University of Virginia College of Arts & Sciences

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University of Virginia College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Established: 1824
Type: Public charter, Private and Public funding
Dean: Karen L. Ryan (interim)
Students: 12,000
Location: Charlottesville, VA, USA
Campus: Suburban
Website: http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/

The University of Virginia College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences is the largest of the University of Virginia's ten schools. Consisting of both a graduate and an undergraduate program, the College comprises the liberal arts and humanities section of the University. Edward Ayers was the dean of the College through July 1, 2007, when he was named the ninth President of the University of Richmond; Karen L. Ryan was named Interim Dean after his departure,[1][2] and Meredith Jung-En Woo will take over as dean on June 1, 2008.[3] The College (as it is called at UVA) offers more than 45 undergraduate majors and more than 24 graduate programs.

Contents

[edit] History

The College of Arts and Sciences, first named the "academic department" was authorized by the Board of Visitors in 1824 along with the School of Law and the School of Medicine. Classes first conferred in March of 1825. Under the presidency of Edwin Alderman, the department was officially separated into the "College of Arts and Sciences" and the "Graduate School of Arts and Sciences". In 1969, the Board of Visitors voted to lift all of the restrictions regarding the admission of women to the College. In September 1970 the first class of undergraduate women entered the College of Arts and Sciences at U.Va. [4]

[edit] Academics

The College enrolls approx. 12,000 students undergraduate and 5,000 graduate students in over 55 fields. For the class entering 2007, 18,048 students applied and 6,274 were offered admission with 3,260 accepting admittance into the College. 88% of the enrolling students ranked in the top 10th of their graduating classes. [5]

Garrett Hall, the current home to the CLAS
Garrett Hall, the current home to the CLAS

[edit] Echols Scholars

The Echols Scholars program was created in 1960 as an answer to the soaring numbers introduced by the GI Bill. The Faculty Senate decided to create a program that would provide "ambitious academic privileges to students". [6] These privileges include living in an exclusive dorm first year, priority registration, exemption from area requirements, an interdisciplinary major, and others. Echols Scholars do not have to fill out a separate admission form, but are automatically reviewed for status during the general admission process. There is also a first year application program in which students with a 3.6 GPA enrolled in challenging classes are invited to apply. If accepted, they are then allowed to join the Echols Scholars Program for the rest of their tenure at the University.

The current Director of the Echols Scholars Program is Richard Handler.



[edit] Departments

[edit] Department Notabilities

Several of the 45+ departments, along with their faculty, have been noted for important contributions to their fields. Dr. James Galloway, head of the Environmental Science department received the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement Award on March 27th, 2008.[7] The History department's Virginia Center for Digital History was awarded a Digital Humanities start-up grant under the National Endowment for the Humanities' "We the People" program.[8] James Landers, a professor in chemistry and microbiology, has been recognized with the 2008 Innovation Award from the Association for Laboratory Automation.[9] Many more recognitions, from sources such as the National Science Foundation, are awarded to individual students for their academic and research achievements in their respective fields.

[edit] Rankings

The English graduate department was recently ranked #12 according to U.S. News and World Reports. Similarly, the physics graduate department was ranked 14th and the history graduate department 19th. The economics and psychology graduate departments were ranked 27th and 28th, respectively. [10]

[edit] Centers and Institutes

Alderman Library, home to the Rare Book School.
Alderman Library, home to the Rare Book School.
  • Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture
  • Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities
  • Anheuser Busch Coastal Research Center
  • Center for Biomathematical Technology
  • Center for Biomedical Ethics
  • Blandy Experimental Farm
  • Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies
  • Center for Global Health
  • Leander McCormick Observatory
  • Miller Center of Public Affairs
  • Mountain Lake Biological Station
  • Institute for Nuclear and Particle Physics
  • Center for Politics
  • Institute for Practical Ethics and Public Life
  • Institute for Public History
  • Rare Book School (Book Arts Press)
  • Thomas Jefferson Center for Studies in Political Economy
  • Virginia Astronomical Instrumentation Laboratory
  • Virginia Center for Digital History
  • Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
  • Virginia Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics

[edit] Notable Alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hawkins, Kristin. "Committee forming to replace Ayers", Cavalier Daily, 2007-01-23. 
  2. ^ Office of the Dean, Arts & Sciences, U.Va.
  3. ^ New Dean: Meredith Jung-En Woo, expert on international political economy, appointed Arts & Sciences dean. A&S Online (2008-04-24). Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
  4. ^ Women at UVA: Coeducation
  5. ^ U.Va. Office of Admission Profile
  6. ^ History of the Echols Scholars Program — Echols Scholars Program, Arts & Sciences, U.Va
  7. ^ Tyler Environmental Prize Goes to University of Virginia's James Galloway Accessed on 2008-05-15
  8. ^ NEH Awards Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant to Virginia Center for Digital History to Develop 'Jefferson's Travels HistoryBrowser' Accessed 2008-05-15
  9. ^ U.Va. Professor Receives Innovation Award from the Association for Laboratory Automation Acessed on 2008-05-15
  10. ^ UVa Rankings at a Glance. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.

[edit] External links