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COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

College of

LIBERAL ARTS AND
SCIENCES

DISCOVER YOUR PASSION

Biology professor and student working with high-resolution microscope.

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

Dean Adele Lindenmeyer

ABOUT THE DEAN

A male student experiences virtual reality in the Center of Excellence in Enterprise Technology.

CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE

A student works with her advisor writing a resume

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & INTERNSHIPS

Graduate students walking Villanova's campus

GRADUATE STUDIES

photo of a student outside the Vatican in Rome.

STUDY ABROAD OPPORTUNITIES

A male student works side-by-side with physics professor Amber Stuver.

RESEARCH

Four of the five 2021 CLAS Alumni Medallion Award recipients.

ALUMNI & FRIENDS

STORIES OF DISCOVERY

LEARNING IN THE SANDBOX

No matter how old you get, there’s something fun about playing in a sandbox. Thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), a group of interdisciplinary researchers will be developing high-tech sandboxes to provide hands-on learning for students. The technology is based around projecting a colorful augmented reality display onto sand in a real sandbox. The box was originally used in public exhibits for science education but has since been adopted by universities and research centers around the world. MORE...

ENCHANTING LITERATURE

The magic of Harry Potter first flew into homes everywhere nearly 25 years ago. Evan Radcliffe, PhD, an associate professor and director of the English Graduate Program, crafted an English course with the specific purpose of analyzing Harry Potter through a literary lens. Although an inaugural course this fall 2021, it is no surprise that “Harry Potter: Quests/Questions” filled up within a day. As adults revisiting the series through a critical lens, students were struck by new observations. MORE...

BEATING BACTERIA

Disinfectants have been one of many methods deployed to try to stave off infection, with household items during the COVID-19 pandemic. But another public health concern is appearing, antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Bacteria change over time, and the increased use of everyday antimicrobial products only speeds up their ability to survive the disinfectants that have been around for decades. A team of students in the lab of Kevin Minbiole, PhD, professor and chair of Chemistry, is preparing chemical compounds that will kill off these resistant bacteria. MORE...

SCIENCE AND STORYTELLING

Christina Winterton, PhD, assistant teaching professor of Biology, adds a welcome flair to the study of genetics in her course Heredity and Human Affairs. In the course, students focus on the social/ethical impacts of genetics, including but not limited to: genetic engineering, assisted reproduction, artificial wombs, cloning, fetal stem cells and gene therapy. The class offers a lot of academic variety. So, for the students’ midterm projects, Dr. Winterton gave them options—one of which was to create a storybook. MORE...

STUDYING SLEEP

Less than 10 percent of college students get eight hours of sleep per night, but healthy sleep schedules are very important. So, Irene Kan, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, created the course, “Neuroscience of Sleep,” to delve into the many facets of sleep and how it impacts our behaviors. In the course, students debunk prior misconceptions about sleep and learn about the impact of sleep on cognition, physical and mental health. MORE...

COLLEGE NEWS

A man holds his daughter overlooking the land. Photo credit: Flor Ruiz

Villanova University’s Latin American Studies Program and Department of Spanish Host “Defending the Land” Conference

The Latin American Studies program and the Department of Spanish will host a conference "Defending the Land: Socio-Environmental Conflicts in the Americas" from April 22 – 23, 2022, featuring two keynote speakers, Gabriela Valdivia, PhD, and Jaskiran Dhillon, PhD, and invited filmmaker Ana Llácer.

MARCH 29, 2022

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Erin Murphy, PhD

Villanova University’s 32nd Annual Gender and Women’s Studies Conference Welcomes Boston University’s Erin Murphy, PhD

On Friday, March 25, Erin Murphy, PhD, presents, “Amazons and Zombies: Margaret Cavendish’s Soldiers, Gender, and the Paradoxes of War,” as the keynote address for the 2022 Gender and Women’s Studies Student Research Conference.

MARCH 18, 2022

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Book cover, "Brilliant Bodies: Fashioning Courtly Men in Early Renaissance Italy"

Art History Professor’s New Book Highlights How Clothes Made the Man in Renaissance Italy

In Brilliant Bodies: Fashioning Courtly Men in Early Renaissance Italy, Art History professor Timothy McCall, PhD, describes and interprets the Renaissance glitterati―gorgeously dressed and adorned men―to reveal how charismatic bodies, in the palazzo and the piazza, seduced audiences and materialized power.

MARCH 16, 2022

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David Wilkins, PhD

Villanova University’s Mary M. Birle Lecture Features David Wilkins, PhD, Discussing Political and Legal Experiences of African Americans and Indigenous Peoples

David Wilkins, PhD, presents “Akin and Apart: The Political and Legal Experiences of African Americans and Indigenous Peoples in the US,” as the featured speaker of the 2022 Mary M. Birle Lecture on Thursday, April 7 at 7 p.m. in Driscoll Auditorium.

MARCH 14, 2022

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MORE NEWS

AT A GLANCE

60+

GRADUATE STUDENTS PRESENT AT ACADEMIC CONFERENCES EACH YEAR

  

97%

SUCCESSFUL PLACEMENT RATE
FOR CLASS OF 2021

  

25

FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS IN 2019-2020

  

91%

of students seeking an internship participated in at least one

  

200

STUDENTS COMPLETE A LAB OR FIELD RESEARCH PROJECT EACH YEAR

  

92%

of students seeking an international experience participated in at least one

  

WHO WE ARE