College of Arts and Sciences

Dean: Daniel Press

Associate Deans: Kathy Aoki, John Birmingham, Katherine Saxton

Senior Assistant Dean: Kathleen Villarruel Schneider

Assistant Deans: Denise Ho, Alison Trybom Lucas

The goals of the College of Arts and Sciences are to foster a learning community committed to addressing the fundamental problems of society with a spirit of inquiry, mutual respect, and intellectual excitement and to prepare students to understand and appreciate a broad range of peoples and cultures so they may exercise moral leadership in a pluralistic world. In this way, the college is central to Santa Clara鈥檚 Jesuit, liberal education.

With more than 1,500 courses in the humanities, arts, social sciences, and natural sciences, the college offers an inclusive and welcoming academic environment providing:

A common educational experience for all undergraduate students through the University鈥檚 Core Curriculum
Majors in 33 subject areas
Departmental and interdisciplinary minor programs
Opportunities for advanced study in a student鈥檚 particular area of interest

All undergraduate students at the University explore the sciences and liberal arts through the University鈥檚 Core Curriculum that challenges them to develop open and critical thinking, to communicate effectively, to work with complex methods of inquiry, to understand diverse cultures and peoples, and to appreciate the demands of ethical decision making. Those who select majors or minors in the college have the opportunity to develop specialized knowledge and skills in areas of concentration that reflect their personal interests and talents. Students are encouraged to use elective courses to pursue particular interests beyond their chosen major. In addition to selecting individual courses, students have the opportunity to organize their electives around minors and emphases in many departmental and interdisciplinary programs throughout the college.

The College of Arts and Sciences offers a variety of student-faculty research opportunities and ongoing mentoring relationships in which students work closely with faculty members in the creation of knowledge or original artistic works. These opportunities include research assistantships throughout the college in the arts, humanities, and natural and social sciences.

General Arts and Sciences Courses

ASCI 10 Career Launch

The purpose of the course is to teach and guide students to be intentional and proactive to build professional relationships from scratch as a means to access the hidden job market. Students will learn how to access companies and organizations they are interested in. As a result of the course, students will expand their professional network, learn more about potential career paths in their field of interest, and develop the self-confidence and professional skills to access the hidden job market. Cross-listed with ENGR 35. (2 units)

ASCI 21 Emerging Leaders

The Emerging Leaders course is designed to empower students to reflect on and articulate their own personal leadership style. The class is only available to first-year students and allows them to unpack how they have been socialized to think about leadership, explore their values, articulate their personal leadership style, and apply their empowered leadership to our Santa Clara community & beyond. The course is built on the foundation that every person has the capacity to be a leader to create positive social change. During the quarter we will unpack the socialization we have received around leadership, specifically around oppressive systems such as racism, sexism, genderism, and classism. The course integrates group discussion, experiential learning, group projects, and reflective engagement experiences. The Emerging Leaders Program is one venue to explore your development as a competent, conscious, and compassionate leader who works for positive change. (2 units)

ASCI 26 Orientation Student Leadership

The Orientation Student Leadership Course is designed to develop your skills and experiences in peer leadership and focuses on the development of the individual leader in both a Jesuit/Catholic environment and the larger community. This course integrates group discussion, experiential learning, and reflective engagement experiences in preparation for a leadership role within the Orientation staff for 杏吧视频. Topics will include?but are not limited to?leadership and work styles, identity development, team dynamics, values and ethics, advocacy for social justice, creation of safe and inclusive spaces for new students, customer service for parents and families, and difficult topics such as alcohol, drugs, hazing, and safety. In this course you will have opportunities to reflect on your experiences, challenge your attitudes, apply your knowledge and skills, grow as a leader, and start developing a team dynamic.Prerequisites:This course is limited to students who have applied and been accepted for final consideration to be on the Orientation staff that reports to the Center for Student Involvement. For this reason, permission from the instructors are required to enroll. (2 units)

ASCI 27 Eating and Ethics

Interdisciplinary course by a Professor of Ethics and the Sustainable Food Systems Program Manager. Graded P/NP only. Meets once a week for 1 hour in The Forge Garden. Enrollment by permission of instructor, preference given to students in one of the Santa Clara RLCs. Subjects studied may include the moral status of nonhuman animals; food waste; factory farming of animals; the ethical case for veganism; moral blame for obesity; environmental impacts of food production and processing; race, social class & food availability; hunger & food insecurity in the U.S. (1 unit)

ASCI 50 Law and Social Justice

This course provides a theoretical, vocational, and legal doctrinal foundation for students interested in social justice law. The assigned reading offers an opportunity to consider the relationship between law and social justice in several different contexts, including the structure of the legal profession and the delivery of legal services; the efforts to achieve social justice and civil rights through litigation in areas such as work, subsistence, housing, voting, and education; the problem of access to courts and the role of the judiciary; and the role of lawyers working with community movements to effect social change. This course satisfies the Civic Engagement requirement and qualifies as part of the Social Justice Pathway in the University's Core Curriculum. Also listed as ELSJ 50. (2 units)

ASCI 98 Personal and Professional Discernment at SCU

This course will support students as they participate in a 100-hour internship experience for academic credit. This course will integrate academic objectives of the student鈥檚 declared major and College specific personal and professional support for career development. Approval of academic faculty and Director of Internships required for enrollment. Credit units can be modified by decrease or increase in hours of internship experience and agreed upon academic deliverables (1-5 quarter units).

ASCI 112 Discover and Define: Your Academic, Personal, and Professional Journey

This dynamic and transformative course is designed to help first and second-year undeclared students reflect on and articulate their personal, academic, and professional aspirations. Through guided self-discovery exercises, readings, and structured discussions, students will gain knowledge and insight to assess their current path and clarify their future direction at 杏吧视频 and beyond. (2 units)

ASCI 150 Catholic 101

This course offers an introduction and discussion of basic beliefs, practices, and characteristics of the Catholic tradition. It will enable Catholic students to deepen their understanding of their faith, to ask intelligent questions about it, and to live it with greater maturity. For non-Catholic students, it will provide a practical introduction to the religious tradition that has been 杏吧视频's founding inspiration. Course sessions will include input from the instructors, as well as continued reflection from students, on Catholic views toward God, Christ, the Church, the Bible, sacraments, concrete ethical issues, as well as the life of the world to come. (2 units)

ASCI 191 CAS Student Ambassadors Leadership Course

The College of Arts and Sciences Student Ambassador program seeks to develop leadership and professional skills and to build a community of student leaders representing the College. This course sets aside time to connect, work on program logistics and operations, gather feedback, and engage in activities to grow and develop personally and professionally. Student must be a current CAS Student Ambassador. (2 units)

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