Site Alert Title

Alert Icon

Several video clips that depict programs in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Home

College of Arts and Sciences

Carret icon

Key Dates

Overview

Preparing you for what the market demands

Arts and sciences graduates have enjoyed the largest growth in employment and pay in the last three decades. Statistics continue to show that their lifetime earnings match or surpass peers in what are regarded as “high earning fields.” This is because modern jobs require a diverse mix of skills and technical proficiencies, and that is exactly what we cultivate.

The traditional higher education structure still used by many colleges and universities places students on a narrow path that begins with a specific “major” and ends at a specific “first job.” At the College of Arts and Sciences at Quinnipiac, we emphasize a multidisciplinary, experiential approach that seamlessly integrates academic and career development.

You'll experience early how your major intersects with and complements other disciplines, adding new forms of knowledge and technical expertise. We believe that knowledge is created across the humanities, fine arts, natural sciences and social sciences. Our programs position graduates for a range of traditional and nontraditional career paths. Along the way, they also cultivate the universal traits employers value the most: strong communication skills; social understanding and empathy; intercultural awareness and a collaborative mindset.

This broad knowledge, skill set and perspective enable you to approach questions and solve problems through multiple lenses. You'll get the chance to apply those “lenses” during powerful internships, faculty-guided research, international immersion trips, volunteering and other applied learning opportunities. At the end of your journey, you’ll possess all of the resources you need to thrive in any corner of the modern workforce — and in society in general.

Faculty

Sociology professor Don Sawyer talks with a young student outside a building with a painted mural of a butterfly

Performance art

Sociology professor Don Sawyer, left, runs a “hip-hop advisory” program at a New Haven high school. The goal? To keep at-risk students from dropping out by working with them to write and perform rap lyrics. “It gave us a reason to want to go to school,” says former high school student Matt Bethea, right.

Professors active in their fields

Our faculty include a long list of authors, researchers and Fulbright Scholars who are actively shaping their fields and enriching communities — and involving their students as they do it.

Sociology professor Don Sawyer is one such example. He is the founder of a program that uses the medium of hip-hop to inspire artistic expression and critical analysis in urban high schools. He regularly includes his sociology students to not only observe but assist him on site, and he has invited high schoolers to campus to discuss their experiences. A first-generation college student, Sawyer is motivated by the sacrifices others have made for him, and is mindful of the importance of outreach, opportunity and access.

“I believe it is my responsibility to use my scholarship and social position to serve my community,” said Sawyer. “As an educator, it is my goal to create an atmosphere that engages, excites and inspires students. I enjoy students’ willingness to step outside of their boundaries and take intellectual journeys with me.”

Photograph

Photograph

By the Numbers

99.3%

Major Success

The percentage of our 2017 College of Arts and Sciences graduates who are either employed or in graduate programs.

93%

Meaningful Experiences

Percentage of College of Arts and Sciences seniors who report high gains in their ability to think critically and analytically (NSSE 2017)

Programs at a Glance

Choose the pathway to your future

You are unique. Your education should be no different. Our majors, minors, graduate and dual-degree programs present you with near limitless options. Additional opportunities in Quinnipiac’s eight other professional schools will show you ways to utilize your major that you never would’ve imagined before. 

Every course you take is meaningful, and there are no walls between disciplines. A cluster of electives that piques your interest can lead to a minor, while courses you may naver have considered can lead to new realms of personal and professional growth—or to the formation of independent or interdisciplinary majors.

Applied, experiential learning opportunities — from internships and faculty-led research to participation in a global solidarity program — will play an important role throughout your education. This combination of focused academics and experience not only paves the way to a fulfilling life and career, but for graduate study in numerous fields as well. Every year, an increasing number of our graduates are accepted to medical and law school, as well PhD, MFA, MBA and a variety of doctoral programs.

It’s possible that you have multiple interests and passions, or don’t have a clear picture of what your future looks like at first. That’s why we have dedicated undeclared student advisers who will help you identify and develop your strengths. Additionally, all undeclared students take CAS 110, a first-semester course that exposes them to a variety of subjects, helping them discover their ideal major.

Programs

Photograph

Four female students sit on lounge chairs and talk.

Supportive circles

Students talk together in a lounge area inside the Theatre Arts Center during call back auditions for the production of ”The Imaginary Invalid.“

Photograph

School and Campus Life

Find your roots — and expand them

Your learning begins in the classroom. Your growth as a student and an individual continues outside of it. The College of Arts and Sciences is a moveable hub where individuals from all academic groups converge. You’ll live and work in a community of other students who might share your interests and values, but also offer different ideas and perspectives.

Whether you live on campus or off, you’ll also have the opportunity to participate in numerous organizations and events alongside students of different academic programs and various backgrounds. These include annual university-wide writing competitions, humanitarian service trips, the mock trial competitions, Nobel Peace Laureate Summit and the Interdisciplinary Program for Research and Scholarship (QUIP-RS). Our Alternative Spring Break service trips provides you with opportunities to expand your experience with other cultures and become a more engaged and enlightened global citizen.

Estee Zeldin ’16 secures a pin on her eco-friendly clothing garment

Eco-fashion

Estee Zeldin ’16 works on a project in an Eco-Fashion class taught by Hanna Hejmowski. Zeldin’s work was displayed in the annual Earth Day Sustainable Fashion Show in April 2016; all outfits are made from recycled items. "I believe that once we show our outfits, people will see that it's possible to look sexy and to look fierce, and still keep our Earth a healthy place," says Zeldin.

A group of students in casual wear climb up rocks on the Sleeping Giant mountain

Mountain meditation

Students and faculty hike up Sleeping Giant Mountain in September as part of the Hike to Yoga Program, which includes a guided meditation, a lecture by a guest speaker, and a group yoga session on the summit. The popular program is held several times in both spring and fall.

Isabelle Lopes '20 smiles as she lays on her bed with pictures on the wall behind her

Residence life

Isabelle Lopes '20 enjoys living with other freshmen in the Mountainview residence hall on the Mount Carmel Campus.

Career Development

Merging academics with career development

A Quinnipiac education is an active learning experience that cultivates your core talents and interests and tailors them to real-world ambitions, setting you up for a spectrum of practical opportunities while you are a student and employment options upon graduation. That process is what our 360-Degree Advising model is all about. Our approach begins on day-one and seamlessly integrates your academic and career development, helping you pair the right course sequence with applied learning opportunities outside of the classroom.

These learning experiences, as well as various career development resources will be central to your education. Hundreds of domestic and international internships, as well as annual career fairs, professional development workshops, networking events and study abroad options are made available to you in your time here. Working collaboratively with your advising team, you’ll decide which of these best fits your personal needs and brings you closer to the life and career that speaks to your talents and passions.

It’s a fact that the skills of creative problem solving, critical and analytical thinking, research and communication are universal commodities to employers in every corner of the job market. With numerous career resources available, we’ll help you decide exactly which one you belong in, positioning you for a spectrum of employment options upon graduation.

Student Opportunities

  • 400+ internships
  • Faculty-mentored research
  • Study abroad opportunities
  • Semester in Washington, D.C.
  • Quinnipiac University in Los Angeles program
Career Development

Photograph

A female student adjusts a dial on equipment in a lab

Hands-on experiences

Ahn Do ’19, a biochemistry student, measures an electron's charge-to-mass ratio by observing an electron beam's trajectory within a uniform magnetic field in a chemistry lab in Buckman Center.

Photograph

Centers and Resources

Building networks, expanding career opportunities

Our facilities are a crossroads for creative and professional interests, and will connect you to internships, international immersion trips and volunteering, as well as outlets for exploring performing arts and social justice initiatives. 

Our resources include our Bioanthropology Institute, which provides a gateway to real archeological study, and the Center for Psychological Sciences, which features professional seminars and research opportunities for students and faculty alike. These resources and others give you many opportunities — from engaging in research and fieldwork with pioneering faculty to cultural enrichment opportunities such as global education and solidarity programs or meeting Nobel Laureates.

A student wears a VR headset and talks with a professor. There is a big screen behind them with images of demons

Space to experiment

College of Arts and Sciences students have access to classrooms, faculty offices and laboratories designed to embrace learning and creativity. Here, Dev Soni '21, a game design and development student, speaks with Professor Greg Garvey in the game design lab.

The Dean Robert W. Evans College of Arts and Sciences Center, situated in the shadow of Sleeping Giant State Park and the Mount Carmel Campus pine grove, is the nexus of the college. It houses student-centered classrooms, laboratories and other resources. It is also the home of Montage, the student-run literary and arts journal, as well as the Quinnipiac Literary Society. The Quinnipiac Theatre Arts Center showcases our talent to the greater community every year during the mainstage season, while the Albert Schweitzer Institute brings Nobel Laureates to campus to broaden student understanding of the socioeconomic issues facing the global community.

Academic support is always close at hand. The Learning Commons, located in the Arnold Bernhard Library, is an academic support hub where students can easily turn challenges into opportunities — or help others do the same as peer tutors.

Centers and Resources

Admissions

Your future starts here

The opportunities and pathways made available to you in the College of Arts and Sciences are numerous. If you’re ready to start forging your path, we’re here to help. The admissions process is straightforward and seamless, and representatives from the Office of Admissions will answer your questions about specific department and program requirements, application materials and deadlines, and financial aid. The first step is yours to take. Make it happen.

Admissions and Financial Aid

Our Work

From the classroom to the community and out into the world

Our students don’t wait until graduation to start leaving their mark on the world. They direct plays in New York City, publish real scientific research and study major health issues from inside some of the world’s most at-risk regions. They work as analytical chemists, are recognized with awards for their original poetry, and start their own businesses right here on campus. Students have every opportunity to engage their passion thanks to a powerful alumni network, deep internship pool, interdisciplinary projects and volunteer opportunities.

They also are able to begin blazing their own trails because of the example their professors set for them. Scholars, artists and scientists, our faculty are active and highly respected in their fields. They excavate 4,000-year-old archeological dig sites, publish avant-garde poetry, and direct community outreach programs based on the power of hip-hop music. Perhaps most importantly, they are eager to bring their students along on those journeys.

Our Work

Quinnipiac Now

Two female students examine exhibit. Links to article.
World-Sized Classroom
History-anthropology cluster course helps student develop holistic world view arrow_copy_yellow

Rachel Houlihan '22 and other freshman history majors took a cluster course last fall which paired courses in world history and cultural anthropology. The courses are among the more than 60 intercultural understanding courses — I Courses, for short — available in the University Curriculum.

Male student stands in front of his presentation. Links to article.
Market-Driven Knowledge
Biology major impresses with cancer research arrow_copy_blue

The treatment for cancer can sometimes be as devastating — and even as fatal — as the disease itself. For Andrew DePass `21, a biology major enrolled in Quinnipiac’s pre-med track, that’s unacceptable. His research on T cell regeneration in cancer patients won “Outstanding Presentation in Cancer Biology" at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students.

Take the Next Step