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College of Liberal Arts

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COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS


ACCREDITATION

Willamette University is accredited by the accrediting agencies for American colleges and universities. It is a charter member of the National Commission on Accrediting and is a member of and accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges. It is also accredited by the University Senate of The United Methodist Church.

The music program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, and the University holds institutional membership in that organization. The Department of Chemistry is on the approved list of the American Chemical Society. In the School of Education the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Program is approved by the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission to offer programs for Initial Teaching licensure in early childhood, elementary, middle, and secondary education. The Center for Excellence in Teaching (CET) is authorized to recommend students for ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) and Reading endorsements. CET is approved to offer programs for Continuing Teaching licensure and Initial and Continuing Administrative licensure.

The College of Law is accredited by the American Bar Association and the Association of American Law Schools. The Atkinson Graduate School of Management’s Full-time MBA program is accredited by both the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) and the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). It is one of only two MBA programs in the world to achieve both accreditations.


MISSION AND GOALS OF THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

The mission of the College of Liberal Arts is to maintain a setting which encourages and sustains students and faculty in the practices of liberal education. We understand liberal education as preparation for students to lead rich and rewarding lives, rejoicing in the diversity of the world, and contributing to its welfare. The College of Liberal Arts endeavors to search for truth and for those principles by which we can understand ourselves, one another, and the natural world upon which we depend.

In carrying out its mission, the College of Liberal Arts strives to create a collegial environment in which students and faculty continue to grow intellectually and morally, and in which they work together at the college’s paramount task: passing on the tradition of liberal learning. Both the curriculum of the college and its extracurricular activities are designed to achieve three central goals.

First, the College of Liberal Arts seeks to strengthen students’ intellectual powers. These include the ability to think, to speak, and to write with precision, depth, and cogency, as well as the capacity to perceive and expose fallacious reasoning. Moreover, since intellectual powers need sustenance over time, Willamette works to foster lifelong habits of independent learning.

Second, the college tries to provide opportunities for students to enrich their aesthetic and moral sensibilities by grappling with ethical problems, developing their own value judgments, and enhancing their appreciation of art, literature, music, and nature.

Third, the College of Liberal Arts attempts to develop with students a scholarly knowledge of human nature, mathematics, modern society, the natural world, other cultures, and other times.


Willamette University Mission Statement

Willamette University is an independent, nonsectarian institution of higher learning founded in 1842, which educates men and women in the liberal arts and in selected professional fields. The University’s mission now extends far from the Oregon Territory and the Pacific Northwest to encompass the larger world beyond. In its pursuits, Willamette University: 

  • cherishes the dignity and worth of all individuals, and strives to reflect the diversity of our world;
  • encourages close relationships among faculty, students, and staff to enhance learning and foster community;
  • provides a lively and challenging education in a small university setting where teaching and learning are strengthened by ongoing scholarship and research;
  • embraces a commitment to service and leadership in our various communities and professions;
  • honors its historic roots in The United Methodist Church and values the ethical and spiritual dimension of education;
  • believes that education is a lifelong process of discovery, delight, and growth, the hallmark of a humane life.

THE WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY

The chief purpose of Willamette University is the establishment of a community in which learning and teaching will flourish. Its invigorating atmosphere for learning features small classes, close student-teacher relationships, and a diversity of programs and learning methods to meet individual student objectives. Equally important, Willamette attempts to provide an environment in which students may develop qualities that will enhance the varied dimensions of their future personal, civic, and professional lives.

The undergraduate College of Liberal Arts offers the Bachelor of Arts degree, requiring study in a foreign language, in quantitative analysis, and in several modes of inquiry. Professional degrees in music are also offered. At the graduate level, Willamette’s well-known College of Law is the first in the Northwest. The George H. Atkinson Graduate School of Management was founded in 1973 to provide professional training for careers in business, government, and the not-for-profit sector. The School of Education offers a Master of Arts in Teaching program with rigorous teacher training for liberal arts graduates, preparatory to teacher certification in Oregon and many other states.

Willamette also provides students with the opportunity to combine their rigorous undergraduate studies with graduate professional training in management. The Bachelor of Arts/Master of Business Administration for Business, Government, and Not-for-Profit Management (B.A./M.B.A.) program in management combines undergraduate and graduate education at Willamette. B.A./M.B.A. students complete the Bachelor of Arts degree and Master of Business Administration for Business, Government, and Not-for-Profit Management degree in five years by combining graduate and undergraduate education in their fourth year of study.

The essence of Willamette University’s academic commitment to each undergraduate student is a foundation in general education which provides an exposure to civilization’s great philosophical, artistic, literary and cultural expressions, and a mastering of the basic human skills of reading, writing, calculating, and reasoning. General education coursework and related experiences serve as a preparation for advanced studies and possible off-campus application in field research, career-related internships, and study abroad. Willamette strives overall to educate the whole person, including the moral, intellectual, creative, and social dimensions, and to instill a lifelong dedication to rational inquiry and human excellence.

Willamette graduates travel all walks of life. Outstanding doctors, lawyers, teachers, businesspersons, public servants, and clergy who live throughout the United States and the world have common roots in the Willamette University community. This shared participation in an institution devoted for over a century and a half to the quality of life of its members is the rich heritage of each incoming generation of students. Whatever life directions a student ultimately chooses, these traditions and opportunities enhance each new student’s Willamette experience.


GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

The College of Liberal Arts offers the baccalaureate degrees Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music. To earn a degree, a candidate must successfully complete the General Education Program, specific degree, and major program requirements.

All candidates for graduation with the Baccalaureate Degree must:

1. Satisfactorily complete 31 credits, of which no more than 2 may be earned in internships. At least 15 of these credits must be earned in residence. The final year of study shall be spent in residence or in Willamette-approved off-campus study programs. (Note: One Willamette credit is equal to 4 semester hours or 6 quarter/term hours).

2. Apply no more than 10 credits in a single department and no more than 14 credits in any major program toward the minimum of 31 credits required for graduation. Internship credits are exempted from this limitation.

3. Satisfactorily complete the General Education Program which includes:

  • First Year Seminar:
  • Four writing-centered courses (including First Year Seminar)
  • Two Quantitative and Analytical Reasoning courses
  • Study in a language other than English

In addition, students will complete work in each of six broadly defined modes of inquiry that encompass crucial elements of a general education:

  • Understanding the Natural World
  • Creating in the Arts
  • Analyzing Arguments, Reasons and Values
  • Thinking Historically
  • Interpreting Texts
  • Understanding Society

Please see the following section, General Education at Willamette, for a more complete description of these individual requirements.

4. Satisfactorily complete an approved major program, including the Senior Year Experience. The following majors leading to the degree Bachelor of Arts have been approved by the faculty:

American Studies

Japanese Studies

Anthropology

Latin American Studies

Art History

Mathematics

Biology

Music

Chemistry

Philosophy
Classical Studies Physics

Comparative Literature and History of Ideas

Politics

Computer Science

Psychology

Economics

Religious Studies