University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences


The College of Arts and Sciences is the liberal arts and sciences unit of the University of Washington. In autumn 2017, the CAS offered more than 5,887 different courses and had an enrollment of 21,025 students, making it the largest division of the university.

History

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. 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.

Divisions

Arts

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:
Catherine Cole serves as the dean of the Arts Division.

Humanities

The Humanities Division includes the following departments:
Michael Shapiro serves as the dean of the Humanities Division.

Social Sciences

The Social Sciences Division includes the following departments:
George Lovell serves as the dean of the Social Sciences Division.

Natural Sciences

The Natural Sciences Division includes the following departments:
Suzanne Hawley serves as the dean of the Natural Sciences Division.

Centers and institutes

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.