First-Year Students
Dear Students,
As the dean of Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters, I would like to be among the first to welcome you to the world of higher education and the start of the rest of your life.
The next few months are a great time to start thinking about what you want to do when you get to college and even to think a bit about life after Notre Dame.
Arts and Letters is the place on campus where you will take your first university-level courses in philosophy, theology, history, English, and the arts. It is also the place where you can delve deeper into your particular interests, from economics to psychology, languages to film.
And no matter what course of study you select, the College of Arts and Letters will help you acquire enduring skills: the ability to think critically and creatively, to problem solve, to communicate, and to lead.
This unique combination of academic exploration and skills development will prepare you to continue pursuing your passions after graduation, whether you want to go into full-time work (as 43% of the Arts and Letters Class of 2011 did within six months of graduation), enroll in graduate or professional school (31%), engage in service programs or independent projects (20%), or enter the military (4%). (Yes, that means only 2% were still looking for work six months after graduation.)*
So as you select your first-year classes, I encourage you to think broadly and explore the many courses of study Arts and Letters offers. Not only can they all incorporate study abroad, independent research, and internship experiences—but any one of them will help you prepare for the beginning of the rest of your life.
Sincerely,
John T. McGreevy
I.A. O’Shaughnessy Dean of the College of Arts and Letters
Watch our video about the benefits of a liberal arts education.
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* Source: The Notre Dame Career Center, 2011 Impact Report
Note: “independent projects” include activities such as writing a novel or doing a film or fine arts project, traveling the world, caring for a family member, etc.
Liberal Arts at Notre Dame
Dean McGreevy on the Notre Dame Experiment
College Seminar
Arts and Letters College Seminar is a course in which students explore profound issues that transcend disciplinary boundaries, all while developing their speaking skills.
Arts and Letters News
History Major Explores Work of Missionaries in Colonial Peru
It is widely known that Spanish missionaries played a significant role in introducing Catholicism to the peoples of the Andes throughout the colonial period. Notre Dame senior history major Joseph VanderZee traveled to archives in Lima and Rome to dig a little deeper and find out what these early missionaries thought of the indigenous population—and how their attitudes affected the development of the Peruvian Church. Read More >
Theologian Gary Anderson Elected to American Academy of Jewish Research
Gary Anderson, Hesburgh Professor of Catholic Theology at the University of Notre Dame, has been named a fellow of the American Academy of Jewish Research (AAJR). The AAJR is the oldest organization of Judaic scholars in North America, and fellows are nominated and elected by their peers. The group has approximately 100 members in the United States—and Anderson is one of a select few who are not Jewish. Read More >
Solving a Fascinating Puzzle
Robert Goulding, an associate professor in the University of Notre Dame’s Program of Liberal Studies, was recently awarded a grant from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) to support a research project that combines mathematics, philosophy, and Renaissance science. Goulding, who also teaches in the History and Philosophy of Science graduate program, says his work focuses on English scientist and mathematician Thomas Harriot (1560–1621), whom he calls “a really unusual figure” in intellectual history. Read More >
Microfinance Yields Mixed Results in Thailand, Economist Joseph Kaboski Finds
Large-scale microfinance programs are widely used as a tool to fight poverty in developing countries, but a recent study by University of Notre Dame economist Joseph Kaboski and MIT colleague Robert Townsend suggests that microfinancing can have varying results for participants and may not be the most cost-effective use of funds for many situations. The study was published in a recent issue of Econometrica. Kaboski and Townsend used the Thai Million Baht Village Fund, one of the largest government microfinance initiatives of its kind, to evaluate and understand the benefits and disadvantages of microfinance interventions. Read More >
