Undergraduate Academics

The Center for the Humanities offers several undergraduate programs as part of its mission promoting humanities research and interdisciplinary humanistic thinking at Washington University. We house two interdepartmental minors as well as an undergraduate research fellowship program and seminar.

Center for the Humanities

Children’s Studies Minor

Through a combination of humanities and social-science classes anchored by an interdisciplinary introductory survey, the Children's Studies minor provides students from a variety of academic backgrounds with a focused look at the nature, study, and construction of children and childhood. There are currently around 40 students enrolled in the minor, which also helps to sponsor the Children's Studies Speaker Series and the Children's Studies Reading Group for faculty and graduate students.

More about our Children’s Studies Minor

Minor in Medical Humanities

The Medical Humanities minor approaches health, disease and medical care as culturally embedded human experiences that vary across time and place. It draws on existing courses from across Arts and Sciences and includes a Beyond Boundaries inter-school course for first-years called “The Art of Medicine.” This undergraduate minor is associated with the center-sponsored Medical Humanities Reading Group for faculty and graduate students.

learn more about our Medical Humanities Minor

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The Merle Kling Undergraduate Honors Fellowship

The Center for the Humanities is also pleased to support the Merle Kling Undergraduate Honors Fellowship Program. Between five and seven sophomores are selected each year for this two-year program on the merit of their original individual research proposals. Throughout the course of the program, fellows meet with their faculty mentors and with each other to create a research project informed not only by their own work but also by the expertise and support of their peers. The Kling program also supports opportunities for summer research and encourages fellows to participate in a range of public humanities projects underwritten by the Center for the Humanities. At the end of the program, fellows will have completed a significant research project, built lasting academic partnerships, and received a comprehensive introduction to graduate or professional-level experiences in the humanities and humanistic social sciences.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE KLING FELLOWSHIP

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Need more information?

Please contact Dr. Wendy Love Anderson, assistant director of academic programs in the Center for the Humanities, for more information about any of the above undergraduate programs.