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Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

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"Dietrich School" redirects here. For the college at Carnegie Mellon University, seeDietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

TheKenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences(Dietrich SchoolorSchool of Arts and Sciences) is one of the 17 schools and colleges ofUniversity of PittsburghinPittsburgh, Pennsylvania.A direct descendant of the 1787-chartered Pittsburgh Academy, and the oldest part of the university,[1]: 501 the school serves as "theliberal artscore "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 inOakland.The school is the largest graduate school in the Pittsburgh area.

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

History

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TheCathedral of Learningat theUniversity 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 byHugh Henry Brackenridgeas 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 alog cabin,in what is nowdowntown 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 theCommonwealth of Pennsylvaniaamended 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 thestate legislature'sdesire 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 theSchool of EngineeringandSchool 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 theOaklandneighborhood 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’sCollege 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. Bleehas 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 withConsol 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 toClapp Hall,part of theClapp/Langley/Crawford Complexthat 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 theFrick 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 theUniversity 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 ofPhilosophy,[20]is considered one of the top five in the United States,[21]and the Department ofHistory and Philosophy of Science,[22]consistently ranked at the top of the field.[23][24][25]

Commons Room in theCathedral of Learning

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

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

References

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  1. ^abcdefgStarrett, Agnes Lynch (1937).Through one hundred and fifty years: the University of Pittsburgh.Pittsburgh:University of Pittsburgh Press.hdl:2027/uc1.$b297208.OCLC63800683.RetrievedApril 1,2020– via Documenting Pitt.
  2. ^"About Us".Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences.University of Pittsburgh. April 1, 2020.RetrievedApril 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.Retrieved2011-10-14.
  4. ^The Story of PittArchivedFebruary 13, 2012, at theWayback Machine
  5. ^"Early Schools".Pittsburgh School Bulletin.Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh Teachers Association, Inc.: 25 May 1928.Retrieved2009-12-22.
  6. ^Holland, William Jacob (1893).First Alumni Year Book: Our University.Pittsburgh, PA: Alumni Association of the Western University of Pennsylvania. p. 36.Retrieved2009-12-21.
  7. ^Annual catalog of the Western University of Pennsylvania, Year Ending 1905.Western University of Pennsylvania. 1905. p. 27.Retrieved2009-12-21.
  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.Retrieved2010-01-20.
  9. ^Alberts, Robert C. (1987).Pitt: The Story of the University of Pittsburgh 1787–1987.University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 17.ISBN0-8229-1150-7.
  10. ^Highlights from CGS history, University Times, 2008-10-23, accessdate=2008-10-23ArchivedJune 15, 2010, at theWayback Machine
  11. ^University of Pittsburgh Fact Book 2008, pg. 5ArchivedJuly 8, 2008, at theWayback Machine
  12. ^Begos, Kevin (2011-09-22)."University Of Pittsburgh Gets $125 Million Pledge".Huffington Post.Retrieved2011-10-11.
  13. ^Chute, Eleanor; Schackner, Bill (2011-09-23)."Pitt to receive $125 million gift".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.Pittsburgh.Retrieved2011-10-11.
  14. ^"Bettye J. and Ralph E. Bailey Dean Kathleen Blee".thebigdig.pitt.edu.2020-09-02.Retrieved2022-03-19.
  15. ^"Kathleen Blee is stepping down as dean of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences".University of Pittsburgh.June 2022.Retrieved2022-06-01.
  16. ^news.pitt.eduhttps:// news.pitt.edu/news/pitt-announces-3-million-gift-establish-bettye-j-and-ralph-e-bailey-deanship-its-school-arts-an.Retrieved2022-03-19.{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|title=(help)
  17. ^School of Arts and Sciences Graduate Studies, University of Pittsburgh, accessdate=2009-04-02ArchivedOctober 20, 2011, at theWayback Machine
  18. ^School of Arts and Sciences: Majors, Minors, and Certificates, University of Pittsburgh, accessdate=2009-04-02ArchivedApril 16, 2009, at theWayback Machine
  19. ^Arts and Sciences Graduate Studies - Departments & Programs, University of Pittsburgh, accessdate=2009-04-02ArchivedMarch 24, 2009, at theWayback Machine
  20. ^Pitt PhilosophyArchivedApril 18, 2009, at theWayback Machine
  21. ^The Philosophical Gourmet Report, date=Match 2009
  22. ^Department of History and Philosophy of ScienceArchivedMay 11, 2016, at theWayback Machine
  23. ^"Internet Archive: The Philosophical Gourmet Report 2004–2006: Philosophy of the Sciences and Mathematics".2008. Archived fromthe originalon 2002-11-07.Retrieved2008-03-26.
  24. ^"The Philosophical Gourmet Report 2006–2008:Breakdown:Philosophy of Science".2008. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-09-09.Retrieved2008-03-26.
  25. ^Graduate Programs in History and Philosophy of Science
  26. ^Hart, Peter (2009-04-30)."U.S. News ranks graduate programs".University Times.Archived fromthe originalon 2010-06-16.Retrieved2009-05-01.
  27. ^Hart, Peter (2007-04-05)."U.S. News ranks graduate programs".University Times.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-02-16.Retrieved2009-05-01.
  28. ^"Best Graduate Schools".U.S. News & World Report.2009. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-04-24.Retrieved2009-05-01.
  29. ^ab"NRC Rankings in Each of 41 Areas".Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States: Continuity and Change.National Research Council. 1995.Retrieved2009-01-02.
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40°26′39″N79°57′26″W/ 40.4443°N 79.9572°W/40.4443; -79.9572

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