Education is about more than job skills (though we teach those too).
In the College of Arts & Letters we believe in the humanities. We believe that the college experience is about educating the whole person, not just the future employee. We believe that life is about art and music and dance and reading and critical thinking and the rich histories that inform life. By engaging with the humanities students learn the importance of practice, that difficulties often lead to the greatest rewards, and to expect uncertainty. Here, students learn to live responsibly and imaginatively, embracing diversity and collaboration as they strive to elucidate the larger human condition and shape intentional, ethical, socially just lives.
Even if you are not majoring in one of the many College of Arts & Letter programs you can still benefit from the tangible and intangible skills our classes teach. From international relations to advertising and marketing, biology to information technology, industry partners agree that the arts and humanities are necessary components to a thriving, successful society.
Our college teaches skills in critical and creative thinking, problem solving, and communication, the cornerstones to success across all disciplines.
In the College of Arts and Letters, we foster creators and doers, who create and study significant works.
Why choose a humanities degree at Austin Peay?
We believe that to be human is to engage with and understand culture. As majors in
the College of Arts & Letters students are able to customize their education, develop
mentoring relationships with faculty, and learn cornerstone skills that extend beyond
the classroom.
The First Step is the Hardest
The study of the humanities can seem intangible, like there’s no clear path to employment. Rest assured that the skills you learn in your classes are more than applicable to the “real world.” By providing students with hands-on learning opportunities including internships, study abroad classes, study-away courses, and service learning classes, we empower students to develop these seemingly intangible skills into real-life applications.
Top Skills Employers Want (According to Forbes)
- Teamwork
- Decision-Making/Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Oral/Written Communication
APSU's art & design program offers studies in drawing, digital media, graphic design, illustration, painting, photography, ceramics, printmaking, sculpture, and art education.
The APSU Department of Communication offers unique and exciting options for students
who select our program. Students may engage in real-world experience, as well as hands-on
opportunities, from the moment they enter our program as freshmen.
The academic courses and programs in this department are designed to help students
learn about past events and ideas but also to help students develop skills in analytical
thinking and expression. Together these help prepare students for success along a
variety of academic and professional career paths. These may include education, public
service, or postgraduate study in the humanities or social studies, or in such applied
fields as law, religion, and business.
As one of the university's largest departments, Languages and Literature offers students small classes and a diverse, experienced faculty including many award-winning teachers.
The Austin Peay State University Department of Music is an active and highly-visible component of the Clarksville Community. Composed of approximately 180 music majors and 32 full-time and adjunct faculty, the Department of Music is the largest producer of cultural events in the Clarksville area.
Theatre and Dance at Austin Peay offers a world-renowned department, in a state-of-the-art facility, fostering artists, scholars and professionals who positively impact our world.
The African American Studies program examines the history and culture of African Americans in the United States and the connections to the peoples of Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America.
The minor is designed to enable students to be better prepared for positions with government, business, or industry with international connections. It strives to develop foreign language skills; helps to provide an opportunity for students to study abroad; and seeks to promote international understanding.
This minor offers training for examining the complex questions and practice related to women and gender. Our Women and Gender Studies educators provide a wide range of courses focusing on gender, race, class, sexual orientation, sexual identity and disabilities. Students develop knowledge, skills and resources to contribute to the area of social justice locally, nationally and internationally.
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Recently discovered photos not only capture a Canadaian rodeo in 1978, but they also help to tell the story of how a world-famous photographer's photos made their way over 43 years from his New York City studio to an Arizona gallery to a dusty flat-file box in Austin Peay State University's art collection.
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A recent endowment from Mark and Martha Em Raby made a new annual summer fellowship possible and provides an Art + Design student the opportunity to work with the University's art collection.
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Austin Peay State University's Dr. Paula White is one of 25 scholars selected for a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute that will explore the works of Zora Neale Hurston.
Read MoreBegin the application process now by visiting the link below.
