At the very heart of a premier university...
While Howard University is recognized worldwide as a premier, comprehensive research university, at the very heart of this great university is the College of Arts and Sciences. In fact, the College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest and the largest of the University's 12 schools and colleges. Its predecessor was founded in the second year of the university's existence, and today it enrolls some 3000 students, making it the most popular choice among Howard's undergraduates.

The College of Arts and Sciences is a learning community.
Steeped in proud tradition, but energized with an inspired focus on the future, the College of Arts and Sciences is an institution of opportunity. At the College of arts and sciences, this learning community is created by dedicated and inspired teaching by some of the nation's greatest faculty. But the College is sustained by equally great students - indeed they have proven to be some of the brightest students in the nation - whose expectations for intellectual achievement set the standard for academic performance.

Opportunity abounds...
In the College's four divisions of fine arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences and its 21 degree programs. The rigors of the classroom are complemented by an array of leadership opportunities in extracurricular activities.

More than 200 students enroll in the College's honors program. Admission to the program is by invitation only, and it is an intense curriculum of scholarship and research that culminates in a senior thesis.

Excellence and constant improvement of the curriculum and teaching are the standards, and all facets of the College's degree programs are evaluated on a continual basis by internal and external evaluators.

Moreover, the College plans to build a new teaching and learning center that will provide even more opportunities for students and faculty to advance their field of knowledge.

While the level of scholarship at the College is second to none, it is also known as a place where young people who have potential, but who have not had the opportunity to develop that potential, are given the support and mentoring to succeed and excel in their studies. They also learn the importance of integrity and high ethical values.

Walking in the footsteps of giants.
The students and faculty have the privilege of studying and learning on a compus where every day they have the experience of walking in the footsteps of the giants of African American culture and history who have proceeded them at the capstone - as Howard University has been traditionally called.
Students at the College come to know and recognize the names and the world-renowned achievements of historic figures such as Alain Locke, Sterling Brown, John Hope Franklin, Ralph Bunche, Arthur P. Davis, Frank Snowden, Herman Branson, Kelly Miller, Mercer Cooke, E. Franklin Frazier, David Blackwell, Percy Julian and Merze Tate. And their presence is still felt and is still a source of tremendous inspiration.
They also learn about the alumni of the College who have gone on to fame and success - people such as Debbie Allen and her sister Phylicia Rashad, David Dinkins, Edward Brooke, Andrew Young, Jessye Norman, Frank Savage, H. Patrick Swygert, Mary Frances Berry, Haynes Walton and Shirley Franklin.

The future is theirs.
The focus on international programs, and cultures and languages are integrated into the curriculum. Indeed, the university has partnered with the U.S. State Department, and the College is developing a new degree program in international relations, which will prepare students for careers in the foreign service. And there is a special scholarship fund to support students who want to travel abroad.

In the eyes of the students, the future is theirs for the taking. Some of the best professional and graduate schools in the nation and the world select the College's students for admission and scholarships. Graduates of the College of arts and sciences have been admitted to Oxford (on a Rhodes scholarship), Columbia, Standford, Harvard, Duke, California and Howard.

This is a place for me.
When students talk about their experience at the Howard University College of Arts and Sciences, you hear words like "I love Howard,"� or "Howard is home,"� or "The best education in the world." They also say that Howard "helps them to learn about myself and get in touch with my own culture."� They talk about "being around African American teachers and fellow students at the highest level of education. They recognize that they are "building on the legacy" � of Howard and have become "a part of something really important."

Students who come to Howard get to experience on the most diverse campuses in the nation. Students and faculty at the College of Arts and Sciences come from everywhere in the nation and the world.

The Howard University College of Arts and Sciences is truly extraordinary

Beginnings

The College of Arts and Sciences began its work on September 21, 1867, as the Collegiate Department, with an academic program which included courses in English, Greek, Latin, French, German, Spanish, mathematics, philosophy, and botany. During the subsequent ten years, the curriculum was expanded to include theology, history, and additional courses in science. By 1934, the College was organized basically as it is today. It has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools since 1921, and it was placed on the approved list of the Association of American Universities in 1939. With 19 academic departments, it is the largest of the University's schools and colleges.

Curriculum

The College of Arts and Sciences offers broad and balanced programs in the fine arts, the humanities, the natural sciences and social sciences. The curriculum of the College is designed to meet the needs and interests of a diverse multicultural student body. A liberal education, in the traditional sense, is the central focus of programs that provide opportunities for exploring modern technologies and gives attention to the College's historical concern and sensitivity to social justice. The College is located on the main campus, a setting which fosters a variety of academic and social activities for students.

Broad experiences

A formal faculty advising program augments the low student-faculty ratio and encourages student contact with faculty from a variety of personal and intellectual perspectives. These contacts are enhanced further through departmental organizations and student associations. Washington, DC, the nation's capital, supplements campus academic and extracurricular resources with an inexhaustible pool of cultural, political, and recreational opportunities. Through the undergraduate experience inside and outside the classroom, students acquire expertise in their chosen fields of study, strengthen and refine their powers of communication, reasoning, and judgment, and increase their capacities to lead productive, responsible lives.

Studies at the College typically cover four years. During the freshman and sophomore years, students concentrate on fulfilling general education requirements by taking courses in the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. During the junior and senior years, students pursue courses in their major and minor areas. In the senior year all students must pass a comprehensive examination or approved option in their major field as a requirement for graduation.

Honors

For academically gifted and highly motivated students who thrive in an atmosphere of creative learning and intellectual exploration, the College offers the Honors Program. In addition, the College maintains chapters of 13 national honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa. Many departments offer departmental honors. Numerous scholarships are also available to eligible students.