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The College of the Liberal Arts is the place to find your place.
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The place to find your place

Unlimited options and unwavering support to prepare you for life and any career you choose.

It all starts here.

Canvas outage Penn State and many other universities are currently experiencing a Canvas outage, related to an ongoing security incident affecting Instructure, the vendor that provides the Canvas platform. The University is actively working with Instructure to monitor the situation, assess potential impacts, and restore normal service as quickly as possible. Ongoing updates are available on Penn State News.

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Meet our community

Get to know some of our talented Liberal Arts students, alumni, and faculty members. These stories highlight the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of our community and the impact they are making.

Hamad Hussain named Liberal Arts college marshal for summer 2026 commencement

Hamad Hussain represented the Penn State College of the Liberal Arts and College of Earth and Mineral Sciences as college marshal at the 2026 summer commencement ceremony. The triple major in international politics, global and international studies, and energy business and finance said the recognition made all of his hard work worth it. “My Penn State education gave me the analytical, financial and geopolitical foundation I’ll rely on throughout my career,” he said.

Learn More About Summer 2026 Commencement

Team effort guides publication of late Liberal Arts dean Susan Welch’s last book

During her distinguished 28-year tenure as dean of Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts, the late Susan Welch always managed to carve out time in her busy schedule for scholarly research. She spent the final decade of her life researching and writing a book devoted to the Holocaust. However, not long after turning in the manuscript, she died on March 28, 2022. Four and a half years later, the finished book, “The Hunted: The Holocaust through the Experiences of Twenty European Jews” (Berghahn Books), has finally seen the light of day, thanks to the efforts of a group led by Welch’s brother, Robert Welch, and Lee Ann Banaszak, professor of political science and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at Penn State.

Read the Penn State News Story

Inaugural Liberal Arts Semester in Washington Program inspires new career choices

Ella Bartnik is one of 10 Penn State students that participated in the inaugural Liberal Arts Semester in Washington Program this past summer. Although she always envisioned becoming an attorney, her time in Washington has broadened her perspective on where a legal career can lead. “I’ve realized there are so many different directions I could take,” she said. “I can now see myself working on the legislative side or even within government.”

Learn More About the Semester in Washington Program

Faculty-led program in Todi, Italy, celebrates 40th anniversary

A group of Penn State students traveled to Todi, Italy through a faculty-led program for it’s 40th time—one of fourteen faculty-led programs in the College of the Liberal Arts. Under the direction of Italian and art history faculty, students received lectures on Italian language and culture, art history and other related sectors, which aided them in their day-to-day interactions and travels.

https://la.psu.edu/faculty-led-courses

Chapel Intern gains hands-on HR experience with Estée Lauder Companies

Chapel intern and fourth-year labor and human resources student, Karli Brenneman, completed summer internship with Estée Lauder Companies—an experience that allowed her to put concepts from her liberal arts coursework into practice. “Building job requisitions and employee playbooks connected directly to what I learned in strategic staffing,” Brenneman said. “Seeing how HR decisions move from the CEO all the way down to something as tangible as an office move gave me a much clearer sense of how what I’ve studied in the classroom actually shows up in a real business.”

Learn more about the Chapel Internship Program

Matson Museum director awarded Fulbright for book project

James Doyle, director of Penn State’s Matson Museum of Anthropology and research professor of anthropology, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award for the 2026-27 academic year. Doyle will use the six-month grant to conduct research in Panama for his forthcoming book, “Gran Coclé: The Royal Arts of Ancestral Panama,” which will be published by the University of Texas Press.

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Pursue your passions

The College of the Liberal Arts is home to nearly 150 undergraduate majors, minors, integrated undergraduate-graduate degrees (IUGs), associate degrees, and certificates.
There is truly something for everyone.

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Anthropology
Anthropological Science
Communication Arts and Sciences
English
Psychology (Life Sciences Option or Neuroscience Option)
Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL)
Women’s Studies

A liberal arts major helped recent graduate John Miller develop a greater worldly perspective, improve his communication skills, and see how people experience life in different ways—traits that have benefitted the Paterno Fellow on his unique path to medical school. Read his story.

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Students in the humanities study how people process and document the human experience. Most majors in the humanities build widely transferable skills that employers appreciate and go on to be writers, counselors, event organizers, social media managers, fundraisers, travel bloggers, and more.

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The social sciences examine the relationships between individuals and societies, as well as the development and operation of societies. The critical thinking, research, and analytical skills gained in a social science major help prepare graduates for diverse job titles, including economist, psychologist, political scientist, historian, postsecondary teacher, museum curator, and social worker.

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Intercultural communication, critical thinking and reasoning, cultural adaptability, information and trend analysis, and the other skills that drive the global economy, are in high demand today. Language graduates find jobs in tourism, international development, marketing, policy making, journalism, government, and more.

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Pursue your interests

Transforming Industry and Business

Leveraging AI and Other Technologies

Helping People

Creating Healthy Communities

Influencing
Culture and Media

Advancing
Justice and Democracy

Enacting
Social Change

Stewarding
our Planet

Building Global
Connections

Explore our Research

Discover how Liberal Arts research is making a difference across disciplines, and explore the impact we’re creating together.

Mark your calendar

The College of the Liberal Arts hosts more than 200 events
throughout the year for students, alumni, faculty, staff, and the community.
Visit our events calendar to see the full list of upcoming events.
Below are the annual student events.