Designing Liberal-Arts-Based Micro-Degrees: Based on an Analysis of K University’s General Education Curriculum

This study aims to propose design principles and concrete models for liberal-arts-based micro-degree programs built on the general education system of Korean universities in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the shift to a lifelong learning society. To this end, it reviews the concepts, functions, and quality assurance (QA) standards of micro-credentials presented by international organizations such as the OECD and the EU, as well as domestic discussions on micro-degrees and liberal arts micro-degrees, and theoretically examines how liberal-arts-based micro-degrees can be aligned with these global frameworks. Using the competency framework of K University as a reference, approximately 230 general education courses were analyzed by applying a competency keyword dictionary to course objectives and overviews, thereby examining the coherence between stated competencies and course content. Based on these results, the study proposes design principles for liberal-arts-based micro-degrees, a QA model, and specific program examples such as “Wellness Life Coaching (Basic)” and “Cultural Contents Planning and Storytelling Production.”The findings indicate that four key design principles are required for liberal-arts-based micro-degrees: (1) maintaining the identity of liberal education, (2) competency-based design, (3) coherence and stackability, and (4) a full-cycle QA system covering the stages of establishment, operation, outcomes, and improvement/feedback. The competency coherence analysis further demonstrates that it is possible to construct liberal-arts-based micro-degrees with stepwise learning pathways (basic-intermediate-advanced) using existing general education courses alone, and that the proposed QA framework can function as a program-level QA scheme encompassing program approval, operational monitoring, assessment of competency achievement and its utilization, decisions on improvement or discontinuation, and the issuance of digital badges.