College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Contact Information
• Overview
• Academic Policies
• Degree Requirements
• Majors
• Minors
• ALCs

Overview

Established: 1910

Academic Divisions: The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has 20 departments and 29 centers and institutes.

Degrees: Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in 34 majors, including a number of fields within Interdisciplinary Studies. Refer to chart below. The college also offers combined-degree (bachelor's-master's) programs in botany, computer science, criminology and law, French, geography, geology, history, linguistics, mathematics, physics, political science, religion, Russian, sociology, Spanish, statistics and women's studies.

Majors Offered by the College. Students can explore majors within CLAS and career options associated with those majors.

Minors Offered by the College

Academic Advising: Department advisers assist students with their major requirements and options within the major. The Academic Advising Center helps CLAS students understand college and university degree requirements and regulations and the critical-tracking requirements for the first five terms. The Office of Health and Legal Professions Advising provides guidance to all UF students interested in health professions and law upon completion of an undergraduate degree.

Scholarships: For additional information regarding the numerous scholarships offered by CLAS, visit 2014 Turlington Hall. The Honors Office also has scholarship information.

Computer Requirement: General requirements and CLAS requirements.

Internships: Students should consult their major department regarding internship credit. Additional information is available in 2014 Turlington Hall, 352-392-6800. The Honors Program, 343 Infirmary, 1 Fletcher Drive, provides information on receiving credit for internships not in the major as well as internship programs at the Washington Center in Washington, D.C. and other sites.

Career Guidance: Student who need to explore majors and careers can find resources on the college's Explore our Majors page and the Academic Advising Center's. Additionally, students are strongly encouraged to utilize the Career Resource Center for career and major exploration as well as other career-related needs.

Student Organizations: CLASSC, the college's Student Council, and Phi Beta Kappa are among the organizations CLAS students may become involved in.

Special Academic Recognition

Dean's List and President's Honor Roll

Anderson Scholars: Each fall at a convocation ceremony, the college honors outstanding juniors as Anderson Scholars. These students receive certificates of distinction, high distinction or highest distinction based on maintaining a 3.90, 3.95 or 4.0 overall UF grade point average respectively during their first two years at UF with a minimum 12-hour course load each semester, no drops or withdrawals, and at least 60 hours completed toward an undergraduate degree at UF. Anderson Scholars are named in honor of James N. Anderson, the first dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (1910-1930).

Honors: The college offers a variety of opportunities for independent and seminar honors work to undergraduates who demonstrate appropriate qualifications. Superior students should take initiative in planning undergraduate and graduate programs. They should consult the honors coordinator in their department about requirements for the baccalaureate degree cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude. Postbaccalaureate students are not eligible to receive honors recognition.

Please refer to the catalog's honors information for each CLAS major.

Special Support Services

Pre-Health and Pre-Law: Students interested in attending professional school (medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine or law) after completing the bachelor’s degree are encouraged to seek advising from the Office of Health and Legal Professions Advising. OHLPA offers workshops and individual advising to guide pre-health and pre-law students; refer to those websites for more information.

Research Experience

In most departments, students can conduct research under the direction of a faculty member. Consult a department adviser for information about faculty research areas or search the honor's program's research database. In addition, students in CLAS are eligible to apply for the University Scholars Program. Teamed with faculty mentors, University Scholars identify a topic, initiate research during the summer and continue investigation throughout the following academic year. Students chosen as University Scholars receive a $2,000 stipend.

Teacher Preparation - Professional Training Options

A PTO is an alternative certification program, meant to prepare students for temporary teacher certification in Florida. Professional teacher certification is attainable with passing scores on relevant teacher certification exams, a clear criminal history background report and one year of successful teaching in a Florida public school. Please review state certification information.

There are three PTO programs at UF: UFTeach minor in mathematics teaching, UFTeach minor in science teaching and the Florida Teaching Minor.

The UFTeach minor in mathematics teaching, available to students pursuing a major in mathematics, is meant to prepare students to be middle school and high school mathematics teachers in Florida. The UFTeach minor in science teaching, available to students pursuing a major in a science discipline, is meant to prepare students to be middle school general science teachers and high school biology, chemistry, earth/space science or physics teachers. There is a critical shortage of qualified high school mathematics and science teachers in Florida. Students interested in this high-demand profession should see the adviser in their major or the UFTeach adviser for more information.

The Florida Teaching Minor is available to non-mathematics and non-science students (ideally pursuing a major that would build competence in the subject the student wants to teach). It can lead to certification in a variety of subject areas and grade levels. Students interested in pursuing the minor should visit the College of Education Office of Student Services in G416 Norman Hall.

Study Abroad

Students in the college are encouraged to participate in study-abroad programs administered by the UF International Center. Scholarships are available. Study-abroad programs may satisfy certain requirements, such as general education, CLAS distribution, foreign language, summer term enrollment and UF residency. Some study-abroad courses may also count towards a student's major.

CLAS has many programs overseas for undergraduates for a semester, a summer or an academic year that may provide a wide range of academic and cultural experiences. For more information, contact the UF International Center, 170 Hub, 352-392-5323.

Center for Written and Oral Communication

The William and Grace Dial Center for Written and Oral Communication offers courses focusing on the communications skills students need for their majors and future careers. Students interested in business, education, law, medicine and other fields can develop oral communication skills essential to success in their professions. The center also offers a minor in communication studies, comprised of courses in public speaking, interpersonal communication and a variety of upper-division courses that focus on different communication contexts.

Typically in their junior and senior years, students can improve their writing skills in Professional Writing in the Discipline. Individual sections focus on writing in specific disciplines (anthropology, communication science and disorders, engineering, law, neurobiological sciences, physical sciences, political science, sociology, etc.). The more general professional communication sections of the course cover a broad range of fields. These courses address the form, content and style of professional and academic writing. Depending on the discipline, students may prepare proposals, scientific research reports, lab reports, professional correspondence, legal briefs and memoranda, analytical essays, applications to graduate programs, applications for employment and oral presentations of research.