About the College of Arts & Sciences

Spotlight on News & Events

UDC Participating at the 2nd USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo Hosted by Lockheed Martin - April 28 - 29, 2012

Monteith Lecture featuring Derek Musgrove - Thursday, April 12, 2012 - 6pm - Building 41, 5th Floor LRD

College of Arts and Sciences Honors Awards Convocation – Friday, April 13, 2012 – 6pm – University Auditorium – Come out – Cerebrate!

Now Accepting Fall Semester Applications for the Congressional Internship Program

Who we are

The College of Arts and Sciences is made up of a diverse community of scholars, novice and expert, engaged in knowing and solving problems of importance to residents of the District and world.  Our mission is to attract and engage a talent pool that will influence decisions of immediate and long-term relevance and of small and large consequence.  We seek to develop graduates and life-long learners who will serve and lead.  Our graduates are equipped with broad knowledge, grounded by soundness of moral character, committed to social responsibility, and comfortable with difference.  Fueled by the desire to know, CAS graduates are prepared to reason critically and flexibly with known and new information, in routine and new contexts as they address recurring and novel problems.

What we offer

The College currently consists of ten academic departments, three institutes, a full service speech and hearing clinic, an early childhood laboratory school, a GIS lab, a newly launched Center for Urban Education, and an art gallery.  We offer myriad degree programs, limited certificate programs, and countless opportunities for life-long learning. New co-curricular initiatives extend our academic footprint.  Our newly launched common read initiative "CAS Reads Big" exemplifies our quest to engage students beyond the classroom and show the world as learning lab.  Our inaugural "Big Read" event featured the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  The culminating activity for engaging students, faculty, alumni, and community members in the read was a panel discussion featuring internationally recognized experts including Dr. Richard Schlegel co-inventor of the HPV vaccine and Mr. David "Sonny" Lacks the only living child of Mrs. Lacks.  The engagement was exciting, spirited, and informative and served to symbolize the College's evolving scholarly directions and expectations.  

Effective January 1, 2012 the College emerged with a new departmental structure and refined major and minor offerings.  We also assume responsibility for the direction of the Center for Applied Research and Urban Policy.  Related to the departmental restructure are department and program name changes and department and program relocations.  This restructure follows a deliberate and thoughtful program review process.  Our outcomes represent best practice decisions and consider academic, occupational, and fiscal realities.  The new College structure including the departments and their associated programs are identified to the right.  Department and program mangers are also identified.  Programs of study for all of our offerings can be found on the linked department sites.  Program descriptions couple major and General Education requirements.  All programs eligible for professional accreditation are accredited or an accreditation application is active including pre application preparation for four programs.