A good way to begin a new blog about the Baylor University College of Arts & Sciences is to tell you a bit about us. Here’s a few facts to give you a general overview.

The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor’s oldest and largest academic division, consisting of 26 academic departments and 13 academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in Arts & Sciences provide the largest portion of Baylor’s nationally recognized core curriculum, the foundation upon which every student’s educational experience is built.

The College of Arts & Sciences had 6,514 undergraduate and 665 graduate students enrolled in fall 2011 –– almost half of Baylor’s record total enrollment of 15,029. The Arts & Sciences student body is diverse, coming to Baylor from 48 states and 60 countries and with a minority enrollment of 37 percent.

More than half of Baylor’s 935 full-time faculty members are from the College of Arts & Sciences. Faculty and students are spread among 26 academic departments offering 48 different baccalaureate degree programs, as well as 35 master’s and 19 doctoral programs.

Most students must take courses offered by Arts & Sciences as part of their degree programs, and a large percentage of students go on to earn Arts & Sciences degrees. During the 2010-2011 Baylor academic year, 52 percent of undergraduate degrees and 28 percent of graduate and professional degrees were from College of Arts & Sciences programs, representing 47 percent of all Baylor degrees. More than 90 percent of PhD degrees awarded were from programs in Arts & Sciences.

The College of Arts & Sciences is led by Dean Lee Nordt and Associate Deans Robyn Driskell, Frieda Blackwell, Frank Mathis, Elizabeth Vardaman, Blake Burleson and Carrolle Kamperman. You may contact the College at (254) 710-3361.