College of Arts and Sciences

Theresa Lee, Dean
Angela Batey, Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion
Larry McKay, Associate Dean for Research and Facilities
Charles R. Collins, Executive Associate Dean
Todd Moore, Associate Dean for Academic Personnel
Brendan McConville, Associate Dean for Academic Programs

https://artsci.utk.edu
 

The College of Arts and Sciences is UT’s flagship college and the largest, most comprehensive, and most diverse of UT’s 11 colleges. Our academic departments and schools span the disciplines of the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and the visual and performing arts.

We offer more than 150 programs and certificates. Of our 22 departments, 19 provide seven possible advanced degrees: Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Arts, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Mathematics, Master of Music, and Master of Science.

Students in our college have opportunities for study abroad, research with faculty, community engagement, and internships unique to their academic and career goals. Research institutes and centers in the college include: Center for the Study of Social Justice, Center for the Study of Tennesseans at War, Forensic Anthropology Center, Humanities Center, Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Planetary Geosciences Institute, Plant Research Center, and National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis.

Why the liberal arts?
Dating back to the origins of Western education, the study of the humanities, arts, and sciences has been the gold standard of preparation for difference makers in the world – leaders, innovators, discoverers, knowledge creators, change agents, and problem solvers.

A modern liberal arts education encourages intellectual curiosity and tolerance; dedication to the quest for knowledge; and cultivation of a responsible, creative, individual mind. Students learn how to ask questions, apply answers, and engage in finding solutions to address problems from the local to the global and beyond. Students develop the ability to reason and communicate clearly. They engage with the boundaries of knowledge and develop skills to confront the uncertainties of the human experience, such as social injustice, ethics and new technologies, and climate change.

The degrees available in the College of Arts and Sciences allow each student to develop a unique academic path combining career focus with exploration of the unknown. Graduates are well-prepared for a wide variety of further professional degrees in the health sciences, law, education, business, communication, public policy, urban planning, and a host of other fields, as well as immediate jobs.

INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAMS

In keeping with the philosophy that integration of knowledge is as important as proficiency in a given field, the College of Arts and Sciences has combined the resources of several departments and interests of the faculty members to offer a series of interdisciplinary graduate certificate programs that include Africana Studies , Linguistics , Medieval Studies , Social Theory , and Women, Gender, and Sexuality .