Dean’s Message
As we celebrate our 220th anniversary, the University of Pittsburgh is keeping great company by building on its institution-wide strengths. In 2007, only nine universities produced both Rhodes and Marshall Scholars. It should come as no surprise that Pitt was one of those nine, and the only public university to claim this high honor. In fact, in the last 12 years, Pitt undergraduates have been awarded more than 40 prestigious scholarships and fellowships, in addition to eight Marshall and Rhodes.
The School of Arts and Sciences is key to Pitt’s excellence in undergraduate education. Nearly 70 percent of all undergraduate students on the Pittsburgh campus receive instruction from Arts and Sciences faculty. Twenty-three of our departments and programs offer courses supporting the University’s designated National Resource Centers, which provide outstanding international studies opportunities for our students. Arts and Sciences undergraduates received all 20 of the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Fellowships and 11 of the 12 Chancellor’s Undergraduate Teaching Fellowships for the fall 2007 term, which will enable the students to pursue original research in their chosen fields, and to work with faculty members to design and implement innovative teaching projects, respectively.
At home, Arts and Sciences students are involved in communities that surround our campus. Approximately 650 undergraduates participate in internships every year, earning academic credit while gaining valuable experience as interns in local, regional, and national organizations, agencies, and businesses. Through multiple internships, students connect their coursework to real-world situations, explore different fields of interest, and focus their academic learning toward post-graduation goals. Students find academic internship opportunities through the Arts and Sciences Office of Experiential Learning, as well as through academic departments.
In addition to strong disciplinary programs in the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences, Arts and Sciences offers learning opportunities inside and outside of the classroom as students participate in the three-fold mission of the University—research, teaching, and service. As early as the second term of their first year, students can participate in faculty-mentored research projects through the First Experiences in Research program. Students can choose to work on teaching-related assignments as peer leaders or tutors for courses that they have completed successfully, offering assistance to underclassmen through programs such as Experiences in Teaching. Students earn service-learning credit in a Public and Professional Writing course by volunteering for a local nonprofit organization. Opportunities to apply learning through service to local governmental agencies are also available through Urban Studies internships. The Leadership Certificate combines classroom and experiential learning. In this cross-disciplinary program, Arts and Sciences courses in quantitative reasoning, economic principles, oral and written communications, and social structures combine with practical experiences of leadership and community service to prepare future leaders.
Whatever path our students choose, we continuously strive to develop ways to assist them in their endeavors and to help them realize their dreams. And they continuously make us proud. If you have questions about Undergraduate Studies at the School of Arts and Sciences, please contact us at 412-624-6480 or undergraduate@as.pitt.edu.
Best wishes to all of our undergraduate students,
Juan J. Manfredi, PhD
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies
School of Arts and Sciences
