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disciplinary perspectives. Still
others will combine disciplinary study with community
service or activism, constructively and reflectively
connecting the theoretical with the actual.
Free Electives
Free electives provide students
with the freedom to explore new fields of knowledge, to
take additional work in the field of their special
interest or to study further with a particular
instructor. Above all, they provide the breadth
associated with a liberal education, just as the major
program provides depth.
The Major
A major program offers the
student an opportunity to explore in depth the
methodology and goals of a given field. It provides a
focus for the student’s intellectual interests,
and it may well constitute a building block for a
career or for entry into graduate or professional
school. Great care should be taken in choosing a major.
Students are strongly advised to seek the help of their
academic advisors and of individual faculty members in
making this choice. Most major programs consist of
major courses and major-related courses. The latter are
courses taken in other departments or programs that
have a bearing on the major in question and count as
major courses.
Major specialization is offered
by departments of instruction or by interdepartmental
committees in the following fields:
African Studies
Africana Studies
Anthropology
Architecture
Biochemistry
Biological Basis of Behavior
Biology
Biophysics
Chemistry
Cinema Studies
Classical Studies
Cognitive Science
Communication
Comparative Literature
East Asian Area Studies
East Asian Languages and
Civilizations
Economics
English
Environmental Studies
Fine Arts
French Studies
Geology
Germanic Languages and
Literatures
Health and Societies
Hispanic Studies
History
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History of Art
Individualized Major
International Relations
Italian Studies
Jewish Studies
Latin American and Latino Studies
Linguistics
Logic, Information and
Computation
Mathematics
Music
Near Eastern Languages and
Civilizations
Philosophy
Humanistic Philosophy
Philosophy and Science
Philosophy, Politics and
Economics
Physics and Astronomy
Political Science
Psychology
Religious Studies
Romance Languages
Science, Technology and Society
Slavic Languages and Literatures
Sociology
South Asia Studies
Theatre Arts
Urban Studies
Visual Studies
Women’s Studies
Further information about College
majors can be found in “Programs of Study,”
beginning on page 19 of this publication.
Academic Advising
College students need to choose
courses, declare a major and define career goals. They
will need to examine their performance in different
courses, identify their skills and those they wish to
develop and decide what really matters to them. Much of
this assessment they will do themselves, but faculty
members, College advisors, career counselors and peers
can help.
Each incoming student is assigned
a pre-major advisor who is a member of either the
School of Arts and Sciences faculty or the professional
staff. This advisor works with the student throughout
his or her first two years at Penn to assist in
planning courses each semester and in planning the
overall program.
When a student has declared a
major, he or she will be assigned an advisor from that
department but is also encouraged to keep in contact
with the assigned pre-major advisor and/or an assistant
dean.
Students will benefit most from
advising if they are active and informed participants
in the process and learn to take an ever-increasing
level of
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