College of Arts & Sciences
Robert A. Flowers, Dean; Kelly Austin, Associate Dean; R. Michael Burger, Associate Dean; Dawn Keetley, Associate Dean; Jessecae Marsh, Associate Dean
The College of Arts & Sciences is the heart of Lehigh University, offering a wide variety of academic majors, minors, and interdisciplinary programs, while also providing essential liberal arts access to all Lehigh students. College of Arts & Sciences faculty are engaged as active scholars, are highly accessible, and are committed to the teaching mission of our undergraduate programs. A hallmark of our college is the faculty’s ability to engage students interactively and experientially in teaching, research, and scholarship.
A College of Arts & Sciences education treats each student as a unique individual whose capacities and knowledge evolve across a lifetime of learning and engagement. Students discover and nurture their potential. They cultivate knowledge, skills, and values that free them to grapple with fundamental intellectual problems, ponder complex issues, and contribute to their communities, both during and after college.
The University motto, which quotes from the 17th-century humanist and scientist Sir Francis Bacon, is homo minister et interpres naturae — “humans, servants and interpreters of nature.” Inspired by this aphorism and responsive to its legacy, the College prepares students to engage with both human nature and nature writ large in a spirit of both inquiry and service. Through the liberal arts curriculum, students pursue a multidisciplinary understanding of human experience, artistic and linguistic expression, and the natural and social worlds. Students tackle big questions and contemporary challenges, build critical intellectual skills, and explore diverse disciplinary perspectives and tools. When they leave Lehigh, students are prepared to confront the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow with integrity and responsibility.
- A four-year College of Arts & Sciences curriculum leading to a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree in designated fields;
- Dual degree programs within the college and in conjunction with the other three undergraduate colleges;
- Double BA major program with the College of Health, please see below for more information;
- A five-year Arts-Engineering curriculum leading to a bachelor’s degree from the College of Arts & Sciences and a bachelor of science degree from the College of Engineering and Applied Science;
- A five-year program leading to a bachelor's degree from the College of Arts & Sciences and a master's degree in Education from the College of Education. Please see below for more information;
- Additional five-year programs leading to a bachelor's degree from the College of Arts & Sciences and a master's degree through the Colleges of Business, Engineering and Applied Science, and Health.
The College of Arts & Sciences Curriculum Overview
The College of Arts & Sciences curriculum is structured around four broad objectives of a liberal arts education:
- Building Critical Intellectual Skills
- Exploring Diverse Disciplinary Perspectives and Tools
- Tackling Big Questions & Contemporary Challenges from Multidisciplinary Perspectives
- Developing Knowledge & Expertise in a Focused Area of Study
To fulfill these objectives, students pursue broad study across the college curriculum with at least 12 distinct courses, in addition to a focused effort in an individual program of study.
Distribution Requirements
| Big Questions Seminar | 3-4 | |
| First-Year Writing Courses 1 | 6 | |
| Mathematics Course | 3 | |
| At least 2 courses and 7 credits in each of the 4 Disciplinary Perspectives: | ||
| Interpreting & Understanding Human Experience (HE) | 7 | |
| Creating & Expressing through Arts & Languages (AL) | 7 | |
| Investigating the Natural World (NW), including 1 Lab (LS) | 7 | |
| Investigating the Social World (SW) | 7 | |
| 3 Encounters in each of the following areas: | ||
Contemporary Challenges (CC) | ||
Quantitative Reasoning (Q) | ||
Writing (W) | ||
- 1
FY Writing requirement may be fulfilled through WRT 001 & 002. Students who earn credit for both WRT 001 & 002 through AP or IB scores will take WRT 011: Advanced Writing: The Rhetorical Self, to complete the FY Writing Requirement. Options for multilingual speakers, WRT 003 & 005, are available through appropriate placement with the International Center for Academic & Professional English (ICAPE).
Required Coursework
Big Questions Seminar: Students take one Big Questions Seminar in the first semester. Big Questions Seminars are designated by course number '090' and focus on complex questions that have no simple or obvious answers. These can include, but are not limited to, the deep enduring questions that humanity has grappled with for ages or emerging questions of today. Big questions often transcend disciplinary boundaries. Thus, many Big Questions Seminars illustrate how multiple disciplines or multiple fields within a discipline approach the seminar's focal question, and some are co-taught by faculty from different fields. These seminars are designed to facilitate students' transition to the intellectual environment of a college classroom and to develop students' intellectual and practical skills (e.g., inquiry and analysis, critical and creative thinking, written and oral communication, quantitative reasoning, information literacy, teamwork, problem solving).
First-Year Writing (WRT): Students take two designated courses in their first year that focus on pre-disciplinary writing, including engaging thoughtfully with the writing process, practicing clear academic writing and argument, analyzing and practicing persuasive strategies and critical thinking, and developing information literacy skills. Students who qualify based on AP or IB Exam scores will take an honors path, which consists of one designated advanced first-year writing course. Multilingual learners who qualify based on testing conducted by the International Center for Academic and Professional English take two courses taught by language specialists and tailored specifically for multilingual learners.
Mathematics (MA): Students take one course in mathematics that focuses on developing logical skills, problem solving, and/or computation. Example courses include logic, proof writing, discrete mathematics, calculus, linear algebra, and statistics.
Disciplinary Perspectives
The liberal arts tradition in education includes a deep commitment to intellectual breadth. Each academic discipline provides a unique lens through which we can understand the world. Scholars and practitioners in distinct disciplines frame questions differently, utilize different sources of knowledge, and practice different methods of inquiry. These include interpretive and analytical modes of inquiry, creative and expressive forms of inquiry, and scientific approaches to studying both the natural and social worlds.
To explore these diverse disciplinary perspectives and how their distinct lenses and tools can be used to understand the world, students take at least 2 courses and 7 credits in each of the 4 areas below:
- Interpreting and Understanding Human Experience (HE): Courses in this category utilize analytical, critical, and interpretive forms of inquiry and focus on the human condition in different historical, cultural, linguistic, religious, philosophical, artistic, and literary contexts.
- Creating and Expressing through Arts and Languages (AL): Courses in this category utilize creative and/or expressive forms of inquiry and focus on communication and artistic practice.
- Investigating the Natural World (NW), including 1 lab (LS): Courses in this category utilize scientific forms of inquiry and focus on natural phenomena in the world around us and the nature of life, matter, and the universe. The lab enables students to practice scientific forms of inquiry and gain firsthand experience with natural and physical phenomena.
- Investigating the Social World (SW): Courses in this category utilize social scientific modes of inquiry and focus on human behavior, culture, and society, and forms of social, political, and economic organization.
Across coursework in the Disciplinary Perspectives and in students' individual program of studies (e.g., major, minor, free electives), students must satisfy 3 encounters in each of the following areas: Contemporary Challenges (CC), Quantitative Reasoning (Q), and Writing (W).
- Contemporary Challenges Encounters (CC): Through courses designated as Contemporary Challenges Encounters (CC), students grapple with complex, large-scale challenges of the modern world, including the themes of social difference and power, sustainability, and conflict and security.
- Quantitative Reasoning Encounters (Q): Through courses designated as Quantitative Reasoning Encounters (Q), students practice interpreting quantitative information, learn about applications of quantitative reasoning within disciplines, and build confidence in their own quantitative abilities.
- Writing Encounters (W): Through courses designated as Writing Encounters (W), students practice engaging thoughtfully in the process of writing, learn about discipline-specific styles of writing, and build confidence in their own writing abilities.
Major Degree Programs in the College
Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science Degree Programs
Two distinct bachelor-degree programs are offered by the College are the Bachelor of Arts (BA) and the Bachelor of Science (BS).
Bachelor of Arts degrees typically include fewer major requirements, allowing more opportunities for coursework outside of the major curriculum. Students in a BA program have more flexibility to pursue a minor(s), and study abroad or experiential learning. Bachelor of Science degrees (offered in designated disciplines), require more extensive coursework in the major and collateral fields. Except for this distinction, the same basic requirements must be met for both degree programs (including the minimum number of 120 hours for graduation and the minimum grade point average in the major of 2.0). No more than six hours of advanced military science credit or creative inquiry (CINQ) coursework may be applied toward either degree.
Bachelor of Arts Degree
ba degrees are offered in the following areas:
ARTS
Architecture, Art, Art History, Design, Music, Theatre
HUMANITIES
Asian & Asian American Studies, English, Latin American & Latino Studies, Modern Languages & Literatures (Chinese, French & Francophone Studies, German Studies, Japanese, Spanish & Hispanic Studies), Philosophy, Religion, Culture, & Society
Social Sciences
Africana Studies, Anthropology, Cognitive Science, Economics, Environmental Studies, Global Studies, Health, Medicine & Society, History, International Relations, Joint Global Studies & Modern Languages & Literatures, Joint International Relations & Economics, Joint International Relations & Modern Languages & Literatures, Journalism, Journalism/Science Writing, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Sociology & Anthropology, Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies
Mathematics & Natural Science
Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth & Environmental Science, Mathematics, Molecular Biology, Neuroscience, Physics, Statistics & Data Science
BA degrees in pre-dental or pre-optometry science are available to students who are admitted to those combined degree programs (see Pre-Health Professional Programs below).
Bachelor of Science Degree
BS degrees are offered in the following areas:
Astrophysics, Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Cognitive Science, Computer Science, Earth & Environmental Science, Economics, Mathematics, Molecular Biology, Neuroscience, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Physics, Psychology, Statistics & Data Science
Major field of concentration
By majoring in a specific discipline a student establishes a foundation of knowledge and develops expertise and intellectual sophistication in their field. Students in the College of Arts & Sciences can declare their major after their first semester, and are expected to do so by the end of their fourth semester. The minimum number of credits for a major is 32. A student must maintain a minimum grade-point average of 2.0 in the major field, and in the entire coursework.
major advising
When a student declares a major they are reassigned from a first-year advisor to a major advisor from that department or program's faculty. The major advisor assists students with course selection, research opportunities, internship selection, and other areas of professional development. In all cases, the final responsibility for meeting both major and non-major requirements rests with the student.
Special interdisciplinary majors
In addition to our established major programs, specially structured interdisciplinary majors linking multiple disciplines are possible. For example, a student interested in a professional school of urban or regional planning might wish to structure a special major consisting primarily of courses in political science, environmental studies, sociology, or any other relevant disciplines.
Any student may, with the aid of faculty members chosen from the disciplines involved, devise an interdisciplinary major program to include no less than 32 credits of related course work, with at least 15 credits from advanced courses. The major advisors and the dean of the college must approve the program.
Multiple majors & Dual degrees
A student who wishes to fulfill the requirements for more than one major program has two standard options: a double major or a dual degree. A double major is a single BA degree with two majors. A student pursues a double major by declaring both majors. Typically, double majors can be completed in four years, but declaring late, the sequencing of courses, and time conflicts with required courses can delay time to degree completion. No more than three overlapping courses may be used to meet both majors' requirements.
Students are able to pursue a double major as a Bachelor of Arts (BA) through the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) and the College of Health (COH) and will follow a special set of distribution requirements that allow for certain areas of overlap between the two colleges’ distribution requirements. Students are required to take one first-year seminar in either the CAS or COH, and two semesters of First-Year Writing. One Mathematics (MA) course must be completed for a minimum of 3 credits, as well as two courses Investigating the Natural World (NW), for 7 credits, of which 1 credit must be earned a lab associated with a science lecture. In addition to traditional NW courses, CGH 103 may be taken toward this requirement. Two Interpreting and Understanding the Human Experience (HE) courses are required for 7 credits, of which one course may be chosen from POPH 003 or 319, and overlap with the COH Bioethics requirement. Two Creating and Expressing through Arts and Languages (AL) courses are required for 7 credits, which may overlap with the COH collateral language requirement. Two Investigating the Social World (SW) courses are required for 7 credits, of which traditional SW courses as well as CGH 104 and 105 may be used and overlap with the COH Determinants of Health requirement. Students are required to take three courses designated in Writing (W) for a minimum of 6 credits, which may be a combination of the Advanced Writing requirement in COH and Writing Encounters in CAS. Students are required to take three courses designated in Quantitative Reasoning, and up to two of these may come from BSTA coursework. Students are required to take three courses designated in Contemporary Challenges (CC) for a minimum of 6 credits and up to two of these may come from the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Sustainability requirement through COH.
A dual degree program is a combined BA and BS program or two BS degrees in one or more of our undergraduate colleges. For example, the BA offered by the College of Arts & Sciences may be combined with a BS in CAS or in one of the other undergraduate colleges. A student pursues a dual degree by declaring the first program and then requesting the second degree program by filling out a Dual Degree Petition Form, which must be accompanied by an approved semester-by-semester academic plan. The dual-degree student must satisfy major and distribution requirements for both degrees and earn a minimum of 30 additional credits beyond those required for the first degree. All of the 30 additional credits must be taken at Lehigh or in Lehigh residency programs. The requirement of 30 additional credits typically requires additional study beyond 8 semesters. There is no limit on the number of overlapping courses between two degrees, but there must be at least 30 credits of stand-alone coursework in each degree program. For administrative purposes, students who take two degrees or two majors must designate one as their primary major or primary degree program.
Minor Programs
There are dozens of minor programs available to students both in and out of the College of Arts & Sciences. Minors require a minimum of 15 credits, but the specific content is determined by the department, division, or program offering that minor. A minor is optional, and requires a 2.0 minimum grade-point average. No course in a minor program may be taken with Pass/Fail grading. No more than one course may be double-counted toward a major and a minor, and no more than one course may overlap between two minors.
Students also have the opportunity to pursue and/or apply to minor programs in the other undergraduate colleges and should review their requirements in their catalog listing. These include, among others, the Business Minor program, Biostatistics, Community Health, Education, the Engineering minor, Entrepreneurship, Global Health, Health Policy & Politics, Indigenous Peoples Health, Marketing, Maternal & Child Health, Population Health, Real Estate, and Supply Chain Management.
ECKARDT SCHOLARS PROGRAM
The Eckardt Scholars Program is a highly selective and unique honors program in the College of Arts & Sciences. The program prioritizes intellectual curiosity, independent work, and close mentoring relationships between students and faculty. Each incoming class includes approximately twenty Eckardt Scholars. These students receive unique academic privileges that provide them with great opportunities at Lehigh and beyond. Students in the program are exempt from the Arts & Sciences distribution requirements and work with their major advisor and the Eckardt Scholars Program Director to create a flexible course of study that best suits their academic interests and ambitions. Although exempt from distribution requirements, students will complete the requisite number of credits for their degrees and all correlative requirements for their majors. The program includes participation in two Eckardt Scholar Seminars and completion of an independent project (e.g., a thesis, artistic creation, or other capstone experience) during the senior year.
Participation in the Eckardt Scholars Program is restricted to only the most well-qualified students. Some students are invited to enroll when first admitted to Lehigh, while others are identified by faculty and encouraged to apply during their first few semesters. Admission to the program is decided on the basis of academic records, written statements of educational goals, and at least two faculty recommendations.
INTERNSHIPS
Many departments and programs offer credit for specific internship experiences. Students should consult with their home department for information on arranging internships. The University faculty has established three important criteria that must be met by all internships: 50 hours of work are required for each credit awarded, no credit can be awarded for an internship ex post facto, and the student must register for the internship course during the same term that the internship work is performed. Students must pre-arrange all internship experiences with the appropriate department. Internship credits cannot be awarded for work experiences lacking a distinct, identifiable educational component. A memorandum of understanding circulated among the employer, student, and departmental internship course director helps to promote a common understanding of the educational and work objectives of the internship. Students are advised that not all work experiences advertised as “internships” warrant academic credit, even though they may be otherwise worthwhile.
Pre-Law Program
In keeping with the policy of the Association of American Law Schools, the university does not have a prescribed pre-law curriculum; however, Lehigh has a strong pre-law tradition. Successful candidates for law school demonstrate skills in critical analysis, logical reasoning, and communication and have pursued rigorous coursework of significant breadth and depth. Lehigh students have attained entrance to law schools from diverse curricula in all three of the undergraduate colleges. Specifically law-related courses are offered in the College of Arts & Sciences (e.g. Constitutional Law and Politics, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Law and Order) and the College of Business (e.g., Introduction to Law and Legal Environment of Business).
Advising is available to prospective pre-law students on a continuous basis from first-year orientation through the law school application process in the senior year. The pre-professional advisor in the Center for Career and Professional Development coordinates these pre-law counseling services.
Pre-Health Professional Programs
Schools of medicine, dentistry, optometry, podiatry, and veterinary medicine stress the importance of a strong liberal arts education as well as prescribed studies in the sciences. Although most pre-health students will choose a major in a pure or applied science, as long as candidates have the essential courses in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics, they may major in any of the three undergraduate colleges.
A health professions advisory committee, which includes the pre-professional advisor and faculty members from the sciences and social sciences, provides career and academic counseling and works closely with students from first-year orientation through the entire process of applying to professional schools. Students with an interest in the health professions are urged to consult with the pre-professional advisor in the Center for Career and Professional Development as early as possible in their academic career.
Combined-Degree Program in Dentistry
In cooperation with the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Lehigh offers an accelerated program that enables selected students to earn both the baccalaureate degree (B.A.) with a major in predental science and the doctor of dental medicine degree (D.M.D.) after seven years of study at the two institutions. In the first three academic years at Lehigh, credit hours are earned toward the 120 credits required for the baccalaureate degree. The next four years are spent in the regular program of dental education at the Penn School of Dental Medicine in Philadelphia. By successfully completing their first year at the dental school, students acquire the necessary additional credit hours for the Lehigh baccalaureate degree.
During their first three years at Lehigh, students are expected to make satisfactory progress in prescribed academic areas as well as in the area of personal growth, developing those attributes ultimately needed to become a dentist. Penn Dental School receives student grades and monitors student progress through feedback from Lehigh. Students are expected to attain specified grade point averages and DAT scores. Students’ undergraduate credentials are processed through the Admissions Committee of Penn Dental School before a final definitive acceptance is offered. The dental college reserves the right to withdraw an acceptance, or require that a student spend additional time on the undergraduate level, on the grounds of academic or personal maturation concerns.
Application for admission to this program is made through Lehigh’s Office of Admissions. Application deadline is January 1.
Required Science and Math Courses
| Chemistry | ||
| Select one of the following: | 8 | |
| Introduction to Chemical Principles and Chemical Equilibria in Aqueous Systems | ||
| Honors General Chemistry I and Honors General Chemistry II | ||
| CHM 110 & CHM 111 | Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry Laboratory I | 4 |
| CHM 112 & CHM 113 | Organic Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry Laboratory II | 4 |
| Biology | ||
| BIOS 041 & BIOS 042 | Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology and Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology Laboratory | 4 |
| BIOS 115 & BIOS 116 | Genetics and Genetics Laboratory | 4 |
| BIOS 044 & BIOS 045 | Introduction to Integrative and Comparative Biology and Introduction to Integrative and Comparative Biology Laboratory | 4 |
| BIOS 371 | Elements of Biochemistry I | 3 |
| BIOS 372 | Elements of Biochemistry II | 3 |
| Physics | ||
| Select one of the following: | 5 | |
| General Physics I and Introductory Physics Laboratory I | ||
| Introductory Physics I and Introductory Physics Laboratory I | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4-5 | |
| General Physics II and Introductory Physics Laboratory II | ||
| Introductory Physics II and Introductory Physics Laboratory II | ||
| Math | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
| Basic Statistics and Data Science | ||
| Biostatistics | ||
| Select one of the following: | 7-8 | |
| Calculus I and Calculus II | ||
| Survey of Calculus I and Survey of Calculus II | ||
| Total Credits | 54-56 | |
Required Non-Science Courses
| Big Questions Seminar | 3-4 | |
| First Year Writing Courses | 6 | |
| Interpreting & Understanding the Human Experience (HE) | 7 | |
| Creating & Expressing through Arts & Languages (AL) | 7 | |
| Investigating the Natural World (NW), including one lab (LS) | 7 | |
| Investigating the Social World (SW) | 7 | |
| Across their science and non-science coursework, students must also satisfy 3 encounters in each of the following areas: | ||
Contemporary Challenges (CC) | ||
Quantitative Reasoning (Q) | ||
Writing (W) | ||
| Total Credits | 37-38 | |
Combined-Degree Program in Optometry
In cooperation with the State University of New York College of Optometry in New York City, Lehigh offers an accelerated program in which students may earn both the baccalaureate degree (B.A.) with a major in behavioral neuroscience and the doctor of optometry degree (O.D.) after seven years of study at the two institutions. In the first three academic years at Lehigh, credit hours are earned toward the 120 credits required for the baccalaureate degree. The next four years are spent in the regular program of optometry education at SUNY College of Optometry. By successfully completing their first year at the optometry college, students acquire the necessary additional credit hours for the Lehigh baccalaureate degree.
SUNY College of Optometry receives student grades and monitors student progress through feedback from Lehigh. Students are expected to attain specified grade point averages and OAT scores. Students’ undergraduate credentials are processed through the Admissions Committee of SUNY Optometry before a final definitive acceptance is offered. The optometry college reserves the right to withdraw an offer of acceptance on the grounds of academic or personal maturation concerns.
Students may apply to this program either during their initial application or during their enrollment at Lehigh. Application for incoming students is made through Lehigh’s Office of Admissions. Application deadline is January 1.
Required Science and Math Courses
| Chemistry | ||
| Select one of the following: | 8 | |
| Introduction to Chemical Principles and Chemical Equilibria in Aqueous Systems | ||
| Honors General Chemistry I and Honors General Chemistry II | ||
| CHM 110 & CHM 111 | Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry Laboratory I | 4 |
| CHM 112 & CHM 113 | Organic Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry Laboratory II | 4 |
| Biology | ||
| BIOS 041 & BIOS 042 | Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology and Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology Laboratory | 4 |
| BIOS 115 & BIOS 116 | Genetics and Genetics Laboratory | 4 |
| BIOS 044 & BIOS 045 | Introduction to Integrative and Comparative Biology and Introduction to Integrative and Comparative Biology Laboratory | 4 |
| BIOS 130 | Biostatistics | 4 |
| or MATH 012 | Basic Statistics and Data Science | |
| BIOS 235 | Human Physiology | 3 |
| BIOS 324 & BIOS 325 | Microbiology and Microbiology Laboratory | 5 |
| BIOS 371 | Elements of Biochemistry I | 3 |
| BIOS 372 | Elements of Biochemistry II | 3 |
| Physics | ||
| Select one of the following: | 5 | |
| General Physics I and Introductory Physics Laboratory I | ||
| Introductory Physics I and Introductory Physics Laboratory I | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4-5 | |
| General Physics II and Introductory Physics Laboratory II | ||
| Introductory Physics II and Introductory Physics Laboratory II | ||
| Math | ||
| Select one of the following: | 7-8 | |
| Calculus I and Calculus II | ||
| Survey of Calculus I and Survey of Calculus II | ||
| Psychology | ||
| PSYC 001 | Introduction to Psychology | 4 |
| Total Credits | 66-68 | |
Required Non-Science Courses
| Big Questions Seminar | 3-4 | |
| First Year Writing courses | 6 | |
| Interpreting & Understanding the Human Experience (HE) | 7 | |
| Creating & Expressing through Arts & Languages (AL) | 7 | |
| Investigating the Natural World (NW), including one Lab Science (LS) | 7 | |
| Investigating the Social World (SW) | 7 | |
| Across their science and non-science coursework, students must also satisfy 3 encounters in each of the following areas: | ||
Contemporary Challenges (CC) | ||
Quantitative Reasoning (Q) | ||
Writing (W) | ||
| Total Credits | 37-38 | |
