The College of Arts and Sciences In Action

The College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest and largest school at University of Portland offering 30 majors and 29 minors in the humanities, natural sciences, performing arts, social sciences, and interdisciplinary fields. An education in the arts and sciences give you the flexibility to pursue a wide range of careers –even careers of the future that do not currently exist! You'll learn to think critically, communicate persuasively, and act ethically while gaining a solid foundation for your future. Our focus on career connections will ensure that you not only gain the needed skills for success but that you also are able to clearly articulate the value of your course of study to your future employers, professional school and/or graduate school admissions committees.  Many successful professionals—including doctors, lawyers, scientists, social workers, psychologists, engineers, writers, entrepreneurs, clergy, journalists, professors, and musicians—start with a liberal arts and sciences degree. We provide dedicated, individualized advising so you can chart a path towards success.

As a graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences you will learn to analyze complex problems, implement solutions, discern the common good, and successfully integrate widely varying knowledge bases. In addition to classroom lectures and hands-on lab work, students learn outside of the classroom, in the field on problems that cross the boundaries of academic disciplines.  For example, the University of Portland has established the Franz River Campus where students work with faculty to find solutions to pressing environmental challenges such as improving the water quality of the Willamette River.  Our faculty are active, nationally and internationally recognized scholars who engage students in cutting edge research on campus and around the world. The College of Arts and Sciences is rooted in this experiential foundation of knowledge and wisdom, where passion for discovery and the sheer delight of learning unite to create a unique laboratory of the mind and heart, a community of scholars — professors and students — engaged in the pursuit of truth for the sake of justice.