Exploring the Departments and Programs of the UTK College of Arts and Sciences

Introduction

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) began its journey as a liberal arts institution. While there was a period where liberal education was somewhat overshadowed, it persevered and ultimately flourished, officially becoming a college in 1904. Today, the College of Arts and Sciences stands as a testament to the enduring value of a broad-based education, encompassing a diverse range of academic disciplines and interdisciplinary programs.

The core principles of a liberal education are central to the college's mission. These include fostering intellectual tolerance, encouraging a lifelong pursuit of knowledge, and nurturing responsible and creative minds. These qualities empower individuals to reason effectively, communicate clearly, embrace new knowledge, and navigate the complexities of human experience. Faculty research and creative endeavors form the bedrock upon which education in the College of Arts and Sciences is built.

A Wide Array of Disciplines and Programs

The College of Arts and Sciences is home to a wide array of academic disciplines and interdisciplinary programs. The departments, schools, and special programs housed within the college stretch across several broad divisions: the arts and humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences.

The Value of a Liberal Education

The liberally educated individual is characterized not so much by specific subject matter knowledge as by the habits of mind that are cultivated during a liberal education. A liberally educated person is thus one who is able to reason and communicate effectively, who values lifelong learning, and who can confront the uncertainties of human experience.

A liberal education provides a strong foundation for research, scholarship, and teaching in a student’s chosen academic discipline. It also provides an invaluable educational background for a student who enters business, industry, the professions, or government or public service. The faculty of the college are committed to cultivating the habits of mind of liberal education in all of the students they teach: both those students who are pursuing concentrated study in a field within the college and those students who enroll in the academic courses offered by the college to complete University-wide general education requirements.

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General education serves as the underpinning of liberal education, both by providing students with opportunities to master basic learning skills and by acquainting students with the “ways of knowing” that characterize diverse academic disciplines. Students who pursue focused studies in the College of Arts and Sciences will join a community of teacher-scholars dedicated to the generation, transmission, and preservation of knowledge in the many fields that constitute the college. The faculty of the college maintain robust agendas of research, scholarship, and creative activity in their chosen fields, and they encourage undergraduate students to join them as partners in research and creative activity. The great universities of the world are so labeled because their faculties have earned the reputation of being renowned scholars. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has earned such a reputation because of the quality of the research and creative activity of its faculty.

Interdisciplinary Programs

The College of Arts and Sciences offers a series of interdisciplinary undergraduate majors and minors through its interdisciplinary programs. Certain courses within these programs are available for graduate credit as listed below.

Arts and Sciences Advising Services

Mission

The mission of Arts and Sciences Advising Services is to guide our diverse undergraduate population in developing and implementing sound educational plans that are consistent with their values and their academic and career goals. Our purpose is to encourage students to become self-directed learners and decision-makers. Further, we serve as a resource to faculty and support their work with undergraduate students within the college. Finally, our efforts support the University of Tennessee’s broader mission, specifically by encouraging student persistence towards graduation.

Academic Advising Requirements

Prior to enrolling for the first time at the university, all degree-seeking first-year students and transfer students are required to meet with an academic advisor. Readmitted students must also meet with an academic advisor prior to reenrolling. The following groups of students are required to meet with an advisor during each tracking semester (fall and spring):

All students with fewer than 30 hours at UT Knoxville.
Students following exploratory tracks.
Students identified as “off track” by uTrack.
Students on Academic Probation.

All other students are required to consult with an advisor for a substantial conference during a designated semester each year.

Programs of Study

The college offers students a wide variety of undergraduate degree programs. These programs have been designed both to help students achieve specific educational and vocational objectives and to provide students with a broad-based liberal education that will prepare them to be engaged global citizens. The college also offers a small number of three-year pre-professional curricula that prepare students for advanced study in a specific profession. Detailed information about these pre-professional curricula can be found by consulting the Pre-Professional Programs major description and by contacting Arts and Sciences Advising Services.

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

Students earning the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees have achieved both broad knowledge of the arts and sciences and a comprehensive understanding of one or more focused areas of special interest.

Bachelor of Arts in College Scholars

The College Scholars program is a college-wide honors program that serves a limited number of especially qualified and motivated students. College Scholars have additional freedom to design an individualized undergraduate curriculum that meets particular academic interests and goals. Students must apply for admission to the College Scholars program.

VolsTeach Program

This 4-year program permits students to complete a major in mathematics or science while also receiving secondary education teaching licensure through completion of a VolsTeach minor. Students taking one of the health sciences or pre-law curricula proceed directly to specialized training in the chosen area after the third year of Arts and Sciences study. These students complete the first year of professional study in lieu of satisfying the requirements for a traditional major in the college.

Bachelor of Science in Chemistry

See Department of Chemistry. The official notification of readmission from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions will provide additional details regarding academic advising.

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Requirements for Degrees

To earn a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree, these requirements must be completed.

All university degree requirements as described in the section Academic Policies and Procedures - General Requirements for a Bachelor’s Degree.
A minimum of 120 credit hours.
At least 42 credit hours in courses numbered 300 or above.
Appropriate work to satisfy the Foundations, Perspectives, and Connections requirements. (These three requirements do not apply to students in the College Scholars Program.)
Completion of any required coursework designed to prepare students for their chosen major(s). This work may be described as “preparation for” or “prerequisites to” or “corequisites to” the major(s) chosen by a student.
Completion of at least one major consisting of 30 to 48 credit hours at 200-level or above. Courses used for the major may also be used to satisfy Foundations, Perspectives, and Connections requirements as described below.
Students may choose to complete one or more minors. A minor in the college consists of 15 or more hours at the 200-level or above.
Students may take up to 20 hours of courses graded Satisfactory/No Credit subject to the regulations described below.

Satisfactory/No Credit Courses

A few courses in the college are offered only on a Satisfactory/No Credit (S/NC) basis. Students may elect to take other courses on this basis, except where the S/NC option is specifically prohibited. Courses taken on the S/NC basis, if successfully completed, will count as hours for graduation although neither S nor NC grades will be calculated in a student’s grade point average. Satisfactory is defined as C or better work on the traditional grading scale and No Credit is defined as less than C. The option of taking courses on an S/NC basis is provided to encourage the curious and able student to explore subject matter in fields where the student’s performance may be somewhat less outstanding than work in the student’s primary field.

Note: Students planning to seek admission to graduate or professional schools (especially in the health sciences) should discuss with their advisors possible limitations on exercise of the S/NC option before registering for courses on this basis. The following regulations apply to S/NC coursework:

Except for courses offered only on the S/NC basis, courses taken under the S/NC option may not be applied towards Foundations, Perspectives, or Connections requirements, towards major and minor requirements, or towards major or minor preparatory work, prerequisites, or corequisites unless specifically permitted by petition.
The maximum number of S/NC elective hours which may be counted toward graduation is 20, exclusive of courses that are offered only on the S/NC basis, physical education courses, and/or satisfactory hours earned by examination, military service, etc.
A transfer student with S/NC or equivalent credit earned prior to admission to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in a course which satisfies a Foundations, Perspectives, or Connections requirement may count it for that purpose. Transfer students who want to apply S/NC or equivalent credit to a major or minor requirement, or to major or minor preparatory work, prerequisites, or corequisites, must receive permission to do so by petition.

College-wide Requirements for B.A. and B.S. Students

To receive a B.A. or B.S. degree from the College of Arts and Sciences, students must satisfy the Foundations, Perspectives, Engaged Inquiries, and Connections requirements as well as the requirements for a major in the college. The requirements are described in detail below. The following rules govern students’ ability to apply courses to more than one College of Arts and Sciences degree requirement:

Except as otherwise noted, no course may be applied to both the Perspectives requirement and the Connections requirement.
No course may be used to satisfy two different components of the Perspectives requirement.
If a student satisfies the Connections requirement by completing a 9-credit Connections Package, one course that applies to the Connections Package may also be applied to the student’s major requirements.
Foundations courses may be applied to Perspectives, Engaged Inquiries, Connections, and the major.

College-wide Requirements: Foundations

All students who earn a degree in the College of Arts and Sciences must complete the Foundations requirement established by the college. Satisfying the Foundations requirement demonstrates that a student can communicate effectively in English, both orally and in writing, and that a student can use the tools of quantitative analysis. The Foundations coursework requirements consist of four parts: (1) first year English composition; (2) one additional course designated as a Volunteer Core Written Communication (WC) course; (3) one course designated as a Volunteer Core Oral Communication (OC) course; and (4) one course designated as a Volunteer Core Applied Oral Communication (AOC) course; and (5) two courses that provide foundational instruction in quantitative reasoning. The specific course requirements are as follows.

First Year English Composition

Completing the University’s first year English composition requirement equips students with the skills needed to write persuasive, logical and coherent essays in English; teaches students to read critically and to evaluate and cite sources in research; and helps students understand how to write effectively for different audiences and purposes. Students may satisfy this requirement in one of two ways.

By completing 6 hours in English writing courses according to one of the following 3 sequences:
- ENGL 101* and ENGL 102*
- ENGL 101* and ENGL 298* (for 1794 Scholars Program, Chancellor’s Honors Program, Haslam Scholars Program, or Honors Leadership Program students)
- ENGL 131* and ENGL 132*. Placement in ENGL 131* or ENGL 132* will be determined by TOEFL (or equivalent standardized test) scores.
By earning credit for ENGL 101* through a College Board Advanced Placement Test and completing one additional course from the following: ENGL 102*, ENGL 112*, or ENGL 298*. Eligibility for ENGL 112*, and ENGL 298* will be determined by a combination of AP and ACT or SAT scores.

Written Communication

To further develop the writing skills that are foundational to advanced work in the College of Arts and Sciences, all students pursuing a degree from the college must, after satisfying the first year English composition requirement, complete one additional course designated as a Volunteer Core Written Communication (WC) course. This additional course may also be applied to either the Perspectives or Connections requirement of the college and may be used to satisfy major requirements.

Oral Communication

The ability to communicate one’s ideas orally is as important as the ability to express them in writing, and oral communication skills are foundational to advanced work in the College of Arts and Sciences. All students pursuing a degree from the college must therefore complete one course designated as a Volunteer Core Oral Communication (OC) course.

Applied Oral Communication

Effectively communicating ideas within a particular discipline or profession is a fundamental skill that all students should acquire and demonstrate. Applied Oral Communication (AOC) courses will expand upon OC course skills to promote understanding of and engagement with targeted audiences and stakeholders in a variety of communication contexts, such as: interpersonal, small group, and team communication; nonverbal and cross-cultural communication; communication of discipline-specific or professional information both within and outside the discipline or profession; conversational communication in formal and informal settings; and active listening. All students pursuing a degree from the college must therefore complete one course designated as a Volunteer Core Applied Oral Communication (AOC) course. Students may satisfy the AOC requirement by completing any course from the approved AOC.

Quantitative Reasoning

All students pursuing a degree from the College of Arts and Sciences must demonstrate the ability to use quantitative, statistical, and logical methods to build arguments and support opinions and actions. Students may meet this college requirement either by completing two courses from the Volunteer Core Quantitative Reasoning list of mathematics, statistics, and data science courses, or by completing one course from the list of mathematics, statistics, and data sciences courses and one additional course designated as a Volunteer Core Quantitative Reasoning (QR) course. The QR course can be count towards the students major, other requirements, or be an elective.

College-wide Requirements: Perspectives

All students who earn a degree from the College of Arts and Sciences must complete the Perspectives requirement established by the college. The Perspectives requirement is designed to introduce students to the modes of inquiry and discourse that characterize various academic disciplines and to the ways in which hypotheses are constructed and evaluated. In completing the Perspectives requirement, students also gain an informed appreciation for the diverse natures of the world’s cultures.

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