COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES
The College of Humanities offers undergraduate degrees in the following disciplines:
(The 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.)
Bachelor of Arts
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
Undergraduate Certificate
Technical and Professional Writing
The College of Humanities offers the following graduate degrees:
(The 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.)
Master of Arts
Chinese 11071
Classics 15041
Comparative Literature 15031
- English
- Concentrations in:
Composition 15013
Creative Writing 15071
English as a Foreign/Second Language 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
Master of Fine Arts
Creative Writing 15071
Graduate Certificate Programs
Teaching of Composition (English Department)
Teaching Critical Thinking (Philosophy Department)
Teaching Post-Secondary Reading (English Department)
Mission/Goals
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, Intercultural Skills, 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, s/he will discover that a number of courses not only
relate to one another but also cut across departmental lines. S/he can choose a major
within one department; or by inquiring in the Advising Center (ADM 212), s/he can devise
an individual cross-disciplinary program of study based on individual special interests.
Pre-Law Programs
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 s/he 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.
Pre-Teaching Programs
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 they may wish to fulfill before
graduation.