Welcome to the College of Arts and Sciences, the Flagship of Howard University.

I am pleased that you are visiting the website of Howard University's College of Arts and Sciences.  This site has been designed to enable you to gain a better understanding of the college and its programs and a greater appreciation of the contributions of men and women who work tirelessly to ensure increased opportunities for exceptional experiences for all students.

Established in 1867, the College of Arts and Sciences (COAS) is Howard’s oldest and largest academic unit. It has four divisions: Fine Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. The College offers twenty-one degree-granting programs and each year provides instruction to its thirty-one hundred students and to approximately four thousand students from other schools and colleges of Howard University. Other initiatives include an expanding program that allows students to travel and study abroad during the summer, and an undergraduate student research program.

Committed to the core values of Howard University, namely, excellence, truth, leadership, and service, the College of Arts and Sciences is the home of nationally acknowledged undergraduate and graduate programs. Scientific inquiry and historical awareness, social relations and general welfare are themes flowing through the curriculum, which was imagined, formulated and implemented by a dedicated and accomplished faculty engaged in innovative research and artistically creative endeavors.

Several important resources help the College achieve its goal. The Cobb Biological Anthropology Laboratory (Cobb Laboratory), named in honor of W. Montague Cobb, later Professor Emeritus of Anatomy at Howard University, is used by faculty, students and researchers in important investigations related to physical and cultural anthropology as well as medicine. The South African Research & Archival Project (SARAP), provides opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and researchers to engage in historical archival research. The Center for Urban Progress (CUP), in addition to its research program, affords students hands-on opportunities to work with neighborhood and local government leaders in addressing community challenges.

Students enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences come from nearly every state in this nation and from many parts of the world. It is justly proud of the accomplishments of its graduates, and is confident that current students will make their mark in the world.

Enjoy your cyber visit to the College.

Dr. James A. Donaldson
Dean

Dr. James A. Donaldson
Dean

Dean's Biography