College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences is a liberal arts college that is both historically and educationally the core of USD. The intellectual disciplines within Arts and Sciences assist students in developing a coherent, integrated and rich world view. Students in the college spend their undergraduate years discovering themselves as individuals, probing the commonalities of our lives on this planet, and deepening their appreciation of the sacred. In all disciplines in the college, the meanings of life in all its forms and processes are explored. Likewise, each intellectual discipline in the college reflects a sense of community by involving students in a network of scholars. Many areas in Arts and Sciences immerse students in intensive study of the patterns of human, social and cultural organization. In addition, all curricula in the college emphasize higher order cognition and the centrality, precision and integrity of written and oral communication.
The intellectual vitality of arts and sciences is manifested at three levels:
Exposure to the most current information on our complex social and physical worlds
Cross-disciplinary integration of methods and perspectives
Rigorous application through writing, research, oral communication, creative expression and personal-career development.
Arts and sciences faculty, then, are dedicated to a cooperative effort with students to construct knowledge from information, to shape wisdom from knowledge, and to secure competence that is united with conscience and a sense of values. Success will be evidenced in a renewed wonder at life, increased self-discipline and a more refined sense of the potential of community.