catalog header

Course Catalog

College of Arts and Sciences

Dean: Jacqueline Van Hoomisen
Associate Deans:
Molly Kretchmar-Hendricks, Jonathan Rossing, Stacy Taninchev

The College of Arts and Sciences develops people for others, ready to face the intellectual, vocational, and spiritual challenges of today and tomorrow.

The departments and programs that make up the College offer students majors, minors and concentrations in liberal arts, humanities, and specialized fields, preparing them for immediate careers or for further studies. The College also is primarily responsible for delivering courses in the University Core curriculum, the center of 91³Ô¹ÏÍø’s humanistic, Jesuit, Catholic education. For students pursuing Arts and Sciences majors, the College also has a secondary language requirement.

Degree Programs in the College of Arts and Sciences

Bachelor of Arts, General: This is the regular B.A. degree offered by the College; it also is available with a teaching option in some majors.

Bachelor of Science, General: This is the regular B.S. degree offered by the College.

Bachelor of Arts, Honors: This degree is awarded to students who pursue their basic undergraduate education under the direction of the Honors Program. A specific core Honors curriculum, accomplished primarily through colloquia and seminars, satisfies University Core requirements for those students who obtain this degree. The degree is available in all majors within the College that offer the B.A.

Bachelor of Science, Honors: This degree is awarded to students who complete the requirements for a major in a field which offers the B.S. and who pursue their basic undergraduate education under the direction of the Honors Program; a specific Honors curriculum satisfies the University Core requirements for those students who obtain this degree.

3+3 BA/BS/J.D.: This program consists of three years in an approved undergraduate major1 and entrance to the Law School in the fourth year, resulting in a B.A./B.S. and a J.D. from the 91³Ô¹ÏÍø University School of Law in six years rather than seven. The 3+3 program requires successful completion of at least 100 undergraduate credits from 91³Ô¹ÏÍø University by the end of the junior year (six semesters), including all College of Arts and Sciences undergraduate degree requirements for any major, minor, and concentration pursued by the student as well as all university core requirements. The final 28 undergraduate elective credits required under the 128 credit undergraduate degree policy will be fulfilled using completed first-year law school courses. Students complete the application to the 91³Ô¹ÏÍø School of Law in their fifth semester. Because of the pre-planning this pathway involves, interested students should contact a pre-law advisor in Career and Professional Services during their first semester.

1Some majors are credit-intensive and/or highly sequenced. Students in those majors may not be able to complete the major in three years and would not be able to participate in this program.

College of Arts and Sciences Degree Requirements

In addition to the general degree requirements of the University, including the University Core curriculum, students earning all Bachelor’s degrees offered by the College of Arts and Sciences must complete the following requirements:

  1. Completion of the requirements for a major within the College.
  2. Completion of a senior thesis, comprehensive exam, capstone, or other culminating experience designed by the major department.
  3. Language Requirement: Competency in a second language (classical or modern) at the intermediate level (demonstrated by completion of a course numbered 201 or higher) is required for students continuing in the study of a language. Students beginning study in a language they have not previously studied can fulfill the requirement by completing one year at the beginning level (courses numbered 101-102). The languages regularly taught at 91³Ô¹ÏÍø are Arabic, American Sign Language (ASL), Filipino, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Latin, and Spanish. International students from non-English speaking countries whose primary and/or secondary education was in a language other than English, the CAS language requirement is automatically fulfilled since the proficiency threshold for admissions is advanced proficiency, exceeding the requirement of the language requirement. 

Please note: Every degree requires a minimum of 128 completed semester credits. No core, major, minor, or concentration courses may be taken under the Pass/Fail option.

Table of Credits for Degrees, Majors and Minors

Field   Degree    Major    Minor 
Applied Mathematics BS 57-77 24
  Actuarial Science Concentration 69 n.a.
  Biology Concentration 68 n.a.
  Biology + Statistics Concentration 75 n.a.
  Biochemistry Concentration  67  n.a.
  Biochemistry + Statistics Concentration 76 n.a.
  Chemistry Concentration  67  n.a. 
  Chemistry + Statistics Concentration 76 n.a. 
  Computer Science Concentration  61  n.a.
  Economics Concentration 64-65 n.a. 
  Economics + Statistics Concentration  73-74 n.a.
  Environmental Science Concentration 68 n.a. 
  Environmental Science + Statistics Concentration 77 n.a. 
  Physics Concentration 65 n.a. 
  Physics + Statistics Concentration  74 n.a. 
  Statistics Concentration 65-66 n.a.
Art  BFA 53  
Art BA 39 24
  Art History Concentration (for Art majors only)  48 n.a.
  Art History (for non-Art majors) 
n.a. 24
Biology BA 39 28
  Research Concentration 47-48 n.a.
Biology BS 64 28
  Ecology & Conservation Biology Concentration 63-65   
  Evolution & Integrative Biology Concentration 59-64   
   Micro, Molecular, & Cellular 65-66   
   Physiology  62-63  
  Research Concentration 71-72 n.a.
Biochemistry BS 70-71 n.a.
   (ACS approved option) 73-74 n.a.
Broadcast and Electronic Media Studies BA 36 21
Catholic Studies
n.a. 21
Chemistry BA 55 32-37
  (ACS approved option) BS 64-65 n.a.
Classical Civilizations BA 36 23
Communication Studies BA 37 21
Conducting (for Music, Music Ed majors only)

n.a.

20

Criminology BA 33 18
Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
 n.a.   21 
Dance BA
20
  Dance Pedagogy Concentration  35   
  Performance Concentration   35   
English (concentration required)  BA
21
  Writing Concentration 39 n.a.
  Literature Concentration  39   n.a. 
Environmental Science BS 63-64 n.a.
Environmental Studies BA 39-41 19-21
Film Studies

n.a. 21
French* BA 19-35 12-28
German*
n.a. 12-28
Health Equity      18
History BA 33 18
  Asian History
n.a. 18
  Latin American History
n.a. 18
  Race & Ethnic Communities
n.a.  18 
Interdisciplinary Arts
  n.a. 20-25
International Studies*    BA 42-58 18-23
Italian*
n.a. 12-26
Italian Studies* BA 22-36 12-26
Journalism BA 39 19
Mathematics BA 31 24
 Statistics Concentration   40 n.a.
Mathematics BS 40 24
 Statistics Concentration   49 n.a.
Music BA 46-55 20
  Composition Concentration 53 n.a.
  General studies Concentration 46 n.a.
  Jazz Concentration 54  
  Performance concentration 50 n.a.
  Sacred Music concentration 55 n.a.
  Minor in Conducting (Music or Music Ed majors only)   20
Music Education (concentration required)  BA 65-66 n.a.
  Choral and General concentration 66
  Instrumental and General concentration 66
Native American Studies n.a. 21
Neuroscience BS 61 n.a.
Philosophy BA 36 21
  Kossel Concentration 44 n.a.
Physics BA 52 n.a.
BS degree concentration required BS 61-67 27
  Applied Physics concentration   64  
  Astrophysics concentration   63  
  Fundamental Physics concentration   64  
  Material Physics Concentration   62  
  Medical Physics Concentration   61  
Political Science (concentration required)  BA 54 18
  American Politics  

 

 
  Comparative Politics      
  International Relations      
Psychology BA 33 21
  Research Concentration 36
Public Relations BA 39 18
Religious Studies BA 36 18
Sociology BA 33 18
Solidarity and Social Justice
n.a. 18
Spanish* BA 22-38 12-28
Theatre (concentration required)  BA
20-21
  Performance Concentration 44-49
  Design, Technology, & Management 44-49 19-21
Visual Literacy n.a.  18-19
Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies 33 21
Writing n.a. 21

Note: *Number of credits required is dependent on non-English language competency.

Teacher Certification
In order to obtain a teaching certificate, students need to complete a degree with an appropriate major and also complete professional educational requirements. Since most future teachers obtain their degree in the College of Arts and Sciences, they have an academic advisor in that college. In addition, they need an advisor from the Teacher Education Department, who is usually assigned to them when they register for EDTE 101L.