COLLEGE OF
LIBERAL ARTS AND
SCIENCES
DISCOVER YOUR PASSION
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
MASTER'S
DOCTORAL
CERTIFICATE
MINOR
CURRICULUM
THE COLLEGE EXPERIENCE
DEAN'S WELCOME
CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
GRADUATE STUDIES
STUDY ABROAD OPPORTUNITIES
RESEARCH
INTERNSHIPS
STORIES OF DISCOVERY
COLLEGE NEWS
Biology Professor and Her Students Discover Lesser-Known Gene Associated with Breast Cancer
Over the last eight years, Janice Knepper, PhD, and her students have been working with the gene, ZC3H8, simply known has Fliz1. The findings were recently published in BMC Cancer, a peer-reviewed open-source medical journal.
Astronomy Professors Lead Team that Discovers Long Hidden Properties of The North Star
Until now, scientists’ wide-ranging estimates of the star’s distance from the Earth (322-520 light years), made determining its physical makeup difficult. Edward Guinan, PhD, and Scott Engle, PhD, from Villanova’s Department of Astrophysics and Planetary Science, are the principal investigators researching Polaris’s radius, intrinsic brightness, age and mass.
Villanova University Researchers Part of Expedition to the Arctic
Amanda M. Grannas, PhD, a prominent and internationally-renowned expert in snow chemistry, is among the researchers awarded a three-year, $1 million National Science Foundation grant to study the interactions between the surface of the Arctic Ocean and the atmosphere above it.
Villanova Student Conducting Research on SEA Semester Sail to Remote Phoenix Islands
Biology major Sherie Yang is part of a select group of undergraduates from diverse U.S. and international colleges and universities on the voyage, conducting research aimed at protecting rare coral wilderness.
AT A GLANCE
60+
GRADUATE STUDENTS PRESENT AT ACADEMIC CONFERENCES EACH YEAR
95.6%
SUCCESSFUL PLACEMENT RATE
FOR CLASS OF 2017
13
FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS IN 2017-2018
70%
OF THE CLASS OF 2016
COMPLETED AN INTERNSHIP
200
STUDENTS COMPLETE A LAB OR FIELD RESEARCH PROJECT EACH YEAR
43%
OF THE CLASS OF 2017 STUDIED ABROAD