Arts and Sciences

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 English, math and physics. Students also take classes in a wide variety of disciplines such as history and philosophy as electives, or to fulfill general education requirements within their degree program. At CMU-Q, you can pursue a minor in many of the arts and sciences academic areas.

Learn more about minors at CMU-Q

Academic Areas

Courses in the arts and sciences cover a wide range of disciplines for students to explore their interests and career options. Students can pursue a minor in many of these areas, and many opt for in-depth research in one of these fields.

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.

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, oral and written communication, and English in a professional context.

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 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

Psychology courses provide students with foundational knowledge about the psychological theories and questions that characterize the field. Courses cover a wide range of topics, including cognitive psychology, cognitive science, social psychology, and developmental psychology. Students learn to apply the scientific method to the study of human behavior, and gain expertise in active research areas in the discipline.

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

Andrew Bassford .

Assistant Teaching Professor, Philosophy

Arts and Sciences

Academic Areas

Meet the Faculty

Arts and Sciences in the News