COLLEGE OF

LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

DISCOVER YOUR PASSION

Two students work together in a Chemistry lab.

The oldest and largest of Villanova’s colleges, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers more than 40 academic programs and cultivates knowledge, understanding and intellectual courage for a purposeful life in a challenging and changing world.

CLAS undergraduate and graduate students can find opportunities for collaborative research and learning with faculty who are dedicated teacher-scholars and among the most distinguished in their fields. From pinpointing a protein that could hold a key to cancer screenings, to testing the impact of industry on local waterways, to critiquing creative writing alongside published novelists, each experience elevates learning and yields insights.

The College’s dynamic, integrated curriculum encourages creativity and innovation, developing critical thinkers, strong communicators and ethical leaders well positioned for diverse and interesting careers. With an emphasis on faculty-student engagement, experiential learning and a global perspective, CLAS is where students find their passion, path and purpose.

EXPLORE OUR PROGRAMS

BACHELOR'S

Pursue a degree from among more than 40 programs in the humanities, social sciences, math and sciences.

MASTER'S

Choose from more than 20 degrees, including online options in the humanities, social sciences, math and sciences.

DOCTORAL

Find out about our funded, full-time programs in philosophy and theology, and a part-time option in theology.

CERTIFICATE

Enhance your career with graduate certificates in humanities, social sciences, math and sciences, including online options.

MINOR

Complement your major and enjoy an even more interdisciplinary and diversified academic experience by adding a minor.

CURRICULUM

Prepare for a purposeful career with our undergraduate core curriculum, a foundation emphasizing communication and critical thinking.

THE COLLEGE EXPERIENCE

STORIES OF DISCOVERY

COLLEGE NEWS

Andrej Prša, PhD

Astrophysics and Planetary Science Professor Andrej Prša, PhD, Receives $597,089 Grant from National Science Foundation

Andrej Prša, PhD, professor of Astrophysics and Planetary Science, has been named principal investigator on a three-year, $597,089 National Sciences Foundation grant for his research project, "Peanuts in Space: Solving the Thermodynamical Conundrum in Contact Binary Stars."

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

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Mendel Science Center

CLAS Geoscientists Host Philadelphia High School Students Through National Science Foundation Urban Environmental Contamination Grant

Thanks to a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation, CLAS faculty hosted students from Walter B. Saul High School in Philadelphia for an environmental justice-based learning experience designed to promote diversity and begin a pipeline of attracting local students to geoscience careers.

AUGUST 18, 2023

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Bishop Robert Francis Prevost OSA, ’77 CLAS

Bishop Robert Francis Prevost OSA, ’77 CLAS, One of 21 New Cardinals Appointed by Pope Francis

Bishop Robert Francis Prevost OSA, ’77 CLAS, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, was one of 21 new cardinals announced by Pope Francis on Sunday, July 9 at St. Peter’s Square. Bishop Prevost is an alumnus of Villanova University, earning his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 1977.

JULY 9, 2023

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CLAS logo

Villanova Program at SCI Phoenix Receives Mellon Foundation Grant to Expand Program, Develop Statewide Consortium

The Villanova University Program at State Correctional Institution Phoenix (SCI Phoenix) has received a $712,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation to support expansion of the program— allowing more students to access a Villanova liberal arts education—and to develop a statewide consortium on higher education prison programs. 

JUNE 7, 2023

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AT A GLANCE

60+

GRADUATE STUDENTS PRESENT AT ACADEMIC CONFERENCES EACH YEAR

  

98.8%

SUCCESSFUL PLACEMENT RATE
FOR CLASS OF 2022

  

17

STUDENTS OR ALUMNI EARN FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS IN 2022 – 2023

  

88%

OF STUDENTS SEEKING A RESEARCH EXPERIENCE PARTICIPATED IN AT LEAST ONE

  

89%

OF STUDENTS SEEKING AN INTERNSHIP PARTICIPATED IN AT LEAST ONE

  

94%

of students seeking a service experience participated in at least one

  

WHO WE ARE