College of Arts and Letters

Students may select from a range of graduate programs in the College of Arts and Letters. The departments and schools fully describe their programs in the Academic Units section. In addition to departmental programs, the college offers a wide array of annual events and supporting services, some of which reach out to the regional community.

Communication and Advocacy (M.A.)
English (M.A.)
History (M.A.)
Political Science (M.A.)
Public Administration (M.P.A.)
Public Administration – Fifth Year Format (M.P.A.)
Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication (M.A.)

Mission Statement

The College of Arts and Letters serves multiple vital needs of JMU students. First, it offers high-quality programs of specialized study in the social sciences, humanities and communication, and in several pre-professional and cross disciplinary areas. Second, the college provides a challenging array of courses designed to promote lifelong learning by sharpening analytical abilities; improving computational and communications skills; cultivating a facility with written expression; enhancing cultural awareness, intensifying moral and aesthetic sensitivity and fostering awareness of the contingent nature of knowledge. Linking these two missions is a college-wide commitment to free but rigorous and controlled inquiry into human nature.