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Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

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Coordinates: 40°26′39″N 79°57′26″W / 40.4443°N 79.9572°W / 40.4443; -79.9572
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"Dietrich School" redirects here. For the college at Carnegie Mellon University, see Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Kenneth P. Dietrich
School of Arts and Sciences
TypeCollege of Arts and Sciences
Established1787 (1787)
Parent institution
University of Pittsburgh
DeanKathleen M. Blee
Academic staff
1,012
Undergraduates10,328
Postgraduates1,511
Websitewww.as.pitt.edu

The Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences (Dietrich School or School of Arts and Sciences) is one of the 17 schools and colleges of University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A direct descendant of the 1787-chartered Pittsburgh Academy, and the oldest part of the university,[1]: 501  the school serves as "the liberal arts core" of the university;[2] some 30 departments and programs provide instruction in natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences to all students at the Pittsburgh campus in Oakland. The school is the largest graduate school in the Pittsburgh area.

History

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The Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh, the primary home of the School of Arts and Sciences. In September 2011, a large banner was hung from the Cathedral's 16th to 5th floor announcing the name change for the school.[3]

Founded by Hugh Henry Brackenridge as the Pittsburgh Academy and chartered in 1787,[4] the School of Arts and Sciences may have originally grown out of a school that was active before the charter was granted,[1]: 26 [5] perhaps as early as 1770.[6][7] Thus the SAS began its life as a preparatory school, presumably in a log cabin, in what is now downtown Pittsburgh, which was then on the frontier of the United States. The school was established on the principles of teaching the rudiments of the "sacred six" of the Scottish universities, as Brackenridge was himself Scottish.[1]: 27  Within a short period, more advanced education in the area was needed, so in 1819 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amended the school's 1787 charter to confer university status. The school took the name the Western University of Pennsylvania.[8]

By the 1830s, the school faced severe financial pressure to abandon its traditional liberal education in favor of the state legislature's desire for it to provide more vocational training. The decision to remain committed to liberal education nearly ended the university, but it persevered despite its abandonment by the city and state.[9] Similar pressure to abandon the liberal arts focus of the school occurred again between 1902 and 1908 when industrial development in the region was attracting more students to technical trades. Financial pressure mounted to abandon the traditional liberal arts curriculum and focus on more vocational training, but petitions from students, alumni, faculty and some trustees kept the original mission intact.[1]: 503–505 

Out of the school, which by then was often referred to as "the College", came the genesis for some of the university's other schools, such as the School of Engineering and School of Law. Both continued to require the traditional classical studies for a bachelor's degree, but they began to formally separate around the time when the university moved to its new location in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, when it also changed its name to the University of Pittsburgh in 1908.[1]: 503–505  With the formal separation from the school of engineering, the school became known as the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Several of the school's departments, like mathematics and chemistry, have an unbroken line of professors from the Pittsburgh Academy.[1]: 517  Courses such as astronomy, chemistry, English, mathematics, modern languages, and classics, are essentially descended from the academy and resemble the course listings of the day.[1]: 512 

In the summer of 2006, the School of Arts and Sciences began to oversee the administration of the University’s College of General Studies,[10][11] expanding the community of Arts and Sciences learners to include nontraditional students. On September 22, 2011, it was announced that an alumnus of the school's Department of Political Science, William S. Dietrich II, had donated $125 million to the university, the largest ever donation to the university up until that time, and that the university would rename the School of Arts and Sciences to honor his father, Kenneth.[12][13] Since August 2017, Kathleen H. Blee has served as the school's Bettye J. and Ralph E. Bailey Dean since August 2017.[14] A search committee is currently identifying a successor for Blee's planned return to the faculty in June 2023.[15] The position is named after a couple that donated $3 million to the school in November 2007 using profits from high-ranking positions with Consol Energy, Conoco, and Fuel Tech, as Bettye had graduated from Pitt's College of General Studies with a BA in 1984.[16]

Academics

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Entrance to Clapp Hall, part of the Clapp/Langley/Crawford Complex that houses the school's Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Neuroscience

The School of Arts and Sciences graduate programs offer MA, MS, MFA, and PhD programs in 34 concentrations, as well as a wide range of interdisciplinary programs.[17]

Undergraduate majors

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*also available as a minor

Undergraduate certificate programs

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The Nicholas Lochoff Cloister of the Frick Fine Arts Building, home to the school's Department of Studio Arts and Architectural Studies Program

Certificate programs allow students to complete a concentrated area of study in addition to their major. Certificates typically require 18-24 credits, are noted the student's transcript upon graduation.

Certificates can also be obtained from the University Center for International Studies.

[18]

Graduate departments and programs

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Wesley W. Posvar Hall

Graduate certificate-granting programs

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[19]

Rankings

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Many of the programs offered within the School of Arts and Sciences are considered among the best in the nation. For instance, the Department of Philosophy,[20] is considered one of the top five in the United States,[21] and the Department of History and Philosophy of Science,[22] consistently ranked at the top of the field.[23][24][25]

Commons Room in the Cathedral of Learning

Other rankings, including those by the National Research Council and U.S. News & World Report, include the following programs among the best in the nation:[26][27][28]

*National Research Council[29]
^ US News & World Report America's Best Graduate Programs[29]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Starrett, Agnes Lynch (1937). Through one hundred and fifty years: the University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. hdl:2027/uc1.$b297208. OCLC 63800683. Retrieved April 1, 2020 – via Documenting Pitt.
  2. ^ "About Us". Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences. University of Pittsburgh. April 1, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  3. ^ Harvith, John (2011-10-10). "Pitt Alumnus, Trustee, and Former Board Chair William S. Dietrich II, Who Gave the University the Single-Largest Gift in Its History, Dies". Pitt Chronicle. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
  4. ^ The Story of Pitt Archived February 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Early Schools". Pittsburgh School Bulletin. Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh Teachers Association, Inc.: 25 May 1928. Retrieved 2009-12-22.
  6. ^ Holland, William Jacob (1893). First Alumni Year Book: Our University. Pittsburgh, PA: Alumni Association of the Western University of Pennsylvania. p. 36. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
  7. ^ Annual catalog of the Western University of Pennsylvania, Year Ending 1905. Western University of Pennsylvania. 1905. p. 27. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
  8. ^ "The Celebration of the One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Anniversary: History of the University". University of Pittsburgh Bulletin. 8 (21): 4–5. 1912-11-01. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  9. ^ Alberts, Robert C. (1987). Pitt: The Story of the University of Pittsburgh 1787–1987. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 17. ISBN 0-8229-1150-7.
  10. ^ Highlights from CGS history, University Times, 2008-10-23, accessdate=2008-10-23 Archived June 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ University of Pittsburgh Fact Book 2008, pg. 5 Archived July 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Begos, Kevin (2011-09-22). "University Of Pittsburgh Gets $125 Million Pledge". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  13. ^ Chute, Eleanor; Schackner, Bill (2011-09-23). "Pitt to receive $125 million gift". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  14. ^ "Bettye J. and Ralph E. Bailey Dean Kathleen Blee". www.thebigdig.pitt.edu. 2020-09-02. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  15. ^ "Kathleen Blee is stepping down as dean of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences". University of Pittsburgh. June 2022. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  16. ^ www.news.pitt.edu https://www.news.pitt.edu/news/pitt-announces-3-million-gift-establish-bettye-j-and-ralph-e-bailey-deanship-its-school-arts-an. Retrieved 2022-03-19. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ^ School of Arts and Sciences Graduate Studies, University of Pittsburgh, accessdate=2009-04-02 Archived October 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ School of Arts and Sciences: Majors, Minors, and Certificates, University of Pittsburgh, accessdate=2009-04-02 Archived April 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ Arts and Sciences Graduate Studies - Departments & Programs, University of Pittsburgh, accessdate=2009-04-02 Archived March 24, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ Pitt Philosophy Archived April 18, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ The Philosophical Gourmet Report, date=Match 2009
  22. ^ Department of History and Philosophy of Science Archived May 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ "Internet Archive: The Philosophical Gourmet Report 2004–2006: Philosophy of the Sciences and Mathematics". 2008. Archived from the original on 2002-11-07. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  24. ^ "The Philosophical Gourmet Report 2006–2008:Breakdown:Philosophy of Science". 2008. Archived from the original on 2012-09-09. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  25. ^ Graduate Programs in History and Philosophy of Science
  26. ^ Hart, Peter (2009-04-30). "U.S. News ranks graduate programs". University Times. Archived from the original on 2010-06-16. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
  27. ^ Hart, Peter (2007-04-05). "U.S. News ranks graduate programs". University Times. Archived from the original on 2012-02-16. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
  28. ^ "Best Graduate Schools". U.S. News & World Report. 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
  29. ^ a b "NRC Rankings in Each of 41 Areas". Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States: Continuity and Change. National Research Council. 1995. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
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40°26′39″N 79°57′26″W / 40.4443°N 79.9572°W / 40.4443; -79.9572

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