College of Letters and Science

Office of Undergraduate Education and Advising
Room 200, Social Sciences and Humanities Building
(530) 752-0392; http://www.ls.ucdavis.edu

Major programs in the College of Letters and Science provide students systematic exposure to the key principles, methods, findings and representations of a selected area of study. In pursuing a major, students gain intellectual depth and competency in that subject matter, explore important linkages with collateral fields of inquiry and are encouraged to engage in independent study.

The academic programs offered through the college are grouped in three divisions: Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies; Mathematical and Physical Sciences; and Social Sciences. One collegewide degree program, the individual major, also is available.

The Undergraduate Programs

Division of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies

These majors focus centrally on the artifacts, expressions and concerns of humankind in various cultures and times. They provide students the opportunity to explore the creation, performance and analysis of works of art, the language and customs of non-English speaking societies, the theory and criticism of literature, and the peoples and cultures of this nation and its hemisphere. Students interested in studying these types of issues may select from more than 20 different majors.

Majors:
African American and African Studies, A.B.
American Studies, A.B.
Art History, A.B.
Art Studio, A.B.
Asian American Studies, A.B.
Chicana/Chicano Studies, A.B.
Chinese, A.B.
Classical Civilization, A.B.
Comparative Literature, A.B.
Design, A.B.
Dramatic Art, A.B.
English, A.B.
Film Studies, A.B.
French, A.B.
German, A.B.
Italian, A.B.
Japanese, A.B.
Medieval and Early Modern Studies, A.B.
Music, A.B.
Native American Studies, A.B.
Nature and Culture, A.B.
Religious Studies, A.B.
Russian, A.B.
Spanish, A.B.
Technocultural Studies, A.B.
Women’s Studies, A.B.

Minors:
African American and African Studies
American Studies
Art History
Art Studio
Asian American Studies
Chicana/Chicano Studies
Chinese
Classical Civilization
Comparative Literature
Dramatic Art
English
Film Studies
French
German
Global and International Studies
Greek
Italian
Japanese
Latin
Medieval and Early Modern Studies
Music
Native American Studies
Nature and Culture
Religious Studies
Russian
Sexuality Studies
Social and Ethnic Relations
Spanish
Women’s Studies

Division of Mathematical and Physical Sciences

These majors focus primarily on the description and interpretation of the structure, processes and events of the physical universe. They provide students the opportunity to explore in depth the structure, properties and reactions of substances; fundamental mathematical techniques and models and their application to the interpretation and explanation of phenomena; studies of matter and energy and their interconversions; the nature and development of computer languages; and earth and environmental processes. Students interested in studying these types of subjects may select from ten different majors. The division strongly encourages undergraduates to enroll in undergraduate research projects with one-on-one instruction by faculty scholar/researchers.

Majors:
Applied Mathematics, B.S.
Applied Physics, B.S.
Chemistry, A.B., B.S.
Computer Science, B.S.
Geology, A.B., B.S.
Mathematical and Scientific Computation, B.S.
Mathematics, A.B., B.S.
Natural Sciences, B.S.
Physics, A.B., B.S.
Statistics, A.B., B.S.

Minors:
Chemistry
Computer Science
Environmental Geology
Geology
Geophysics
Mathematics
Physics
Statistics

Division of Social Sciences

These majors focus largely on issues and problems that characterize social, cultural, political and economic life across human societies. They provide students the opportunity to explore the relationships between people and the groups and organizations of which they are a part, the antecedents of individual behavior, the development of political and economic systems, the social forces that have shaped the contemporary world and the foundations of language, thought, knowledge and perception. Students interested in studying these types of issues may select from more than a dozen different majors.

Majors:
Anthropology, A.B., B.S.
Communication, A.B.
East Asian Studies, A.B.
Economics, A.B.
History, A.B.
International Relations, A.B.
Linguistics, A.B.
Philosophy, A.B.
Political Science, A.B.
Political Science–Public Service, A.B.
Psychology, A.B., B.S.
Science and Technology Studies, A.B.
Sociology, A.B.
Sociology–Organizational Studies, A.B.

Minors:
Anthropology
Communication
East Asian Studies
Economics
History
History and Philosophy of Science
Jewish Studies
Latin American and Hemispheric Studies
Linguistics
Middle East/South Asia Studies
Philosophy
Political Science
Psychology
Sociology
War-Peace Studies

Collegewide Program

Students whose academic interests cannot be satisfactorily met through the completion of an established major have the opportunity to develop an individual major. Individual majors may reflect the most recent trends in scholarship and research and are typically interdisciplinary in nature. The major proposal is developed in close and active consultation with two faculty advisers from the academic disciplines most closely related to the subject matter of the individual major. Careful faculty guidance and review assure that individual majors are comparable in academic rigor and intellectual coherence to those regularly available through the departments and programs of the college.

Major:
Individual Major, A.B., B.S.