Additional Programs at the University
The University of Richmond offers 108 majors, minors and concentrations in three undergraduate schools, but it is first and foremost a liberal arts and sciences institution. This means that whatever your major—the field you choose to study most deeply—you will also gain the breadth of knowledge that characterizes the interrelated academic disciplines of the fine arts, the humanities, the social sciences and the natural and physical sciences—known as the liberal arts. This breadth of knowledge includes skill in writing, critical thinking and analysis, which will be important to any future career you may choose. All students at Richmond complete a general education program, which ensures that they have been broadly educated in this way.
As a first-year student, you will complete the yearlong Core Course designed to stretch the limits of your thinking. Taught by faculty members from various academic areas, the course presents different perspectives on the meaning of life through the examination of challenging texts. You'll also attend out-of-classroom activities that illuminate the classroom discussion. Like the Core Course, the Richmond Quest will add breadth to your education through courses, University-wide events and special projects, all of which encourage you to think about coherence among diverse topics. Every two years, Richmond's faculty, staff and students focus on a broad question of academic and cultural importance. The current Quest topic is "What Moves Us?"
Experiential learning is a central part of the Richmond academic experience. The opportunities are numerous and varied. Internships place you in the workplace where you'll put into action what you've learned in the classroom and bring back to the classroom what you learn about the workplace. Undergraduate research will tap the depths of your intellectual curiosity and will give you a new perspective on the process of learning as you shape the questions to be examined, collect and analyze the data and report your findings. Study abroad will place you in a new culture where you'll develop a global perspective, cross-cultural understanding and a new level of self-reliance. Service learning combines academics with community service. You earn academic credit for work on community service projects that require the skills and knowledge you're learning in class.
Richmond offers other special programs as well that don't necessarily fit the category of majors but are outstanding programs nonetheless. This is the place to learn more about:
- Pre-medical (health professions) preparation
- Dual degree engineering programs
- Language Across the Curriculum
- Creative Writing program
- Military Science/Army ROTC
- Honors Law Admission program
Related links:
List of majors
Choosing a major
Some students have difficulty selecting a major. Richmond's Career Development Center is one of the resources that can help.