About

About
About
Dean Clarence Lang
Dean Clarence Lang

Welcome to 

The College of the Liberal Arts

We believe the greatest learning experiences are those that give you the chance to put what you’ve learned in class to practice in real-world settings solving real-world problems. We also think it’s important that you have the chance to explore, and develop a greater appreciation for, the world in which we live.

That is why the college offers an interdisciplinary educational experience that teaches you how to think critically, analyze information thoroughly, communicate effectively, act ethically, and become engaged citizens in a diverse global society—skills that will help you grow as a person while preparing you for whatever career path you choose. Our Student Services offices also stand ready to help you take advantage of the numerous out-of-classroom opportunities—internships, education abroad, research, and mentoring—that will help prepare you to become leaders in your professions, stewards of inclusive learning, living, and work environments, and influential contributors to society.   

As a Liberal Arts student, you’ll have the chance to learn from, and work alongside, some of the most accomplished scholars in your chosen program. Four of Penn State’s twenty-four Evan Pugh Professors—the highest distinction afforded any Penn State professor—are Liberal Arts professors, and several more have received the highest honors they can be awarded in their respective fields. We are also proud that so many of our departments ranked among the top ten of their peers in the last National Research Council rankings.

We hope you will find this website useful as you learn more about the forty-nine undergraduate and twenty-seven graduate majors offered by the college, in addition to the more than a dozen baccalaureate and master’s degree programs offered through Penn State World Campus.

Sincerely,
Clarence Lang
Professor and Susan Welch Dean
College of the Liberal Arts 

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Our History
1885
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2021
2022
The Farmer's High School was created. Classes in the liberal arts have been taught at Penn State since the beginning of the Farmer's High School. Students were offered courses in philosophy, rhetoric, and English grammar and composition, and soon after in languages, political science, literature, and history.
The School of Language and Literature was established under Benjamin Gill.

The School of History, Political Science, and Philosophy was created, with George W. Atherton as its first head.
The School of History, Political Science, and Philosophy became the School of History, Mathematics, and Philosophy.
The School of History, Mathematics, and Philosophy, and The School of Language and Literature were combined to form the School of the Liberal Arts. The first Dean of the new school was Edwin Erle Sparks, former head of the School of History, Mathematics, and Philosophy; he held the position of acting dean while he began his term as president of the college.

An official “home” for Liberal Arts was formed by President Edwin Erle Sparks, who created the School of Liberal Arts by combining the School of History, Mathematics, and Philosophy with the School of Language and Literature. A prominent historian, President Sparks named himself the school’s first dean.
When the Pennsylvania State College became the Pennsylvania State University, the School of the Liberal Arts became the College of the Liberal Arts.
The Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network was established to help Liberal Arts students engage in career-related, international, and professional development activities.
Thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends, the College of the Liberal Arts raised more than $113 million in the For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students campaign.
Clarence Lang was named the Susan Welch Dean of the College of the Liberal Arts.
The Roz and Gene Chaiken Center for Student Success was established in the College of the Liberal Arts thanks to the generosity of Gene and Roz Chaiken, who are cumulatively the most generous donors in the history of the College of the Liberal Arts.
Thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends, the College of the Liberal Arts raised more than $132 million in the A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence campaign.

The college broke ground on its newest building in fifty years. Opening in the fall of 2024, the Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building will be an innovative hub of social science teaching, research, and outreach activity.

Life in Happy Valley

Happy Valley isn’t just the nickname for the area surrounding Penn State—it’s a uniquely wonderful place to live. State College and its surrounding communities have long been recognized as one the country’s most livable places, thanks to a thriving business community, exceptional housing in safe, family-friendly neighborhoods, first-rate schools and healthcare, highly engaged government agencies and civic organizations, and, of course, countless recreation and entertainment options.  

A drone photo of Pattee Mall and the surrounding buildings at Penn State University Park.
A drone photo of Pattee Mall and the surrounding buildings at Penn State University Park.
Student Bineta Brooks smiles while doing homework in the Chaiken Center for Student Success.
Student Bineta Brooks smiles while doing homework in the Chaiken Center for Student Success.

Liberal Arts Experience

We’re very proud of the exceptional achievements of our college’s students, faculty, staff, and alumni, whether they’re producing cutting-edge research, winning awards, distinguishing themselves through their service, or finding success in the professional world. We’re proud to tell their stories and share them with the greater Penn State community.

Creating a Livable Planet

Befitting our mission, the College of the Liberal Arts has committed itself to timely issues of significant global importance. For this academic year, the college’s Moments of Change initiative has chosen “Creating a Livable Planet” as its theme. The initiative is focused on a wide range of sustainability issues and highlighting the good work being done by the Liberal Arts Sustainability Council, as well as students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Throughout the year, the college is hosting numerous courses, lectures, presentations, and events geared around the theme.
Laurel Pearson, assistant teaching professor of anthropology, presented “The Ties that Bind—Embracing Connection for a Sustainable Future” as the college’s First-Year Lecture in September 2022.
Laurel Pearson, assistant teaching professor of anthropology, presented “The Ties that Bind—Embracing Connection for a Sustainable Future” as the college’s First-Year Lecture in September 2022.

Liberal Arts Values

The College of the Liberal Arts is dedicated to critically examining the human condition in all its social, cultural, and historical diversity. We’re committed to a fearless and inclusive environment that supports an open and respectful exchange of ideas in the classroom, on campus, and online. To that end, we do not tolerate threats, intimidation, harassment, vandalism, and violence directed at anyone in our community, no matter their race, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, immigration status, socioeconomic status, political or religious convictions, or disability. And we support the work of every one of our departments and programs, including those that focus on the experiences of underrepresented groups.

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Over break, students taking SPAN 210N, IT 210N and PORT 210N had the opportunity to travel to Prato, Italy, for seven days as part of the Multilingual and Intercultural Communication embedded program in the College of the Liberal Arts.

In her time at Penn State, Jordynn Cheatle has sought out experiences that have shown her the value of having difficult conversations and how to have them well.

Student startup Bindr, a dating app that provides a safe space online for bisexual individuals, won $15,000, the largest prize amount, in the 2023 Invent Penn State Inc.U Competition. The competition, part of Penn State Startup Week powered by PNC, saw six Penn State student teams pitch their startups to a panel of judges and compete for up to $30,000 in funding.

In celebration of Women’s History Month, Penn State University Libraries will host a virtual, month-long, Wikipedia editathon focusing on Native American women activists and environmentalists, from March 27 through April 18.

U.S. college students’ knowledge of bees focuses primarily on honey bees and pollination services, according to Penn State researchers, who said findings from their recent study could help in designing campaigns to generate support for protecting threatened pollinators.

Celeste Good, who graduated with a degree in women’s studies in the College of the Liberal Arts, is the recipient of the 2023 Jackson Lethbridge Tolerance Award. The award recognizes a junior, senior or graduate student for outstanding efforts to enhance the understanding of diverse cultures and create a community where all individuals are accepted and valued equally. 

Max Dean, a senior majoring in economics in the College of the Liberal Arts, and Ally Schlegel, who graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in corporate innovation and entrepreneurship from the Smeal College of Business, have been selected as the 2023 recipients of the Ernest B. McCoy Memorial Award. The Ernest B. McCoy Memorial Award annually recognizes a senior man and woman who have successful athletic participation with academic excellence. 

For the last five years, Amara Solari, professor of art history and anthropology at Penn State, has led a research team on an historical and, unexpectedly, scientific journey in the Yucatán. Working closely with colleague Linda Williams of the University of Puget Sound, she has scoured the peninsula to identify, document, interpret and analyze murals painted inside churches by Maya Christian artists more than 400 years ago, combining art history and cutting-edge materials science in the only known cohesive study of these fragile artworks.

Professor of English Hester Blum is using her experiences from her five visits to the polar regions to teach students about the human impact of the climate crisis. The course aligns with the College of the Liberal Arts’ current theme, “Moments of Change: Creating a Livable Planet.”

Penn State’s Rock Ethics Institute will kick off its 2023 Expanding Empathy Speaker Series with the first of four spring discussions on Friday, March 24.