College of Arts & Sciences

The Program for Writing and Rhetoric (PWR) is a free-standing unit in the College of Arts and Sciences responsible for campus-wide instruction in expository writing. The program coordinates and oversees all writing curricula and instruction intended to meet college and campus requirements, including efforts in specific disciplines and targeted campus programs.

The interdisciplinary women and gender studies undergraduate major and minor offer students a rigorous but flexible program of study that examines women, gender, and sexuality in relation to race, class, national identity, and ability. Students explore the ways that gender and sexuality work in diverse communities and in different cultural and historical contexts.

The Center for Western Civilization (CWC) offers an undergraduate certificate program, Foundations of Western Civilization, for students interested in a rigorous grounding in Western culture. The certificate promotes critical reflection and academic research on the traditions and issues that characterize Western civilization through the study of Western culture, science, and government in their ancient, medieval, and modern forms. It helps students understand their role as citizens in a nation founded on the ancient ideals of consensual rule and republican government.  

The Center of the American West offers an undergraduate certificate program in Western American Studies for students who have an intellectual commitment to any of a broad range of issues and aspects of the American West, including history and literature, culture and society, and economic and environmental challenges facing western communities. Courses involve students in an exploration of the past, an appreciation for traditional and contemporary stories and art in the region, and an understanding of western landscapes, ecosystems, and the factors that affect them.