If you have a love for literature and history, a passion for fine arts, a burning desire to write, or a penchant for languages, consider a major in Widener’s Humanities Department. Degrees offered include creative writing, English, fine arts, history, modern languages (French and Spanish majors), and Gender and Women’s Studies. Students also can learn another discipline by choosing from a diverse selection of minors, including African and African American Studies, art, German, Italian, journalism, music, and professional writing. In addition, the Certificate in Healthcare Writing melds courses from writing and science to prepare students for a career related to writing in many aspects of the healthcare arena.
In addition to thought-provoking classroom sessions, you have many opportunities to put what you learn into practice, such as writing and editing the university literary magazine, The Pioneer Review, or the school magazine, The Dome. If you are performance-minded, you can sing in the Widener Chorale, play an instrument in the String Performance and Chamber Music Program and the Wind and Jazz Ensembles, or act in Theatre Widener or the Freshbaked Theatre Company. Language students can chime in at conversation clubs, and history students can seek membership in the campus chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the international history honor society.
Humanities and Your Future
Through courses and senior seminars, humanities students hone their writing, speaking, and critical thinking skills in ways that will serve them well beyond the classroom. For those planning on graduate study, students will be able to draw on their intensive research experience and understanding of philosophical and aesthetic issues developed within many of their classes. For those preparing to enter the job market, these same skills will distinguish students and make them highly attractive to prospective employers.