Points of Pride

The College of Arts and Sciences is a leader within the University of Miami, shaping the undergraduate experience and providing critical research. Through its commitment to these complementary goals, the College offers the personalized learning of a small liberal-arts school with the research expertise of a large university. As a result, students at every level can apply their coursework to important research. This hands-on approach to undergraduate education has helped attract exceptional students and earned the University a top-tier ranking.

According to the 2014 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges,” the University of Miami ranks #47 among national universities, and #1 in Florida. Rankings are primarily a reflection of the strength of undergraduate academics. The College of Arts & Sciences (A&S) not only boasts the largest undergraduate enrollment of any college at UM, but is also the largest provider of undergraduate majors and degrees at the University.

The class of 2016 represents the most competitive class of freshmen ever to enroll in the University of Miami. 

• A&S received over 12,000 applications for only 928 seats in the freshman class. 
• The mean SAT score for enrolled freshman was 1328, and the middle 50 percent (25th percentile to 75th percentile) SAT range was 1250 to 1410. 
• Nearly half of incoming freshmen graduated in the top 5% of their class.

Situated in a dynamic international city, the work of the College of Arts and Sciences influences the world. The College offers coursework in more than 20 countries and focuses on a global perspective throughout its curricula, research, and outreach efforts. With students and faculty from more than 55 countries, students also gain unique cultural understanding that positions them to lead in a global economy. 

A&S students regularly receive national and international awards, scholarships, fellowships, and research grants in recognition for extraordinary academic achievement. 

• In 2014, four A&S students were awarded prestigious Fulbright grants for international study. 
• One A&S students won the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship in 2014. Only 300 Goldwater scholarships — awarded to the nation’s most promising students in science, math, and engineering — are handed out each year. 
• The RoboCanes robotics team from the Department of Computer Science placed second in the 3D soccer simulation tournament at the 2012 RoboCup in Mexico City. The team is now building robots for the humanoid league competition. 
• Three A&S graduates competed in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.

With more than $30 million in research funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and a number of organizations, the College of Arts and Sciences is a leader in research and scholarship. The National Research Council ranks the college’s doctoral programs in sociology, psychology, and philosophy among the best in the country.

A&S is home to 440 full-time faculty members representing the very best in their fields. Our undergraduate student-faculty ratio is 11:1, which means you will have the chance to engage directly with your professors, and even work alongside them through undergraduate research opportunities.

• Math Professor Maxim Kontsevich is one of the most celebrated and influential mathematicians of our time, winner of the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics ($3 million),  2012 Shaw Prize ($1 million), the 2012 Fundamental Physics Prize ($3 million), in addition to a Fields Medal in 1998 and the Crafoord Prize in 2008. 
• Biology Professor Albert Uy, a modern day Darwin and a renowned voice in the study of tropical ecology.  He has received awards from the National Science Foundation, including a CAREER award, which is one of its most prestigious honors.
• Professor Evelina Galang, our creative writing program director and award-winning author and novelist.
• Sociology Professor Alejandro Portes, a prominent  award-winning Cuban-American sociologist and; member of the National Academy of Sciences.
• Our Center for the Humanities, in conjunction with faculty, became the editorial office for an award-winning journal on early modern women. 
• With the recent addition of two endowed chairs, Tropical Biology is receiving national attention.

Encompassing 39 majors and 43 minors, the College offers every student a broad understanding of sciences, arts, the humanities and social sciences. Innovative programs including the Foote Fellowship, da Vinci Scholars and PRISM allow high-achieving undergraduates to pursue intensive scholarship across disciplines today to help them become better leaders tomorrow. Additionally, the College is home to interdisciplinary hubs, including Center for the Humanities, the University of Miami Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, and the Neuroscience program, which allow students and faculty to collaborate on some of the world’s most pressing issues.

We proudly welcomed the first cohort of da Vinci Scholars, some of the brightest students at UM, committed to an inter-disciplinary undergraduate experience. Starting in fall 2014, Arts & Sciences students will also have the opportunity to design independent majors—allowing motivated students to explore independent thinking.

A&S is one of two colleges and seven schools that share UM’s 239-acre main campus in suburban Coral Gables. Our location, just minutes from downtown Miami, combines the laid-back beauty of South Florida with the vibrancy and cultural diversity of a world-class city. Campus highlights include the Lowe Art Museum, the first and most prominent art museum in South Florida, the Jerry Herman Ring Theater, the Watsco Center, and the brand new Neuroscience Building.