 | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Established | 1861[1] |
Parent institution | University of Washington |
| Dean | Dianne Harris |
Academic staff | 925 FTE |
| Students | 21,913 |
| Location | , , U.S. 47°39′14″N 122°18′28″W / 47.65389°N 122.30778°W |
| Website | artsci |
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) is the liberal arts and sciences unit of the University of Washington. In autumn 2022, the CAS offered more than 5,400 courses and had an enrollment of 21,913 students, making it the largest division of the university.[2]
The College of Arts and Sciences is considered to have been established in 1861, when the University itself was founded. However, the College was technically incorporated when the Territorial Legislature enacted ‘An Act to Incorporate the University to the Territory of Washington’. Section 9 of the Act stipulated that the university have four departments: literature, science and the arts; law; medicine; and a military department.[3] However, only literature, science and music were available according to territorial newspaper advertisements announcing the opening of the university placed by the Rev. Daniel Bagley in September 1861.[4]
The Arts Division includes all of the university's arts units, including the Henry Art Gallery, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, and Meany Center for the Performing Arts. It includes the following departments:[5]
Gabriel Solis serves as the dean of the Arts Division.
The Humanities Division includes the following departments:[6]
Brian Reed serves as the dean of the Humanities Division.
The Social Sciences Division includes the following departments:[7]
Andrea Woody serves as the dean of the Social Sciences Division.
The Natural Sciences Division includes the following departments:[8]
Daniel Pollack serves as the dean of the Natural Sciences Division.
The College contains more than 30 centers and institutes, including the Center for Labor Studies, Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, Institute for Nuclear Theory, and Simpson Center for the Humanities.
