JLH-Campus-Scenes

Experience

Develop a sense of personal vocation and the skills to pursue it.

The College of Arts and Sciences cultivates an openness to new ideas and experiences that helps students discover enduring interests.

A Valpo education prepares students admirably for a competitive job market — but it does much more than that. It treats students as whole human beings; it empowers them to lead and serve their many communities. Students in the College of Arts and Sciences form close relationships with faculty mentors who encourage students to learn about their own strengths, interests, and passions. The curriculum elicits serious, systematic thinking about how students understand the world and their place in it.

  • An exploratory program helps students who have not decided on a major identify their strengths and interests.
  • Students in all majors, with the benefit of thoughtful academic advising, create plans of study that allow them to explore a variety of interests before focusing on a major field.

Photo: Max PaulMy professors helped me find a way to mesh my interest in the environment with my interest in psychology.

Maximillian Paul ’14

In the classroom and beyond, students in the College of Arts and Sciences encounter compelling learning experiences.

The College of Arts and Sciences encourages students to develop and apply the skills taught by the curriculum. Opportunities begin in the classroom and extend through research projects, internships, and service learning.

Beyond the Classroom
Arts & Sciences courses often include laboratory or experiential components that allow students to experience professional environments. Excellent facilities endure that students have access to the tools and technologies professionals use. These are among the many examples of courses that include experiential learning:
  • “Inside Out,” a course in which sociology and criminology students join individuals who are incarcerated in a local correctional facility for intense study of topics in criminal justice;
  • Field Biology, in which students learn to gather and analyze samples while helping a local land trust reestablish native flora;
  • Traditions of Giving and Serving in American Life, an English seminar in which the class project is the selection of recipients for a $10,000 gift.

Finding New Answers
The opportunity to participate in meaningful research that contributes to the world’s store of knowledge is a highlight of the Valpo A&S experience. Students often serve as research assistants to Valpo professors, and sometimes they frame their own research questions and design studies with the guidance of faculty mentors. The Office of Undergraduate Research helps scores of students locate research opportunities and funding. The annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research gives students an opportunity to present their research, and many also share their findings at regional and national conferences. Honors work and independent study, offered by most A&S programs, are among the curricular options that encourage original research by undergraduates.
applying Skills Off Campus
Practicum courses, internships, and service learning give students in the College of Arts and Sciences a chance to stretch their wings. Most departments offer internships, and the A&S Dean’s Office can award general-studies credit for internships outside the student’s major. Among the off-campus learning sites where Valpo A&S students have recently worked: