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Updated: October 2022

Arts & Letters

Overview

Established in 1842, the year Notre Dame was founded, Arts & Letters is the University's oldest and largest college. It is home to 20 departments and more than a dozen research centers and institutes spanning three divisions: the humanities, arts, and social sciences. 

The College plays an integral role in Notre Dame's mission to serve as the world's preeminent Catholic research university. Over the past two decades, the number of Arts & Letters faculty who have received major national fellowships in their disciplines places Notre Dame among the Top 5 private research universities in the nation. Our faculty has also had record success with the National Endowment for the Humanities—earning more than any other university in the country since 1999.

Our faculty are both leading scholars and dedicated teachers. An Arts & Letters education—at the graduate and undergraduate level—is grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition, inspiring students to ask bigger questions, seek a greater purpose, embrace diversity, and use their education to serve the common good. 

Mission

The College of Arts and Letters is a community of scholars and learners seeking truth and understanding through research, teaching, and creative work. Inspired by Notre Dame’s Catholic identity, we aim to advance knowledge in the liberal arts, foster individual formation, and contribute to the flourishing of local, national, and global communities.

Vision

The College of Arts and Letters aspires to be a global leader in scholarship and in the public sphere. In our research and teaching, we take an integrated approach, addressing meaningful questions across academic disciplines. We are committed to providing a distinctive graduate and undergraduate educational experience within a diverse and inclusive community united in a shared sense of purpose.

News

    The college’s aspiration is to expand its preeminent academic programs, building on the distinctive foundation of Notre Dame’s Catholic, liberal arts heritage.

    2021 Senior Reflections - The College of Arts and Letters

    Find Your Passion. Create Knowledge. Serve the Common Good. Prepare for Life.

    Goals

    The Priority Plan for the College of Arts and Letters outlines six primary goals, all of which build on the distinctive foundation of Notre Dame’s Catholic, liberal arts heritage:

    1. Increase the impact of faculty scholarship across fields and disciplines.

    A man sits at a desk, looking at charts on his computer monitor.

    Objectives

    1. Enhance support of faculty development.
    2. Increase the research excellence of the faculty.
    3. Raise the public visibility of our scholarship and creative work.
    4. Enhance the connections between our research and our commitments to serving the public good.

    2. Raise the quality and reputation of our graduate degree programs, making the College a preferred destination for graduate study.

    Graduate students and a professor look at rare books in the library.

    Objectives

    1. Increase resources for graduate education.
    2. Improve student recruitment.
    3. Improve the graduate student experience in the College.
    4. Increase the research excellence of our graduate students.
    5. Strengthen student placements.

    3. Innovate our undergraduate Catholic liberal arts education to meet the changing needs of students and society.

    A class gathers outside, reading books. A professor stands before them.

    Objectives

    1. Sustain the College’s role in delivering an excellent and distinctive Catholic liberal arts education.
    2. Foster a culture of innovative program development attuned to current and future curricular needs of students.
    3. Develop research and experiential learning opportunities that match students’ evolving interests in core liberal arts disciplines.

    4. Diversify our community and create a culture of inclusiveness among our students, staff, and faculty.

    A masked professor teaches a class.
    1. Increase hiring of, and support for, diverse faculty and staff.
    2. Attract a diverse student body to the College’s majors and programs.
    3. Expand academic programs and programming that enhance/promote a culture of inclusiveness.

    5. Expand global research and education to advance the College as an international leader in scholarship.

    Students gather inside a museum studying paintings in Rome.

    Objectives

    1. Increase international collaborations.
    2. Expand College presence and opportunities at the Global Gateways.
    3. Increase international career and networking opportunities.
    4. Increase engagement with international students.

    6. Promote scholarship and pedagogy that address meaningful questions & large themes requiring cross-disciplinary collaboration.

    A girl sits at a computer with a technological headpiece on her head, being adjusted by a professor.

    Objectives

    1. Identify meaningful questions that the College is well-positioned to address.
    2. Develop policies and mechanisms for research collaboration.
    3. Create and promote collaborative programming and teaching opportunities.

    Learn more about the College of Arts and Letters by visiting al.nd.edu.