Dickinson College

Africana Studies

Africana Studies majors define and apply major concepts, ideologies, and theories relevant to Africana studies, such as African agency/subjectivity. Students evaluate issues relevant to the experiences of people of African descent, in Africa or in the Diaspora, through a form of cultural immersion. The major requires 11 courses and an Experiential Learning Component. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

American Studies

American Studies majors describe the interdisciplinary field of American studies, including both its history over the last century and its most compelling current questions, including questions of culture, politics, race, gender, sexuality, disability, and class. Students connect the three areas essential to the interdisciplinary project of American studies: history, representation, and structures and institutions. The major consists of 13 courses.

Anthropology

Anthropology majors describe human diversity with reference to language, human biology, archaeology, and culture, and identify the role of anthropology in the contemporary world. Students design and complete anthropological research projects in which they select and apply anthropological methods and theories. The major requires 11 courses, including the three introductory courses, a research methods course, and Senior Colloquium. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Archaeology

Archaeology majors contextualize the diversity of past human experiences through the comparative examination of material culture broadly defined, and assemble, analyze, and interpret archaeological evidence using appropriate archaeological methods. Students apply archaeological concepts and techniques through original research in a geographic, chronological, or methodological focus of their choosing. The major requires 12 courses plus practical experience.

Army ROTC Global Preparedness

Students who meet the stated requirements will receive notation on their transcript at graduation that they have completed a Global Preparedness Certificate. Requirements include all current requirements of the U.S. Army ROTC curriculum, study of a foreign language through the intermediate level, study at a non-U.S. Dickinson approved site for at least a semester, and completion of all requirements for the Security Studies Certificate.

Art & Art History

The Art & Art History major offers an Art History option and a Studio Art option, each consisting of 12 courses. Art history students demonstrate mastery over specific works, figures, styles, and periods in the history of the arts and accurately interpret images and objects in their contexts. Studio art students employ technical skills and material knowledge relevant to their chosen media and work across both 2-D and 3-D disciplines. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Ballet

Dickinson College's Ballet Certificate Program with Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet requires eight courses, including two core dance studies courses, two electives, and four semesters of full-credit studio practice at the advanced level or higher. An optional non-credit internship is available, and one semester of co-curricular performance is required.

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology majors apply and integrate the fundamental concepts of biology and chemistry to explain the key principles of and solve problems in biochemistry and molecular biology. Students perform and analyze experiments using modern chemical and biological techniques and communicate scientific concepts, experimental results, and current literature in the field. The program draws required coursework from biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics.

Biology

The biology major is designed to introduce students to concepts, knowledge, and experimental approaches that span the breadth of the field. Students describe basic processes and ideas from a range of biological sciences, apply laboratory, field, and/or computational methods, and design and execute biological research to address new questions. Nine biology courses are required, along with supporting coursework in chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, or geosciences.

Chemistry

Chemistry majors apply core ideas in chemistry to explain phenomena or solve problems, apply chemistry laboratory techniques and execute appropriate data analysis, and use appropriate communication skills to disseminate chemistry ideas. The major is offered with an option leading to American Chemical Society (ACS) certification, in which students also design and conduct experiments and analysis related to chemical research. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Chinese

Chinese majors identify a research topic of importance to the field of East Asian studies, formulate a research question to explore, and develop a compelling argument supported by clearly explained evidence, including the use of material in Chinese. Students communicate proficiently in Chinese at the ACTFL level of intermediate high in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The major combines required language courses, topics courses, and East Asian Studies capstone courses.

Classical Studies

Classical Studies majors describe essential knowledge of the classical world, including classical governmental systems, the rise and fall of ancient empires, Greek and Roman mythology, and classical literary genres. Students translate and analyze Latin and/or Greek texts in the original languages up to at least the upper-intermediate level. The major consists of ten courses, with Greek, Latin, or Classical Civilization emphases. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Computer Science

Computer Science majors solve technical problems by creating computer programs, applying algorithms, and implementing abstractions; contribute to large-scale and open source software projects; and appraise ethical decisions relating to social, legal and technical issues in computing. The major requires a minimum of 11 credits in computer science numbered 132 or higher. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Dance

The Dance major, offered in the Department of Theatre & Dance, consists of 11 credits including dance studies, composition, anatomy and movement, dance history, and four semesters of dance technique. Students identify, critically assess, and apply relevant scholarly methodologies to analyze dance, and deploy elements of movement to create original compositions. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Dance & Music

An inter-arts major offered in coordination with the members of the Department of Music and the Department of Theatre & Dance. This thirteen course major integrates studies in history, theory, and practice of the arts of dance and music, and includes a core curriculum plus two credits of dance technique. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Data Analytics

Data Analytics majors build a data analysis pipeline through collecting, compiling, curating, and managing data; analyze data using appropriate statistical, programming, and computational tools; evaluate ethical aspects of data collection and analysis; and communicate clearly about data-oriented questions with experts as well as the general public. The major requires 13 courses and an experiential component. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

East Asian Studies

East Asian Studies majors identify a research topic of importance to the field, analyze and critically evaluate scholarship, and communicate proficiently in the target language at the ACTFL level of intermediate low. Students discuss the fact that East Asia, China, and Japan are geographic, cultural, economic, political, and social areas characterized by both shared patterns and great diversity. The major consists of 13 courses. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Economics

Economics majors apply the core concepts and chains of reasoning underlying a variety of microeconomic and macroeconomic models to a range of economic phenomena and issues, and critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of contending explanations and competing theories. The major consists of 11 courses including core economics requirements, mathematics requirements, and three economics electives. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Educational Studies

Educational Studies majors analyze the ways in which varying historical, philosophical, and cultural contexts and student identity characteristics influence educational experiences, opportunities, and outcomes. Students critique educational policies and explain the interconnections between educational institutions and the political, economic, and social systems in which they are situated. The major consists of 10 courses. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

English

English majors articulate a cogent thesis statement about a literary work or other text, close read literary works attending to relationships between form and content, and interpret literary works while engaging with works of literary criticism and/or theory. The program starts with introductory 101 courses and centers on English 220, Introduction to Literary Studies. English majors take 11 courses, minimum. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Environmental Science

Environmental Science majors evaluate the interdisciplinary evidence, research capabilities, and skills relevant to a particular environmental problem, and analyze complex human environment systems and formulate appropriate responses, drawing in depth from the natural sciences. Students articulate the humanistic and ethical questions inherent to relationships with the environment and collaborate with environmental experts and diverse stakeholders. The major requires 14 courses.

Environmental Studies

Environmental Studies majors evaluate the interdisciplinary evidence, research capabilities, and skills relevant to a particular environmental problem, and analyze complex human environment systems and formulate appropriate responses, drawing in depth from the social sciences. Students articulate the humanistic and ethical questions inherent to relationships with the environment. The major requires 13 courses including an introductory core and a senior seminar.

Food Studies

Students who earn a food studies certificate describe change and continuity in food systems and food culture, analyze food systems and food culture from multiple disciplines and diverse perspectives across time and place, and articulate the challenges the world faces with respect to food. Certification requires FDST 201 and 401 plus four electives from at least three departments.

French and Francophone Studies

French & Francophone Studies majors communicate effectively in French using all four linguistic skills; read, discuss, and analyze a range of texts in French from different disciplines and media; and explain the complex history of the French empire and the development of the Francophone world. The major requires a minimum of 10 courses beyond FREN 102, including a research seminar. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Geosciences

Geosciences majors apply the scientific method to investigate questions, analyze data, and draw evidence-based conclusions about the Earth system, and demonstrate the spatial reasoning skills necessary to visualize, analyze, and interpret Earth-related data and processes. Students apply deep time perspectives to address contemporary geological and environmental issues. The major consists of 12 courses plus an integrative learning experience.

German

German majors comprehend and express ideas in formal and informal spoken and written German, articulate a range of differences between cultures of the German-speaking world and their own culture, and analyze a variety of German cultural artifacts including literature, film, art, and media. The major consists of 10 courses culminating in a senior seminar. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Health Studies

Students who successfully complete all of the requirements will be issued a certificate in health studies, which will be awarded upon graduation from the college and will be recorded on their transcript. The certificate requires HEST 201: Introduction to Health Studies, four other health studies designated courses taken in at least three academic departments, and a HEST field experience.

History

History majors locate essential historical information and assess and categorize various types of primary and secondary sources, formulate clear and plausible historical interpretations supported by evidence from multiple historical perspectives, and place their research in the broader context of historical place and period. The major requires 10 courses at Dickinson, including a three-course Methods Core. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

International Business & Management

International Business and Management majors describe the basic concepts and analytical methods from the core areas of international business and management, including economics, accounting, finance, marketing, organization and management, ethics, and business strategy. Students analyze business cases of companies in a global context and work effectively in a management team running a virtual company in a simulated, competitive global market.

International Studies

International Studies majors analyze complex global issues by synthesizing concepts and theories from economics, history, and political science, and design and conduct research that identifies a substantive issue, surveys relevant literature, and develops and supports an original argument.

Italian Studies

Italian Studies majors demonstrate advanced proficiency in spoken and written Italian, identify and interpret significant concepts of the history, society, culture, and art of Italy, and select and apply proper methodological approaches to the analysis of Italian cultural productions within their national and/or transnational contexts. The major consists of 10 courses in language in context, core requirements, and electives. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Japanese

Japanese majors identify a research topic of importance to the field of East Asian studies and develop a compelling argument supported by clearly explained evidence, including the use of material in Japanese. Students communicate proficiently in Japanese at the ACTFL level of intermediate high in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The major combines required language courses, topics courses, and East Asian Studies capstone courses.

Judaic Studies

Judaic Studies majors analyze the complexity of Jewish societies and cultures over the ages and geographic spaces, including the U.S., Europe, modern Israel and the broader Middle East, and analyze diverse worldviews and value systems of the Jewish religion and its interactions with other religions. Students develop proficiency in modern Hebrew or another approved Jewish language and execute a discipline-specific research project. The major consists of 11 courses.

Latin American, Latinx and Caribbean Studies

Latin American, Latinx, & Caribbean Studies majors demonstrate the complexities and diversity of Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean peoples, cultures, and histories, and evaluate key issues and debates in the field from various disciplinary perspectives, including cultural studies, political science, history, and anthropology. Students execute a research project that dialogues with and contributes to existing literature. The major consists of 11 courses.

Law, Justice, and Society

Law, Justice, and Society majors describe significant concepts and theories in both American public law and comparative law/law and society and the difference between law as a professional practice and law as a topic of liberal arts inquiry. Students explain how factors such as ethnicity, class, demography, region, gender, sexuality and religion impact legal, political, and social life.

Law & Policy

The Law & Policy major consists of 12 courses plus a transcript notation internship, including required coursework in American government, microeconomics, economic analysis of policy, the judiciary, constitutional law, and a senior seminar. Note: effective fall 2026, the Law & Policy major will be replaced by Law, Justice, and Society. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Managing Complex Disasters

Dickinson College grants the Master of Arts in Managing Complex Disasters in addition to its undergraduate Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees.

Mathematics

Mathematics majors employ discrete and continuous methods to solve problems requiring a breadth of knowledge of core mathematics concepts, implement a variety of logical techniques to construct or assess the validity of a mathematical argument, and communicate mathematics clearly and accurately both orally and in writing. The major consists of 11 courses. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Medieval & Early Modern Studies

Medieval & Early Modern Studies offers a multidisciplinary approach to European cultures and civilizations from late antiquity (ca. 500) to the beginning of the Enlightenment (ca. 1750). The major incorporates materials and methodologies from the fields of English, history, art, music, philosophy, religion, classical studies and foreign language, and students have considerable flexibility in the design and focus of their courses of study. The major consists of 11 courses.

Middle East Studies

Middle East Studies majors describe the Middle East and North Africa from varied disciplinary perspectives, analyze differences between the United States and the diverse societies of the region, and communicate effectively in Arabic or Modern Hebrew using all four linguistic skills to at least the intermediate standard. The major consists of 12 courses, including two years of Arabic or modern Hebrew. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Music

Music majors develop and articulate coherent interpretations of the outcomes of musical thought and activity through the disciplinary lenses of performance and/or theoretical, cultural, and historical analysis, and demonstrate skills of critical listening to musical practices, sound worlds, experiences, and scholarship. The major core includes music theory and history courses, applied study, a 300-level seminar, a capstone, and four semesters of ensemble.

Neuroscience

Neuroscience majors describe foundational neuroscience concepts, including molecular and cellular, systems, and behavioral subfields, and design, conduct, interpret, and evaluate neuroscience research. Students locate and use relevant databases and clearly communicate neuroscience in written and oral formats to other scientists and the public. Required coursework spans biology, chemistry, physics, psychology, and neuroscience. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Philosophy

Philosophy majors identify and evaluate arguments to determine their validity, soundness, strength, and other logical features, and describe and analyze major developments in philosophical ideas from the ancient period through the modern period. Students articulate the scope and central questions of the major areas of philosophy and defend in writing their own view on a substantive philosophical question. The major requires 10 courses. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Physics

Physics majors design and perform scientific experiments in physics and evaluate the data in graphical form, describe significant concepts and theories in the fundamental areas of physics including mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, relativity, and quantum mechanics, and analyze, interpret, and communicate results from advanced physics topics in written form.

Political Science

Political Science majors describe significant concepts and theories in each of the four main subfields of political science: American government, comparative politics, international relations, and political philosophy. Students analyze how various methodological approaches influence the design and interpretation of political science research findings and formulate clear oral and written arguments. The major requires 10 courses. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Psychology

Psychology majors describe key concepts, principles, ethical standards, and theories in psychological science; design, conduct, interpret, and evaluate psychological research; use statistics to evaluate quantitative psychological research findings; and write with clarity and purpose using APA style. The major consists of 11 courses. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Quantitative Economics

Quantitative Economics majors apply the core concepts and chains of reasoning underlying a variety of microeconomic, macroeconomic, and econometric models through theoretical and quantitative methods to a range of economic phenomena and issues. Students critically assess and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the assumptions underlying various models and explain economic theories, including mathematical and empirical models, verbally and in written form.

Religion

The religion major provides students with a foundation in the study of religious traditions and in the analysis of the complex roles religion has played and continues to play in world cultures. Students interpret the culturally-specific symbols, ideas, and practices that shape religious traditions within their contextual times and places and develop literacy in the variety of theoretical approaches that define the field of Religious Studies. The major consists of 10 courses.

Russian

Russian majors apprehend and analyze artistic, cultural, and/or literary texts, both in English and in the Russian original, and evaluate their study of the Russian language, Russia, and Russian-speaking cultures in artistic, cultural, historical, literary, and/or geopolitical contexts. Students conduct a research project using authentic sources that engages their Russian-language and cultural skills. The major consists of 11 courses. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Security Studies

Seven courses are required to complete the security studies certificate, and at least three of the courses must be courses that do not count toward the student's major. Requirements include two core courses in international relations and American national security policy, four electives drawn from a minimum of two departments, and a senior capstone seminar.

Sociology

Sociology majors describe key sociological concepts and apply them to a broad range of social contexts, compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative methods in sociological contexts, and describe sociological theories and apply them to research questions using appropriate methods. Students analyze sociological data and communicate findings effectively in both oral and written forms. The major consists of 11 courses. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Spanish and Portuguese Studies

The Spanish & Portuguese Studies major offers concentrations built on advanced language study and the analysis of the cultures of the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world. Majors are allowed no more than two courses in the department taught in English, and any course taken outside the department must relate to the Spanish- and/or Portuguese-speaking world and be approved by the academic advisor. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Theatre Arts

The Theatre Arts major consists of 11 credits, with an eight-credit core and pre-approved clusters for Acting and Directing or Design and Technology emphases. Students practice collaborative skills in various theatrical contexts, analyze dramaturgy, history and context and apply them to the creation of performance, and describe creative and historical approaches to theater production. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).

Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies majors analyze how evolving gender and sexuality norms intersect with shifting racial, ethnic, classed, and geopolitical systems of power and marginalization, and articulate how queer activism and feminisms operate as social movements, analytical frames, and political identities. Students conduct intersectional research that applies interdisciplinary methods. The major consists of 10 courses. The degree requires 32 courses (not semester credit hours).