College of Arts and Sciences

College Website: College of Arts and Science

The College of Arts and Sciences develops people for others, ready to face the intellectual, vocational, and spiritual challenges of today and tomorrow.

The departments and programs that make up the College offer majors, minors and concentrations in the arts, humanities, social and behavioral sciences, natural sciences and mathematics. These academic pursuits prepare students for post-graduation life, including immediate careers and further studies. Additionally, the College is primarily responsible for delivering courses in the University Core curriculum, the center of Gonzaga’s humanistic, Jesuit, Catholic education. Students pursuing a major in the College must also complete a secondary language requirement.

Degree Programs in the College of Arts and Sciences

Bachelor of Arts, General: This is the regular B.A. degree offered by the College; it also is available with a teaching option in some majors.

Bachelor of Science, General: This is the regular B.S. degree offered by the College.

Bachelor of Arts, Honors: This degree is awarded to students who pursue their basic undergraduate education under the direction of the Honors Program. A specific core Honors curriculum, accomplished primarily through colloquia and seminars, satisfies University Core requirements for those students who obtain this degree. The degree is available in all majors within the College that offer the B.A.

Bachelor of Science, Honors: This degree is awarded to students who pursue their basic undergraduate education under the direction of the Honors Program. A specific core Honors curriculum, accomplished primarily through colloquia and seminars, satisfies University Core requirements for those students who obtain this degree. The degree is available in all majors within the College that offer the B.S.

3+3 BA/BS/J.D.: Designed with the unusual undergraduate student in mind, this pathway consists of three years in an approved undergraduate major¹ and entrance to the Law School in the fourth year, resulting in a B.A./B.S. and a J.D. from the Gonzaga University School of Law in six years rather than seven. The 3+3 pathway requires successful completion of at least 92 undergraduate credits from Gonzaga University by the end of the junior year (six semesters), including all College of Arts and Sciences undergraduate degree requirements for any major, minor, and concentration pursued by the student as well as all university core requirements. The final 28 undergraduate elective credits required under the 120 credit undergraduate degree policy will be fulfilled using completed first-year law school courses. Students complete the application to the Gonzaga School of Law in their fifth semester. Because of the pre-planning this pathway involves, interested students should contact a pre-law advisor in Career and Professional Services during their first semester. Please see the School of Law 3 + 3 webpage for more information.

Master of Arts in Communication and Leadership Studies (COML) and Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership (ORGL) 4+1 Program: Majors interested in pursuing a Master of Arts in Communication and Leadership Studies (COML) or a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership (ORGL) may apply to the graduate program at the end of the academic year immediately preceding their final year of undergraduate study. Those who meet the COML or ORGL admissions standards will be granted provisional acceptance. During their final year of undergraduate study, these students will be able to enroll in up to six graduate-level COML or ORGL credits in addition to their undergraduate course load, with no additional or separate charge for graduate credits. "4+ 1" students will be limited to a maximum of 18 credits per semester, including graduate credits, in each of the two semesters of their final year of undergraduate study.

¹

This pathway is available only for students with majors in the College of Arts and Sciences. Some majors are credit-intensive and/or highly sequenced. Students in those majors may not be able to complete the major in three years and would not be able to participate in this program.

College of Arts and Sciences Degree Requirements

In addition to the general degree requirements of the University, including the University Core curriculum, students earning all Bachelor’s degrees offered by the College of Arts and Sciences must complete the following requirements:

1. Completion of the requirements for a major within the College.
2. Completion of a senior thesis, comprehensive exam, capstone, or other culminating experience designed by the major department.
3. Language Requirement: Competency in a second language (classical or modern) at the intermediate level (demonstrated by completion of a course numbered 201 or higher) is required for students continuing in the study of a language. Students beginning study in a language they have not previously studied can fulfill the requirement by completing one year at the beginning level (courses numbered 101-102). The languages regularly offered in the College of Arts and Sciences are Filipino, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Latin, and Spanish. For international students from non-English speaking countries whose primary and/or secondary education was in a language other than English, the CAS language requirement is automatically fulfilled since the proficiency threshold for admissions exceeds the proficiency threshold of the language requirement. 

Please note: Every degree requires a minimum of 120 completed semester credits. No core, major, minor, or concentration courses may be taken under the Pass/Fail option.

Table of Credits for Degrees, Majors and Minors

¹

Note: Number of credits required is dependent on non-English language competency.

n.a. = Not Available

Concentrations are options within a Major and cannot be taken separately from a Major.

Minors can be taken separately from a Major.

Teacher Certification

In order to obtain a teaching certification, students need to complete a degree with an appropriate major and also complete professional educational requirements. Since many future secondary teachers obtain their degree in the College of Arts and Sciences, they have an academic advisor in that college. In addition, they need an advisor from the Teacher Education Department, who is usually assigned to them when they register for EDTE 200 Language, Society, and Power.