Message from the dean:
John Kijinski
Dean, College of
Arts and Humanities
The College of Arts and Humanities brings together talented faculty and talented students in eight academic units: the Departments of Communication, English, History, Modern Languages and Literatures, Philosophy, Theatre and Dance, Visual Arts and New Media, and the School of Music. Offering 30 degree programs, we are the largest of the three colleges at the university. The faculty of the College is outstanding by any measure. This group of distinguished scholars, artists, composers, writers, musicians, and actors are bound together by a commitment to sharing their talents, knowledge, and expertise with their students.
At the undergraduate level, we offer students the opportunity to earn degrees in traditional liberal arts degrees in fields such as philosophy, English, and history. Students in these programs are well-trained for graduate school, and these programs also serve as pre-professional majors for students who desire to go to law school or into masters of business administration programs. We also offer programs that lead to teacher certification in English, Spanish, French, social studies, music, and history. Our arts programs train students to enter such fields as dance, acting, graphic design, technical theatre, and sound recording technology. We also have masters programs in English and music.
The College is committed to promoting an environment in which active student learning takes place. We feature many small classes—particularly upper-division classes—and many opportunities for students to work closely with faculty members in studio settings. At the center of cultural life on campus, arts students have many opportunities to participate in theatre and dance productions, musical events, and art exhibitions. Along with four full-scale theatrical productions per year in which faculty direct student actors, we also sponsor all-student productions. Dance majors participate in a full recital each spring. Furthermore, we are one of the few colleges of this size in the country to present an annual opera. Humanities students also find many opportunities to share their work: they participate in the Student Research and Creativity Expo as well as in other college-wide and departmental forums that feature student work. Many of our students participate in internships. We also offer opportunities for international study: for example, during the past year, Arts and Humanities faculty have offered students the opportunity to enhance their education through travel to Mexico, England, Puerto Rico, Turkey, China, and Morocco.
The College of Arts and Humanities offers students a rich intellectual and cultural environment in which to study, both within and outside the classroom. If you would like to know more about the College, I encourage you to contact me or any of the chairs of our academic units.