History of the College of Arts and Science
Early theater performance
The College of Arts and Science is the oldest and largest college of Missouri's flagship university.
From the very establishment of the University of Missouri in 1839, its administrators considered the liberal arts and sciences to be the foundation of higher education. Those early units functioned as a college at least since 1841 and were officially collected under the title of the College of Arts and Science in 1907.
Students entering the University in the 1800s selected courses from a plan that outlined the classics, mathematics, science, philosophy ethics, government and political economy. Classes were small. In 1842, student enrollment was 74, and at the first commencement in 1843, two students completed requirements for a bachelor of arts degree.
Students on a geology trip, ca. 1913.
By 1891, the arts and science curriculum encompassed 13 units—called academic schools—with 20 faculty members and 334 students, who selected classes in English, Latin, Greek, modern languages, Hebrew, Sanskrit, comparative philology, metaphysics, mathematics, physics, chemistry, geology and mineralogy, and biology. From 1891 to 1908, several new departments expanded the curriculum to areas such as philosophy, history, economics, political science, sociology, graphics (art) and music. By 1938, the College had grown to 129 faculty members and 2,010 students.
Lowry Hall
Today the College of Arts and Science is the largest college in the state of Missouri. More than 450 tenured and tenure-track faculty members teach and mentor 9,000 undergraduate and graduate majors. Students choose courses from 32 departments, programs and schools that offer a vast array of studies leading to baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees. Deans have guided the policies and growth of the arts and sciences since J.C. Jones took the position in 1896. Michael O’Brien is the current dean.
Graduating classes have grown from that class of two in 1843 to 1,785 in 2005 and have produced 52,000 Arts and Science alumni who live around the world.
Myths, Legends and Traditions
The University of Missouri presented the world with the first ever School of Journalism, and has maintained recognition as one of the top journalism schools ever since.
Years ago, two students were under the J-School archway, bragging about having cheated on an exam. The dean of the school heard from his office above and failed both students. Legend has it now that when walking under the archway, students should always speak in a whisper. If they don’t, they risk failing their next exam!