• Study

Carnegie Mellon University follows a distinct approach to undergraduate education that combines professional training with a firm grounding in the arts and sciences. Through your coursework in the arts and sciences, you will broaden your knowledge and learn to draw connections between disciplines.

Arts and sciences courses include mandatory courses in areas such as chemistry, English, math and physics. You can also choose from elective courses in a wide variety of disciplines, including Arabic studies, history, philosophy, psychology and writing.

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Academic Areas

Courses in the arts and sciences cover a wide range of disciplines for students to explore their interests and career options.

Arabic studies

Arabic Studies courses enhance Arabic language skills, prepare students for their future workplaces, and help shape analytical and critical thinking. Readings in historical texts provide students with knowledge about their history and how it extends to the present time. Literature courses enable students to draw parallels between the past and present.

Chemistry

Chemistry introduces the relationships between the structure of molecules and their chemical properties and behavior. The subject matter includes principles of atomic structure, chemical bonding, intermolecular interactions and molecular structures of organic and inorganic compounds. Lab courses emphasize the techniques of quantitative chemical analysis.

English, writing and rhetoric

Courses in English, writing and rhetoric help develop verbal reasoning and precision in the use of English. Courses cover a wide range of topics to help students develop their skills in close reading, critical thinking, argumentation and written communication.

French

French courses emphasize the development of communicative language proficiency and cultural competence through the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students also learn appropriate grammar structures, vocabulary, and discourse strategies that are necessary for communication.

 

History

History teaches students to better understand our collective human autobiography, to draw connections between past events and current concerns, and to think critically about how knowledge is created, interpreted and controlled.

Information literacy and research skills

Students who study information literacy and research skills learn to find and select their own reading materials and resources, and to critically evaluate all sorts of information sources for bias. They learn to effectively navigate and manipulate information systems like library catalogs, social media, Google, and research databases, and to take control of these resources rather than being controlled by them.

Mathematics

Mathematics lays the foundation for computational and computer science and provides much of the language and quantitative underpinnings of the natural and social sciences, as well as the development of the most commonly used tools in business management. Mathematics courses at Carnegie Mellon Qatar include calculus, integration and approximation, matrices and linear transformations, multivariate analysis, basic logic, algebraic structures, combinatorics, models and methods for optimization, and graph theory.

Philosophy

Philosophy courses at the Qatar campus focus primarily on the study of ethics, both as a theoretical field and in applications to areas such as artificial intelligence, social justice, the environment, and business.

Physics

Courses include physics for biological sciences students, general physics for all disciplines and an introduction to astronomy.

Psychology

Courses include Introduction to Psychology, Social, Cognitive, Health and Sleep Psychology, as well as Face Perception, Research Methods (Social or Cognitive concentration), and Cognitive Neuropsychology.

Spanish

Spanish courses emphasize the development of communicative language proficiency and cultural competence through the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students also learn appropriate grammar structures, vocabulary, and discourse strategies that are necessary for communication.

As an elective, learning Spanish broadens the students’ undergraduate academic experience. It allows students to experience language and culture learning in a dynamic environment which deepens their creative and critical thinking.

Statistics

In statistics courses students learn how to collect, analyze, and interpret data, as well as how to present their results. Students learn sampling techniques, various descriptive statistics, exploring probability and probability distributions.

Meet the Faculty

Jocelyn Belanger

Jocelyn Belanger

Associate Teaching Professor, Psychology
Jennifer Bruder

Jennifer Bruder

Associate Dean, Research
Associate Teaching Professor, Psychology
Crista Crittenden

Crista Crittenden

Instructor of Psychology
Hasan Demirkoparan

Hasan Demirkoparan

Area Co-Head, Arts and Sciences
Teaching Professor, Mathematics
Cristian Dimitriu

Cristian Dimitriu

Visiting Associate Professor, Philosophy, Arts and Sciences
Kira Dreher

Kira Dreher

Associate Dean, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB)
Assistant Teaching Professor, English
Layan El Hajj

Layan El Hajj

Associate Teaching Professor, Mathematics
Pia Gomez Laich

Pia Gomez Laich

Assistant Teaching Professor, English
Erik Helin

Erik Helin

Special Lecturer, Spanish
Niraj Khare

Niraj Khare

Associate Teaching Professor, Mathematics
Thomas Mitchell

Thomas Mitchell

Associate Teaching Professor, English
Deepa Nair

Deepa Nair

Assistant Teaching Professor, History
Lama Nassif

Lama Nassif

Associate Teaching Professor, Arabic Studies
Marion Oliver

Marion Oliver

Teaching Professor, Mathematics
Taeyong Park

Taeyong Park

Assistant Teaching Professor, Statistics
Silvia Pessoa

Silvia Pessoa

Area Co-Head, Arts & Sciences
Teaching Professor, English
Benjamin James Reilly

Benjamin James Reilly

Teaching Professor, History
Dudley Reynolds

Dudley Reynolds

Senior Associate Dean, Education
Full Teaching Professor, English
Jeffrey Squires

Jeffrey Squires

Assistant Teaching Professor, English
Anthony Weston

Anthony Weston

Associate Teaching Professor of Mathematics, Arts and Sciences
Zelealem Yilma

Zelealem Yilma

Associate Teaching Professor, Mathematics
Mohamed Zayed

Mohamed Zayed

Associate Teaching Professor, Physics