of Humanities (HUM 211), one semester of World History (CIV 201 or CIV 202), one course in mathematics, and a science course with a lab. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree will also take a minimum of six hours in a single foreign language, culminating in proficiency at 202 level or above in French, German, Japanese, or Spanish.

The program is organized thematically to emphasize the focus of an undergraduate education at MSU:

Oral and Written Communication
Scientific Inquiry, Methodologies, and Quantitative Skills
World’s Historical, Literary, and Philosophical Traditions
Global Awareness, Cultural Diversity, and the World’s Artistic Traditions
Social and Self-Awareness and Responsible Citizenship.

Individual courses included under these rubrics encourage students to think independently and creatively while applying sound standards of information gathering, analysis, and evaluation to reach logical decisions. These foundational approaches provide the basis for students to write well and to speak clearly and coherently. Additionally, Murray State University undergraduates will become familiar with the roles and applications of science and technology in the solution of the problems facing a changing world.

In order to better understand how change occurs in the world around us, students will gain a critical understanding of the world's historical, literary, philosophical, and artistic traditions. Within this broad context, students will come to understand the dynamics of cultural diversity, of competing economic and political systems, and of complex moral and ethical issues.