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College of Arts and Sciences

College of Arts and Sciences
104 Bowman Hall
Kent Campus
330-672-2062
asadvise@kent.edu
www.kent.edu/cas


Mission of the College

It is the mission of the College of Arts and Sciences to deliver a first-rate education dedicated to the traditions and values of the liberal arts. These traditions include developing the skills of critical reasoning, writing, reading and deduction and providing a firm grounding in the theories and methodologies of the humanities, social and natural sciences and mathematics. These values include a commitment to rigorous questioning of principles and practices, intellectual integrity, community responsibility and diversity of perspectives in the pursuit of truth and social justice. Fundamental to a liberal education is the acquisition, preservation and transmission of new ideas and knowledge.

Study within the College of Arts and Sciences broadens and enriches students’ intellectual and cultural background. The college provides a core curriculum for all students whatever their major fields or career goals. With specialized and interdisciplinary programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, the college strives to offer a wide variety of learning and research opportunities to its students, guided by nationally and internationally renowned faculty — faculty as passionate and intent on adding to human understanding as they are to passing this understanding on to future generations. The liberal arts provide both a rich variety of fields of academic specialization and a vital base for professional, creative and technological study.

Students pursuing degrees in the College of Arts and Sciences are introduced to a variety of disciplinary and intellectual perspectives through the college’s General Requirements. These requirements provide a solid foundation in essential communications skills and mathematics; a strong and varied background in the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences; and, for most students, study of a foreign language as a tool for approaching another culture. These requirements thus supply a broad acquaintance with the traditional liberal arts and a firm basis for more specialized study.

All students in the college select at least one area of academic specialization (major). This area of specialization may be within one of the traditional disciplines, it may be interdisciplinary or it may be self-designed. Students may also pursue a second major area or one or more minor areas of specialization.

In addition to general requirements and the specific requirements within the areas of specialization, students have elective credit hours that may be used to pursue secondary areas of specialization, to explore areas of general interest or to take additional coursework within the area of specialization or in related areas. Elective coursework in the liberal arts provides not only a sound basis for more specialized learning but also intellectual enrichment that is of lasting value to any student in the university.

Study in the liberal arts provides a basis for success in a wide variety of careers. In addition to preparing students for later professional study, it provides communication skills, analytical tools and mental flexibility necessary for success in adapting to changing careers in a changing world. Above all, study in the liberal arts prepares students for a lifetime of learning experiences and for personal and intellectual as well as professional growth.