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College of Arts and Sciences

SLU’s College of Arts and Sciences will educate your whole self — mind, body, heart, and spirit — to prepare you for a future in a rapidly changing world.

Across our many majors, the College of Arts and Sciences offers wide-ranging courses that serve as the framework for you to become a citizen of the world.

You can study the human brain, living organisms and their interactions with the environment, political, social, and economic systems, historical, religious, and philosophical ideas, mathematical models and data science, as well as the varied expressions of artistic creativity and human culture. Our programs offer unique opportunities that allow you to develop your interests and coursework in ways that prepare you for professional employment and a successful future. No matter what major you choose, you can bring your passions and your whole self to the College of Arts and Sciences.

Additionally, your specialized education in your major is integrated with SLU’s Undergraduate Core curriculum, which helps you to further examine the nature and substance of the individual person, as well as the essence of human creativity and imagination. The core will also help you understand the social and institutional structures of the world in which we live.

Your education in the College of Arts and Sciences will prepare you to make value-centered, ethically-based judgments as it develops and trains you to enter your vocational future as an effective leader for change.

Message from the Dean
Donna LaVoie headshot
Donna LaVoie, dean

As dean of the oldest college at Saint Louis University, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the College of Arts and Sciences. It is an honor and a privilege to serve as dean of the college. As the largest college at SLU, we offer more than 40 undergraduate degree options leading to a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree across our programs in the humanities, arts, natural sciences, social sciences and mathematics, and over 20 post-graduate degree options leading to a Master of Arts, Master of Science or doctoral (Ph.D.) degree. No matter what you choose to study, we aim to develop your passion for your chosen major or academic discipline while at the same time opening your mind to think about the complex questions (and answers) addressed by a Catholic, Jesuit liberal arts education. A degree from SLU’s College of Arts and Sciences will do more than set you on a pathway for career success. It will prepare you to tackle the problems facing the world today by teaching you how to think analytically, to reflect before acting, to imagine new possibilities, and to communicate and dialogue effectively with others. You will develop content expertise, as well as gain an understanding of how to apply your knowledge and skills to the betterment of humanity.

Over the last four years, over 3,000 students have graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences. Survey data from these graduates indicates that over 95% of our graduates are employed or seeking a post-graduate degree. These numbers point to our success in a period of rapid change and disruption and serve as an important reminder that the education we offer, motivated and guided by Jesuit spiritual and intellectual ideals, is an education that provides you with the tools to meet the unknown demands of the future with confidence.

Thank you for your interest in the college and for your support and personal witness to our mission in the world.

In warm appreciation,

Donna J. LaVoie, Ph.D.
Dean and professor
College of Arts and Sciences

 

Academic Areas

By the Numbers
30+

Academic departments and programs

1930

Undergraduate students in 2023-24

409

Post-baccalaureate students in 2023-24

291

Full-time faculty members in 2023-24


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