College of Arts & Sciences

Introduction

The College offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Social Work, Bachelor of Music Therapy, and Bachelor of Science degrees, as well as a Master of Fine Arts in Writing and a Master of Social Work. In addition, a Post-Baccalaureate Program for Pre-Health Professions is available.

Undergraduate Programs

Students in the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Music Therapy and Bachelor of Social Work programs in the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS), the College of Business (COB), and the College of Education (COE) follow the same admission criteria, academic standards and policies, degree requirements and academic calendar. Students enrolled in these degree programs in these colleges pay the same tuition rate and may take courses offered by any of the three colleges. Students may earn only one bachelor’s degree at the College of Arts and Sciences.

The College of Arts and Sciences provides a broad liberal arts education with strong emphasis on service and application of knowledge. This is accomplished through effective teaching built on close faculty-student relationships, in a residential setting. Undergraduates develop the intellectual capabilities and personal qualities that enable them to participate in rewarding careers and to contribute to their communities. The more than 35 majors in the College of Arts and Sciences clearly reflect Pacific’s liberal arts base. The largest unit of the University, the College provides a broad spectrum of opportunities to match individual interests and career plans.

The College of Arts and Sciences curriculum affirms in practice that a broad educational experience is both an end in itself and a means to set personal and professional directions. Within the schools of Arts & Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences, the College offers a carefully constructed range of courses that provide curricular breadth and depth. The College provides living and learning experiences that one expects to find at a high-quality liberal arts college.

In a world that increasingly asks not what you know but how quickly can you learn, Pacific University prepares its students to communicate clearly, to analyze problems, to synthesize information and to understand people, systems and cultures.

A strong and integrated advising program, called Pathways, covers academic development and career counseling and placement. The Pathways Program ensures that each student maximizes internship, research, study abroad, service learning, professional, and graduate school opportunities. One part of Pathways, the Advantage Program, helps prepare students for seamless entry, including early acceptance, into Pacific’s graduate professional programs.

The College encourages off-campus learning. Pacific undergraduates may study abroad in many countries, pursue off-campus independent research projects, and undertake career internships that earn credit toward graduation.

Post-Baccalaureate Pathways for Pre-Health Professions

Students with an undergraduate degree but without the appropriate prerequisite courses or with outdated prerequisite courses for a graduate health profession program may enroll in a post baccalaureate pre-health program. The pre-health program for post-baccalaureate students is an advisory program personalized to a student’s individual needs. It is not a certificate program. Post-baccalaureate pre-health students take courses alongside undergraduate students.

Graduate Programs

The College of Arts and Sciences offers two graduate programs, the Master of Fine Arts in Writing and the Master of Social Work.

Master of Fine Arts in Writing

Pacific’s Master of Fine Arts in Writing program seeks to support and inspire students to become better writers while creating a quality portfolio of fiction, nonfiction or poetry. The program encourages students to write meaningful and honest pieces, and to embrace writing as an art that has the potential to make a difference in the world. A student may earn an MFA in fiction, nonfiction or poetry.

The low-residency format allows students to earn a graduate degree over the course of two years through five intensive campus residencies, coupled with guided study during four correspondence semesters. Students earn 15 credits each semester and apply those 15 credits toward the minimum of 60 required for successful completion of the program.

In the belief that writers can and must lead full and interesting lives, the program embraces students who have full-time jobs and other obligations and allows them to design individualized courses of study to be carried out under the supervision of a writer advisor.

Students and writers come together twice a year in June and January for 10-day residencies on the Pacific University campus or at an off-campus location. Residencies include workshops, lectures, seminars, panels and readings, featuring award-winning writers who act as faculty members for the program and visiting writers who participate only during the residency. At the residencies, each student is paired with a writer who serves as an advisor for the independent study that follows.

Master of Social Work

Pacific’s MSW program is a full-time, two-year program based in Eugene, Oregon. All Pacific MSW students will follow the same course schedule during their first year of social work education at Pacific. During the second year, students will gain competence in diagnoses and advanced therapeutic approaches the foster wellness and independence.