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Schools, Departments, and Programs

Schools, Departments, and Programs
Schools, Departments, and Programs

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Department of

African American Studies

Examine the history of people of African descent from the colonial period through the present by studying racial inequality and social movements and exposing students to the ideas and practices that African-American peoples have used to survive and shape the modern world.
Examine the history of people of African descent from the colonial period through the present by studying racial inequality and social movements and exposing students to the ideas and practices that African-American peoples have used to survive and shape the modern world.

African Studies

Program
African Studies offers students the opportunity to gain deep understanding of the social, political, cultural, and economic factors that shape the lives of African peoples. It provides students with key historical knowledge, placing Africa within the center of global history.
Dual-title graduate programs in African Studies focus on teaching, research, and scholarship on Africa and African societies. They prepare students to integrate the strengths of their respective disciplines with multidisciplinary training in the study of the African continent.
Department of

Anthropology

Anthropology students gain holistic, integrative social science training in and out of the classroom. They gain a deeper understanding of human behavior and biology and the human experience–knowledge that contributes to solving some of the world’s most pressing problems.
The anthropology graduate program exceeds other graduate programs due in part to its focus on integrative coursework. Students receive exceptional instruction spanning multiple anthropological subdisciplines while also receiving training in their desired fields of study.
Department of

Applied Linguistics

The Department of Applied Linguistics advances understandings of language use and language learning from anthropological, sociological, and psychological perspectives. We offer a master’s degree in teaching English as a second language and a Ph.D. in applied linguistics.
Department of

Asian Studies

The Department of Asian Studies offers four undergraduate majors and minors in Asian Studies and the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages. In addition, the department is building South Asian Languages and Cultures and Asian American Studies programs.
Dual-title Ph.D. students receive exposure in interdisciplinary methods for studying Asia, increased language study, and financial support throughout their study. The Keith Karako Award offers scholarships to dual-title Asian Studies students to provide support during the summer.

Bioethics

Program
The intercollege Bioethics Program provides undergraduate students with an interdisciplinary and flexible opportunity to explore the field through the minor in Bioethics and Medical Humanities.
The dual-title Ph.D. program in Bioethics generates scholars and practitioners who are prepared to enrich and expand their primary disciplines, as well as the field of bioethics. Program graduates have the skill sets required to address the monumental challenges facing society.
Department of

Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies

CAMS students study the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean world, including the ancient Greeks, the Romans, and the peoples of Egypt and the Near East, including their languages, literatures, history, politics, religion, mythologies, philosophies, and material culture.
CAMS has a dual-title PhD program with the Department of Philosophy. Students in this program take our advanced language courses, our graduate proseminar and research seminar courses, and serve as teaching assistants for the department’s most popular general education courses.
Department of

Communication Arts and Sciences

CAS students learn to think critically, analyze public discourse, understand empirical studies that test communication theories, argue persuasively, influence people, form and maintain relationships, and participate in civic life.
CAS graduate programs train master’s and Ph.D. students in communication science and rhetorical studies, with particular attention to political deliberation, health communication, interpersonal communication, public address, rhetorical theory, and the rhetoric of public culture.
Department of

Comparative Literature

Comparative Literature offers ways to study literature and culture in a global context, examine global media, and explore questions of ethics, human rights, and more. Students are trained in analytical writing, argumentation, and communication in an international context.
Graduate students in Comparative Literature are part of a tightly knit intellectual community. We produce field-defining journals and provide leadership to major disciplinary venues. The curriculum allows students to design individualized programs of study.
Department of

Economics

Penn State students may earn a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science degree in economics. A minor in economics is open to students enrolled in any college. The department also offers a program of mentoring for students who wish to pursue graduate education in economics.
Graduate students are integral members of a community of leading researchers in economic theory, econometrics, international economics, and macroeconomics. Students with a Ph.D. from Penn State and whose doctoral research is excellent find positions at leading institutions.
Department of

English

English majors explore the imaginative and practical uses of English through courses in literature, writing, rhetoric, and language. They develop perspectives on human nature and cultural values and learn how to gather, analyze, synthesize, and communicate information.
Our graduate program, which follows a continuous MA-to-PhD model, comprises a supportive community of vibrant scholars working in the broad field of English studies. Graduate students train with internationally recognized and award-winning faculty in a wide variety of fields.
Department of

French and Francophone Studies

The major in French and Francophone Studies provides students with an opportunity to develop proficiency in the French language as well as cultivate an appreciation and understanding of the various contexts that comprise the French and Francophone literary and cultural traditions.
Our program offers Ph.D. specializations in Culture and Society and Literature with faculty expertise spread equally across both areas. We also offer three innovative dual-title Ph.D.s with Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, African Studies, and Visual Studies.
Department of

Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures

Undergraduate students can earn a bachelor’s degree in German or Russian. Many combine this with another major at the University. With only one additional year of study, students in both programs can earn a master’s degree in International Affairs.
Graduate students in the German program can focus on German literature and culture, or German linguistics and applied linguistics. Within these two concentrations, they have dual degree options in Visual Studies or Language Science.
School of

Global Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

The School of Global Languages, Literatures, and Cultures includes the Departments of Asian Studies, Comparative Literature, French and Francophone Studies, Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures, and Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, and the Center for Global Studies.
The School of Global Languages, Literatures, and Cultures includes the Departments of Asian Studies, Comparative Literature, French and Francophone Studies, Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures, and Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, and the Center for Global Studies.
Department of

History

The history major offers a unique perspective on the world by offering a comprehensive view that social-science disciplines seldom match. History majors benefit from close involvement in humanistic learning as they acquire skills that are critical in today’s workforce.
The Penn State Department of History offers a small, focused, PhD program designed to prepare students for careers inside or outside academia. Our program admits students in five fields: United States, Latin America, Early Modern Global, China and Middle East.

Jewish Studies

Program
The Jewish Studies major provides broad inquiry into the history, culture, society, literature, philosophy, politics, language, and religious beliefs of Jewish people from Biblical times to the present.
The Jewish Studies program just added a Graduate Minor (in collaboration with the German/Slavic Languages Dept). We do not yet have students.
School of

Labor and Employment Relations

The School of Labor and Employment Relations offers bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees in Labor and Human Resources and Organizational Leadership as well as several integrated programs both online and at University Park.
Graduate students in the School of Labor and Employment Relations can pursue one of three master’s programs either in person or online to prepare for a career in human resource management, employment relations, or labor fields.

Latin American Studies

Program
Latin American Studies offers an exciting and diverse undergraduate major. Depending on individual students’ interests, it can include courses in Anthropology; Economics; History; Political Science, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese; and more.

Latina/o Studies

Program
Latino Studies offers an undergraduate minor consisting of 18 credit hours, six of which must be at the 400 level.
Latina/o Studies offers a graduate minor that allows students who are getting a PhD to gain area knowledge in Latinx Studies to augment and/or complement the disciplinary knowledge in their main field.

Linguistics

Program
The Linguistics Program offers a bachelor of arts degree as well as a minor in linguistics. Linguistics, which is the study of language as a structural, cognitive, historical, and cultural phenomenon, intersects with many different academic disciplines and career paths.
Graduate students in Linguistics can pursue a PhD minor in Linguistics or a dual-title PhD in Language Science through doctoral programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders, German, Psychology, or Spanish.

Medieval Studies

Program

Middle Eastern Studies

Program
Middle Eastern Studies at Penn State provides a major and minor for students pursuing degrees in any major who are interested in courses on the Middle East from ancient to modern times. The program offers a way to investigate a region of the world from multiple perspectives.
Middle Eastern Studies can be part of two graduate programs, one in Comparative Literature and another in History and the Middle East. Both seek applicants who are creative and curious intellectuals and who are passionate about the region.

Multidisciplinary Studies

Program
The only student-designed major at Penn State! Multidisciplinary Studies is a multi-disciplinary, theme-oriented, and student-designed Liberal Arts major leading to a bachelor of arts degree. Students can formulate a unique theme—a topic, idea, or issue you wish to explore. After thorough research and consultation with the Multidisciplinary Studies academic adviser, you can design a program of study that investigates that theme from the viewpoint of at least three different subject areas.
Department of

Philosophy

The Department of Philosophy offers both the bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degree as well as two minors—one in Philosophy and one in Ethics.
Philosophy graduate students receive an excellent education in socially relevant philosophies, as well as traditional history of philosophy. They have the option of pursuing dual-title degrees and minors in several fields.
Department of

Political Science

The Political Science department offers bachelor’s degrees in Political Science, International Politics, and Social Data Analytics as well as a minor program in Political Science. Students learn about the institutions, policies, and processes that govern people’s lives.
Political Science offers graduate programs in International Relations, Comparative Politics, American Politics, and Methodology as well as several dual degree Ph.D. programs. The program emphasizes rigorous training in research methods and statistical analysis.
Department of

Psychology

The Department of Psychology offers two programs leading to a bachelor’s degree. The bachelor of science degree has options for specific career interests, while the bachelor of arts degree represents a more typical degree in the Liberal Arts. 
Graduate programs are available in five areas of psychology: Clinical (Adult and Child focus), Developmental, Cognitive, Social, and Industrial/Organizational. Our training program emphasizes collaboration by requiring that students spend time in more than one research lab.
School of

Public Policy

Penn State undergraduates interested in policy advocacy, design and implementation have the opportunity to apply to the Penn State Master of Public Policy program up to a year early and complete the undergraduate degree and master’s degree together in a compressed time frame.
The core curriculum Public Policy graduate program combines substantive knowledge of the policy process and training in quantitative policy analysis with leadership development and the practical application of hands-on experience in the internship and capstone project.

Social Thought

Program
The Social Thought Program (STP) is a doctoral minor open to any doctoral student in the university. It requires adding 15 hours of coursework with affiliated STP faculty and a dissertation committee on which sits at least one STP faculty member.
Department of

Sociology and Criminology

The Department of Sociology and Criminology offers bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees in both Sociology and Criminology as well as a minor in Sociology.
The graduate program in Criminology provides training in theory, methods, statistics, and substantive issues related to crime and its control. The graduate program in Sociology offers a Ph.D. in Sociology as well as dual-title programs with Demography or Social Data Analytics.
Department of

Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese

The Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese offers bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and Italian as well as minor programs in all three languages.
The Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese offers M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Spanish, with specializations in Spanish Peninsular literature, Latin American literature and culture, and Hispanic linguistics.
Department of

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

The Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies offers bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees in Women’s Studies as well as minor programs in Women’s Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies. A certificate in Diversity Studies is also available.
WGSS graduate students can explore a variety of disciplines and work with faculty on research related to Global Feminisms, Critical Sexuality Studies, Reproductive Rights and Justice, Feminist/Care Ethics, Critical Security Studies, Black Feminist/Womanist Thought, and more.
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