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COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

COMPREHENSIVE SCIENCE PROGRAM

Two students work in the lab.

Comprehensive Science allows students interested in the physical and life sciences to obtain a broad based and thorough exposure to a full spectrum of scientific concerns and practices.

The Comprehensive Science Program offers a quantitative approach to sciences through a broad range of courses in mathematics, physical and life sciences, and computer science. The program equips students with the analytical and quantitative skills needed to understand the scientific world.

Students benefit from an interdisciplinary course of study that transcends normal departmental boundaries. The program’s flexibility allows students to pursue multidisciplinary courses of study, creating gateways into many professions. 

Comprehensive Science provides an excellent entry point in medicine, dentistry, other health careers, as well as business. The program also prepares students for continued graduate study in the sciences.

 

WHY COMPREHENSIVE SCIENCE?

We are truly comprehensive. After completing our broad science and math core, you can choose any six science electives that meet your academic and career goals, such as:

  • fulfilling premed requirements,
  • complementing your degree with a math, statistics or computing science minor,
  • or preparing you for a research career in epidemiology, nutrition or forensics. 

Comprehensive Science majors go on to graduate programs in a variety of fields, including medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, law, forensics and speech language pathology at prestigious institutions including:

  • Thomas Jefferson
  • Columbia University
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Boston University
  • University of Michigan

Our alumni are successful business analysts, financial advisors, researchers, dentists, medical staff and more at companies including:

  • AstraZeneca
  • BlackRock
  • Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Environmental Protection Agency
  • Jefferson Health
  • Penn Medicine

Co-Directors and Advisors
Robert Styer, PhD, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Office: SAC 372
Phone: (610) 519 4845

Joseph Comber, PhD, Department of Biology
Office: Mendel G24D
Phone: (610) 519-4816

Elise Pasles, PhD, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Office: SAC 320
Phone: (610) 519-6950

Jared Paul, PhD, Department of Chemistry
Office: Mendel 320A
Phone: (610) 519-6620

Administrative Assistants
Tori Cornelius
Mendel Science Building 347
Phone: (610) 519-4860

Nichola DiBattista
Mendel Science Building 347
Phone: (610) 519-4862

RELATED PROGRAMS

WHO WE ARE

MATT MULLEN

Matt Mullen '21 CLAS says after graduating Villanova University with a Comprehensive Science Major and Classical Studies Minor, I moved to Burlington, Vermont to pursue a 12-month Master of Medical Science degree at the University of Vermont. In addition to pursuing a Masters, I also served as a volunteer on Shelburne Rescue Squad as an EMT. Furthermore, I worked as a patient care assistant providing care for a local person with cerebral palsy. I also work as a research technician in a neuroscience laboratory at UVM. I have recently (2023) been accepted to the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine MD Class of 2027!

NOAH DINAPOLI

Noah DiNapoli ’22 CLAS decided to move to the beautiful city of Madrid, Spain, for one year to teach English and do clinical research. My experience in Spain exceeded my expectations. In addition to teaching English, I have joined a research team at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra that studies the adverse health outcomes of sleep apnea, as well as engineering new screening tools for diagnosing the disorder. Living in Spain has also given me the opportunity to gain multicultural awareness and improve my Spanish-speaking abilities, which will help me in my role as a physician one day.

SAVRINA SALARTASH

Savrina Salartash ’23 CLAS attended the Association of Field Ornithologists centennial conference in Plymouth, MA, during the 2022 Fall Break. Under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Curry and Dr. Brittany Coppinger, she prepared a 12-minute oral presentation, titled “Quantitative D note variation in Carolina, Black-capped, and hybrid chickadees”. She discussed their findings in quantifying chickadee calls in order to determine the relationship between acoustic structure and ancestry genotype. This research is new for ornithology and hybrid ecology; she is excited to include her findings in her senior thesis, which she hopes to publish in the near future.

ABBIE GEHSMANN

Abbie Gehsmann '21 CLAS is a Comprehensive Science major and Global Health minor who studied abroad through SIT's IHP Health and Community program. "This study abroad experience is a comparative public health study which begins in Washington, D.C., then travels to India, South Africa, and Brazil throughout the semester. I would highly recommend this program as it is a field-based, experiential learning model which is quite different from what you can get on campus. Living with home-stays and learning from locals has been an immersive and incredibly inspiring experience for me."

AOIFE GILVARRY

Aoife Gilvarry '20 CLAS says, "Studying abroad in Denmark and having the opportunities to travel to different countries has exposed me to various cultures, traditions, people and stories that have broadened my own perspective and my wish to share my experiences with others. Between the food, the buildings, and the friendliness of the Danish people, Denmark has really become another home to me, like Villanova. I have learned so much in the classroom but more importantly, there was self-growth that occurred outside the classroom that only studying abroad can offer. Denmark is truly hyggeligt! "

EDUCATION WITH IMPACT

 

AN EDUCATION IN THE LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES promotes intellectual curiosity and rigor; instills the fundamentals of critical insight, mature judgment and independent thinking; and strengthens students’ sense of their moral responsibility for others and for the betterment of society.