The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) is the

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...

and sciences college at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Univers ...

(NU) in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. CAS was established in 1869, the same year the University of Nebraska was founded, and is the largest of NU's nine colleges. Mark Button has served as dean of the college since 2019. The College of Arts and Sciences contains the departments of Humanities, Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Interdisciplinary Programs.

History

The College of Arts and Sciences was founded in 1869, making it the first college established at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

(now the University of Nebraska–Lincoln). CAS began offering classes two years later in University Hall, which at the time was the only building on NU's campus. Charles Henry Oldfather led the college from 1932 to 1952, making him the longest-serving dean of CAS; the twelve-story Oldfather Hall was dedicated in his memory upon its opening in 1970. CAS's Department of Physics and Astronomy operates the Behlen Observatory in

Mead, Nebraska Mead is a village in Saunders County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 569 at the 2010 census. History Mead was originally built up chiefly by Swedes. Mead was first called Saunders, and under the latter name was platted in 1877 when ...

, approximately forty miles from Lincoln. The facility, constructed in 1972, contains a Cassegrain telescope and is named after donor Walter Behlen. The college operates eleven other research centers: the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, Center for Great Plains Studies, Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, Center on Children, Families and the Law, Center for Integrated Biomolecular Communication, Materials Research Sciences and Engineering Center, Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, Nebraska Center for Virology, Center for Plant Science Innovation, Center for Science, Mathematics and Computer Education, and Rural Drug Addiction Research Center.

Schools

CAS is made up of four departments: Humanities, Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Interdisciplinary Programs. They combine to offer twenty-nine degree and twenty-four minor-only programs. The Humanities department offers degrees in classics and religious studies,

film studies Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies. ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, languages, and philosophy as well as five minor-only programs. The Natural and Mathematical Sciences department offers degrees in actuarial science,

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

biological sciences Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

, chemistry,

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

, mathematics,

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

, microbiology, and

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

as well as three minor-only programs. The Social Sciences department offers degrees in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

, communication studies,

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

, and

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

as well as two minor-only programs. The Interdisciplinary Programs department offers degrees in environmental studies,

ethnic studies Ethnic studies, in the United States, is the interdisciplinary study of difference—chiefly race, ethnicity, and nation, but also sexuality, gender, and other such markings—and power, as expressed by the state, by civil society, and by indivi ...

, global studies, and women's and

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field ...

as well as fourteen minor-only programs.

External links

College of Arts and Sciences

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:College of Arts and Sciences (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) University of Nebraska–Lincoln Liberal arts colleges at universities in the United States