Dean: Dr. Michael B. Wells

The College of Arts and Sciences is the custodian of the liberal arts core curriculum. This General College Curriculum (GCC) is the integrated, interdisciplinary education, which is the hallmark of the liberal arts. It is of medieval European origin; traditionally at the completion of the two-year post-secondary period, European colleges awarded the baccalaureate, which signified the recipient’s entry into educated society; students then went to university for the study of the law, medicine, or theology. The tradition was imported to America, where the concept of “major” or specialized study was added as the traditional curriculum evolved from its European roots. In colonial America, all elementary, middle, and secondary education was conducted under the auspices of the Christian church. In the nineteenth century, population growth and the process of secularization of society stimulated the initiation and rapid expansion of public education to insure the continuation of a literate culture, the fundamental basis of democratic government. At the beginning of the twentieth century, only twenty% of college students were in land-grant colleges and public universities; the rest were in private, often church-related colleges and schools. By the end of the twentieth century, the proportions were reversed, with only twenty% of college students in private or church-related schools. The College of Arts and Sciences of Campbell University continues to celebrate its heritage and founding as a church-related school.

The central thread in the history of the University is the development of the College and its curriculum. Founded in 1887 as an academy, the institution has experienced no interruption in the work of its faculty. Until 1925, it was Buie’s Creek Academy; from then until 1963, it was a well-respected junior college. Beginning with the class of 1963, Campbell College became a four-year senior institution; then, with the graduation of the first class from the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, Campbell became a university. Thus, the College of Arts and Sciences evolved as the successor undergraduate College within the larger body of the University. Its graduates span the globe, serving in a wide variety of fields and callings. The mission of the University is derived from that of the College; succinctly stated, it is to educate and encourage its students to think, live, and serve others in a forthright, Christian way. The success of this College as an exemplar of excellence in education in a Christian community in a secularized society is a credit to the vision of its founder, Rev. J. A. Campbell, and to the achievements of his successors.

Majors, Minors, and Pre-Professional Programs

Each Campbell University student is required to declare a major by the beginning of the junior year, and has the option to select a minor field of study. Pre-professional programs include: pre-law, pre-pharmacy, pre-physician assistant, pre-physical therapy, pre-medical, pre-dental, and pre-veterinarian. Class sizes vary from eighty in science lectures to twenty-four in science labs to thirty-five in humanities lectures to twenty-five in freshman English to less than fifteen in senior humanities seminars.

Faculty of the College

Along with its students, the College’s greatest asset is its faculty. Some of the senior members have served the school for four decades; they impart not only academic knowledge, but also wisdom to their students and institutional memory to their colleagues. Over 80% of the faculty have the highest available degree in their teaching discipline.

Programs

Major

• •  Biomedical Humanities, B.S. (CIP 24.0103)
• •  Biomedical Humanities, Pre-Law Track, B.S. (CIP 24.0103/22.0001)
• •  Biomedical Humanities, Pre-Medical Track, B.S. (CIP 24.0103/51.1102)
• •  Health Science, B.H.S. (CIP 51.9999)

Minor

• •  General Science Minor
• •  Medieval and Renaissance Studies Minor