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Since it was established back in 1945, the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Texas has held a central position at the institution.
While providing strong academic support for the more specialized colleges,
the college has built strong programs of its own through high quality teaching,
scholarship,
and creative activities.
It is the largest and most comprehensive of the University's colleges and schools,
with nearly 1/3 of the university's total student population.
The quality of its students is exemplified by the fact that more than half of the students
in the Honors College are majoring in College of Arts and Sciences disciplines.
“The Academic Heart of the University,” the college comprises 18 academic departments in the humanities,
social sciences, and natural sciences, as well as in communication and performance fields.
It houses more than 30 additional academically oriented centers, institutes, programs,
and offices, including Air Force and Army detachments.
Among the newest of the college’s academic units are the Department of Linguistics and Technical Communication,
the Center for Spanish Language Media,
the Center for the Study of Interdisciplinary,
and the Center for Computational Epidemiology and Response Analysis.
In addition, of course, to the majors and degrees it offers,
the college provides foundation courses for students campus wide.
Nearly one half of the semester credit hours at UNT are generated by the college’s courses.
UNT is a student-centered public research university
and the College of Arts and Sciences is home to many prominent research programs.
For example, the Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies
is the leading department in the world in its specialty,
environmental philosophy and ethics. In the physical sciences,
UNT is renowned for work in computational chemistry and particle accelerator physics.
The Department of Radio, Television, and Film includes one of the nation's leading programs in film and digital production
with particular strength in documentary film-making.
The Department of History is known for its strength in the area of military history
and arguably has the world’s strongest set of specialists in Texas history.
More than a dozen faculty members in the Department of Political Science
are doing important research in the area of peace studies.
And in the spirit of student-centeredness,
opportunities for hands-on research and scholarship in the college are widely available to qualified undergraduates,
as well as to graduate students.
Bio/Nano Photonics
Developmental Physiology and Genetics
Materials Modeling
Signaling Mechanisms in Plants
Sub-Antarctic Ecosystems and Biocultural Conservation
Existing excellence in these five research areas,
as well as two based in other colleges,
has resulted in special funding to hire a number of new senior faculty members
through UNT’s $25 million research cluster initiative.
The resulting research teams are certain to propel UNT to the forefront in these areas,
as they make important advancements in medical diagnosis and treatment,
sustainability and agricultural productivity, and the development of new materials.
Recent collaborations with other UNT colleges include
the Teach North Texas Program with the College of Education
the new Institute for the Advancement of the Arts with the College of Music
and the College of Visual Arts and Design,
and the recently approved Immigrant Research and Policy Center with the College of Business.
The faculty of the college apply their expertise in the community,
around the state, and beyond. For example:
Water researchers work with municipalities and state agencies on issues related to water quality and water policy;
the Center for Economic Education supports the teaching of economics in schools throughout Texas
as well as in several foreign countries;
linguists are working to document and preserve a number of threatened world languages
and the Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology and Human Identification
helps law enforcement agencies across the country identify human remains
Closely aligned with its outreach activities,
the college connects with the community through “in-reach" at various facilities.
These include the Elm Fork Education Center and the Sky Theater in the Environmental Sciences Building
facilities that serve the needs of thousands of public school students every year.
“Star Parties” offer monthly opportunities for the public to view and learn about the heavens
using telescopes at the university’s Rafes Urban Astronomy Center.
The UNT Psychology Clinic offers professional therapy, psychological testing,
and referral services to the community at large in their Terrill Hall facilities.
The public is invited to attend frequent performances by the faculty and students in the Department of Dance and Theatre
and the Department of Communication Studies
readings by students, faculty, and invited guests of the Creative Writing Program
and films and lectures offered by various units around the college.
College facilities continue to expand, with the 2010 completion of the new Life Sciences Complex,
which adds 87,000 square feet of new high-tech lab and office space for the Department of Biological Sciences.
The new structure joins other modern buildings,
including the General Academic Building,
the Science Research Building, the Environmental Science Building,
and the Chemistry Building, in support of the college’s mission.
The College of Arts and Sciences is broadening its international involvements
along with the rest of the university through the development of numerous new study abroad programs
as well as major collaborations with universities in other countries.
Faculty in the college lead approximately half of the university’s study abroad programs
and are involved in research across the globe.
The Master of Arts degree in linguistics with a concentration in English as a Second Language
is now available as a joint program for students from UNT
and the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico in Toluca.
And major new opportunities are being explored in Asia,
including China, South Korea, and Southeast Asia,
in Israel, and in Latin America, including Costa Rica.
Expert rankings in U.S. News & World Report put UNT among the top national universities
that are “leading the pack” in innovative changes in areas ranging from academics and faculty to students and facilities.
The College of Arts and Sciences will continue to play a key role as UNT realizes its goal
of becoming one of the nation’s top research universities.