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:
- Completion of the requirements for a major within the College.
- Completion of a senior thesis, comprehensive exam, capstone, or other culminating experience designed by the major department.
- 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.