College of Humanities
*For on-campus calls, dial 8 and then the extension. For calls from off-campus, dial the prefix 338, then the four-digit extension number.
The College of Humanities offers undergraduate degrees1 in the following disciplines:
Chinese 11071
Classics 15041
Comparative Literature 15031
English 15011
Concentrations in:
Creative Writing 15071
Literature 15021
Language Studies 15012
Individual Major 15011
French 11021
German 11031
Humanities 15991
Italian 11041
Japanese 11081
Journalism 06021
Philosophy 15091
Philosophy and Religion 15992
Russian 11061
Spanish 11051
Speech Communication 15061
Concentrations in:
Individual Major in Communication Studies
Intercultural Communication
Organizational Communication
Technical and Professional Writing 15997
Women Studies 49991
Technical and Professional Writing
The College of Humanities offers the following graduate degrees:1
Chinese 11071
Classics 15041
Comparative Literature 15031
English
Concentrations in:
Composition 15013
Creative Writing 15071
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages 15081
Linguistics 15012
Literature 15021
French 11021
German 11031
Humanities 15991
Italian 11041
Japanese 11081
Museum Studies 49036
Philosophy 15091
Russian 11061
Spanish 11051
Speech Communication 15061
Women Studies 49991
Jewish Community Studies (Jewish Studies Program)
Teaching of Composition (English Department)
Teaching Critical Thinking (Philosophy Department)
Teaching Post-Secondary Reading (English Department)
The humanities explore the identities, ethics, aspirations, arguments, and imaginations of individuals and societies through myth, literature, language, philosophy, religion, public and private discourse, cultural artifacts, and the symbolic systems by which ideas and feelings are communicated. Disciplines in the humanities ask and address fundamental questions of existence, value, aesthetics, and expression. What is an ethical human being? How can we balance individual freedom and civic responsibility? How do different cultures define beauty, morality, truth, and other concepts? How do human beings use language and other symbolic forms to communicate and celebrate thoughts, emotions, endeavors? The humanities are dedicated to exploring multiple answers to these questions, to engaging the imagination and creativity, to increasing civic and global responsibility, to cultivating moral action, and to equipping people with the communication skills needed to express the best of what it means to be human. Today's life is complex, constantly challenging. The times need women and men who can think, reason, and communicate clearly; who understand moral and ethical distinctions; and who have a sense of both the continuity and the changing values of the human community.
The College of Humanities consists of the departments of Classics, Creative Writing, English, Foreign Languages and Literatures, Humanities, Journalism, Philosophy, Speech and Communication Studies, Women Studies, and World and Comparative Literature; and individual programs in Global Peace Studies, Jewish Studies, Museum Studies, NEXA, Religious Studies, and Technical and Professional Writing. It jointly offers the American Studies program with the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. The college also houses a number of special centers, institutes, and facilities.
As the student examines this Bulletin, he/she will discover that a number of courses not only relate to one another but also cut across departmental lines. He/she can choose a major within one department; or by inquiring in the Advising Center (ADM 212), he/she can devise an individual cross-disciplinary program of study based on individual special interests.
No specific major is required for admission to a school of law. A usual requirement for admission is that the student must have been granted a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. Some law schools, however, have alternative plans. The student should consult the catalogs of the schools of law to which he/she expects to apply for admission. Since law schools generally expect their students to have a broad foundation in the humanities and social sciences, selection of a major in these areas is recommended. The College of Humanities provides an advising service for pre-legal students majoring in one of the humanities. Pre-law students may upon advisement construct an individual interdisciplinary pre-law major in the humanities. The Department of Political Science provides a similar advising service for students majoring in one of the behavioral and social sciences. Pre-legal students not majoring in either of these colleges may consult either advising service.
Many students decide at some point during their undergraduate major that they would like to consider teaching in the public schools. In most cases, the requirements for the major must be adjusted to accommodate an Approved Single Subject Matter Preparation Program, those courses in a single subject which are required for entrance into teaching credential programs at this and other universities. A list of the courses required for teacher preparation in various subjects is available in department offices, as well as in the Credential Bulletin published by the College of Education. Students who are considering teaching as a career are urged to contact the department's credential adviser early in their planning, in order to identify the specific courses that satisfy requirements for both the major and the Subject Matter Preparation Program, and to arrange for assessment of subject matter competency. The credential adviser also informs them about other pre-teaching requirements that they may wish to fulfill before graduation.
1The numbers following the degrees are used by this university to identify the programs indicated. These numbers must be used on the application for admission, registration forms, application for graduation, etc.