College of Arts & Sciences

Founded in: 1907

Enrollment:

Fall 2015 - approximately 6,500 undergraduate majors and 768 graduate students

National/State rankings:

#1 – Online Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice - Collegestart.org

#20 – North American rank of Masters in Communications program, by Eduniversal.

#34 – North American rank of Public Administration program, by Eduniversal

Individual department rankings

Accreditation Status:

http://louisville.edu/artsandsciences/about/accreditation

Noteworthy programs based on national recognition, uniqueness or other criteria:

  • Our Theatre Arts department’s African-American Theatre Program offers the only Graduate Certificate in African American Theatre; We are one of only two universities offering a minor in African-American Theatre.

  • Our English Department’s Rhetoric and Composition Program is consistently recognized as one of the best in the nation, and the Writing Center provides a state-of-the-art facility to support writing activities across the university.

  • We offer the only comprehensive Women’s and Gender Studies and Pan-African Studies programs in the state.

Community Service:

  • The Healing History Academy is a project of A&S’s Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research in consultation with Metro Louisville Human Relations Commission. The Academy is one part of a city-wide, two-year racial healing initiative of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health & Wellness Center for Health Equity, University of Louisville College of Arts & Sciences Office for International, Diversity and Outreach Programs, Jefferson County Race Community and Child Welfare Initiative, and Women in Transition. This initiative is funded in part by America Healing: A Racial Equity Initiative of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
  • The Saturday Academy is a community outreach initiative of the College of Arts & Sciences in collaboration with the Jefferson County Public Schools, Councilwoman Cheri Bryant Hamilton, the Kentucky African American Heritage Foundation, the Louisville Urban League and the University of Louisville Signature Partnership Initiative. This community outreach program focuses on black history, culture and current issues in the community.
  • Our Biology Department is involved in programs addressing the needs of our community such as the Kentucky Institute for the Environment and Sustainable Development and the Ohio River Environmental Station.

Student honors (external awards, scholarships, fellowships, etc.):

  • In the past five years, A&S students have won: Rhodes Scholarship, Fulbright awards, Goldwater scholarships, David L. Boren undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, Rotary Ambassadorial scholarships, and English-Speaking Union Scholarships.

Prominent alumni recognized recently:

  • Junior Bridgeman -- Former NBA star now one of the nation's leading Wendy's Restaurant franchisees.
  • Sam Gilliam -- Internationally recognized as one of America's foremost Color Field Painter and Lyrical Abstractionist artists.
  • Sue Grafton -- Award-winning novelist, author of "The Alphabet Series" of novels.
  • Mitch McConnell -- McConnell is the Majority Leader for the U.S. Senate and is the longest-serving senator in Kentucky history.
  • Johnny Unitas -- Widely regarded as the greatest quarterback in NFL history.
  • Wes Unseld-- Former NBA player. Named one of the Top 50 players of all time.

Other:

Information needed

In 50 words or less, tell us what makes your school special:

The College’s 32 academic departments and programs are housed across A&S’s three divisions--Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences.  In addition to the many undergraduate degree programs offered in the College, all of our departments offer  one or more  master’s degree programs and 12 of our departments offer a Ph.D program. The broad array of degree programs offered by A&S gave rise to the tagline “70 degrees. 1college.” Since the College was founded in 1907, more than 50,000 degrees have been awarded to A&S majors.