Luther College

Accounting

The accounting major prepares students for career opportunities in public accounting, corporate finance, manufacturing, government service, health care, nonprofit organizations, and more. Students are encouraged to design their Luther College curriculum to support future professional credentialing.

Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of human societies and cultures across space and time. In the spirit of the North American tradition, the program draws upon a four-field approach that includes cultural anthropology, archaeology, biological anthropology, and linguistic anthropology.

Art

The Art major at Luther College encourages art making in the context of a liberal arts community. It is designed to build and sustain life-long pursuits of creative problem solving, individual expression, and aesthetic appreciation across Foundations, Studio Core, Art History, and Studio Synthesis.

Biology

Biology is the scientific study of living systems, ranging from the structure of biomolecules to the interactions of species with their environment. Courses are taught from an evolutionary perspective, which explains both the unity and diversity of life.

Chemistry

The program of instruction offered by the chemistry department is approved by the American Chemical Society Committee on Professional Training. Students may pursue Plan 1, Plan 2 (ACS Certified), or Plan 3 (Biochemistry Emphasis).

Communication Studies

Communication provides individuals, groups, and communities the opportunities to navigate relationships, impact culture, and participate in democratic self-governance. The department specializes in the areas of relational studies, media studies, and rhetorical studies.

Computer Science

The computer science major at Luther is designed to provide each student with the academic base needed to keep abreast of the changing world of computing. Both theory and practice are taught to allow students to successfully join computer professionals already working in the field.

Data Science

Data science is the study of how we extract meaning from data. It is unique in that it combines techniques and theories from many fields including mathematics, computer science, probability and statistics, machine learning, pattern recognition, communication studies, art, and ethics.

Economics

Students will develop a broad knowledge of economic theory and methods. Courses emphasize critical reasoning, problem-solving, and analytical skills, culminating in an individual research project.

Elementary Education

The Luther College Teacher Education Program prepares students to be eligible for K-6 elementary licensure in the state of Iowa. Completers of the program are eligible for a license to teach and may also be eligible for a preliminary license in most other states.

Engineering Science

The student majoring in Engineering Science will gain a solid background in our current understanding of the physical universe and in the principles of engineering design. Students learn and experience first hand how understanding evolves through the interplay between theory and experiment.

English

The English major instills a passion for reading widely, for sharing ideas, and for writing modulated to every occasion. Reading and responding to a range of genres, students gain valuable skills such as critical and creative thinking, problem-solving, and clear communication.

Environmental Studies

The interdisciplinary major in environmental studies provides students with fundamental resources for understanding the complex and dynamic relations between humans and the natural world. Students integrate perspectives from the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities, and complete a senior project as a capstone.

Exercise Science

The Exercise Science major prepares students for careers ranging from the clinical healthcare setting to human performance. Two tracks are offered: Allied Health Sciences and Strength & Conditioning.

French

The French major requires thirty-two hours starting at the 200-level or above, including speaking, writing, cultural production, and intercultural understanding courses, plus a credit-bearing language immersion experience and an oral proficiency examination.

German

The German major requires 32 hours, including 8 hours in German above 300, a credit-bearing language immersion experience, and an oral proficiency examination in German.

Global Health

Global health is an interdisciplinary field that draws on public health, clinical medicine, anthropology, political economy, sociology, history and more. The curriculum provides students with a common core and the opportunity to pursue depth in a related area through one of four tracks.

History

The objectives of the history program derive from an understanding of the discipline of history as defined by the American Historical Association. Students investigate the past through questions applicable across time and place, developing skills for careers in teaching and a broad spectrum of occupations.

Identity Studies

Identity Studies is an interdisciplinary academic program devoted to the critical analyses of identities and embodied knowing. It offers courses that investigate the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and the body as they are created, experienced, and used to delineate systems of power and domination.

International Studies

The international studies program develops international and intercultural awareness and understanding through interdisciplinary coursework. Majors specialize in understanding how various methods of inquiry and fields of disciplinary knowledge combine to address issues in the international arena.

Law & Values

Law & Values is an interdisciplinary major that draws on the fields of philosophy, law, politics, and economics to provide students the tools to understand the complex set of institutions that shape societies. It prepares students for law school, graduate programs in public policy, and leadership roles in law, business, politics, civil service, and the nonprofit sector.

Management

The management major courses emphasize the knowledge, skills and values applicable to profit and nonprofit organizations. Students are encouraged to design their academic plan and discover professional opportunities.

Marketing

The marketing major provides students with the ability to understand consumer behavior, analyze market trends, and develop creative strategies to address real-world challenges.

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of patterns and relationships between variable quantities. Mathematical functions are used to model natural phenomena and social behavior, and logic is used to prove new theorems from accepted axioms.

Mathematics/Statistics

Statistics is the science of reasoning from uncertain empirical data. The mathematics/statistics major provides adequate preparation to attend graduate school in statistics or to pursue a career such as actuary, data scientist, or statistical analyst.

Music

The music major core includes music theory, music history/ethnomusicology, and applied music study in the student's primary performance area. Music majors also complete ensemble participation, music event attendance, piano proficiency, and a recital requirement.

Music Education

The Music Education major prepares students for K-12 music teaching licensure in Iowa. Required coursework includes Music Correlatives, Education Correlatives, a Professional Core, a vocal or instrumental focus, and completion of the Luther College Teacher Education Program.

Neuroscience

Neuroscience is the interdisciplinary study of how the nervous system functions, from the cellular level to more complex features such as movement, perception, behavior, emotion, desires and memory. The foundational components are provided through courses in biology and psychology centered on neuronal function.

Nordic Studies

The Nordic Studies major requires 32 hours including NORST 101, 102, two 200-level language courses, plus 16 additional credits in approved courses, and a credit-bearing language immersion experience.

Nursing

Luther's nursing program, with its longstanding connection to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, has a very strong reputation. Nursing courses in the senior year are taken off campus in Rochester, MN, and admission to the major is competitive.

Physics

The student majoring in physics will gain a solid background in our current understanding of the physical universe. Students learn and experience first hand how understanding evolves through the interplay between theory and experiment, with access to instructional laboratory spaces, a planetarium, and an astronomical observatory.

Political Science

The political science program studies political phenomena at various levels: individual, group, local, national, international, and global. Ultimately it seeks to develop in students the capacity to understand, question, and evaluate political phenomena in multiple contexts. Plan I requires thirty-two hours in the department.

Psychology

Psychology is the science that studies behavior and mental processes. The course of study gives the student not only knowledge of behavior and mental processes, but also an understanding of how this knowledge is scientifically acquired and applied.

Religion

Studying religion at Luther College equips students to be global citizens in a diverse and changing world. The academic study of religion helps students become competent in religious literacy and provides analytical tools for understanding how religion creates, maintains, and challenges social, political, and economic structures and institutions.

Social Work

The social work major prepares undergraduate students for beginning level generalist social work practice while a secondary objective is to prepare students for graduate (MSW) study. The program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education at the baccalaureate level.

Sociology

Sociologists study human behavior in groups, the interactions among people and the patterned structure of relationships that result. Criminal and deviant behavior, racism, inequality, gender, the environment, and social movements are among the social structures studied.

Spanish

The Spanish major requires eight courses (32 hours) starting at SPAN 201 or above, including at least four courses (16 hours) above 300, and a language immersion experience.

Theatre

Theatre training expands the capabilities of the human body and imagination, developing capacities for persistence, invention, and communication. Theatre majors pursue graduate and professional studies, certification, and employment in acting, design, directing, performance, and performance art.

Visual Communication

Visual Communication at Luther College is an interdisciplinary program comprised of faculty in Visual and Performing Arts, Communication Studies, Computer Science, Data Science, Management, and English. The major provides students with a theoretical and practical framework necessary to create, understand, and critically engage media.