About the College
Faculty and students in the College of Arts and Letters explore human expression, experience, and values through a wide variety of subjects including the creative and performing arts, languages and literature, art history, philosophy, and religious studies, as well as the interdisciplinary fields of American studies, ancient studies, humanities, humanities-prelaw, and women's studies.
As a core college within a major research university, the College of Arts and Letters enjoys access to vast intellectual and academic resources. Undergraduates can take courses offered by world-class scholars who are actively engaged in creating new knowledge in a variety of fields. MSU provides ample access to learning outside the classroom, as well: a multicultural environment that attracts students from all over the world, a leading research library, abundant study abroad programs, a wide range of work and extracurricular opportunities, and excellent support programs and facilities.
The humanities and arts programs of the College of Arts and Letters foster oral and written communication skills, imagination, reasoning ability, flexibility, cross-cultural awareness, and civic responsibility. Students learn to think independently and engage in active inquiry; they learn to ask questions and to pursue new ways of integrating multiple kinds of knowledge. In the process, they gain self-knowledge and strengthen their understanding of their role as citizens of a global community. They become creative problem-solvers, prepared to tackle the challenges of the twenty-first century.
Graduates of the College of Arts and Letters have achieved success in many different fields, including business, government, human services, education, law, communications, and the arts. Study in the humanities and the arts develops the ability to grasp diverse points of view, to communicate effectively, to conduct research, and to analyze complex situations. These skills are vital in many life and work situations. In fact, many employers and professional schools actively seek graduates with these skills, since such graduates have always demonstrated the capacity to continue to learn and thrive long after graduation.
A Core College at the Heart of MSU
As one of three core colleges at MSU, the College of Arts and Letters includes two units--Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures (WRAC), and the Center for Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities (CISAH)--that offer required classes for all undergraduates at the university. WRAC offers the "Tier One" required writing classes for all students. All WRAC courses are designed to strengthen students' writing ability and broaden their understanding of the American experience. CISAH offers the required arts and humanities (IAH) classes for all undergraduates at the university. The writing and cultural awareness experiences attained through courses offered in these two units are vital elements of an undergraduate education.
Linton Hall: Home of the College of Arts and Letters
Linton Hall is the second oldest extant building on campus. It was built in 1881 as the Library-Museum, facing the open "sacred space" on the west and the predecessor of West Circle Drive on the east. Since its earliest days, the building also housed administrative units, including the president’s office. In 1927, with the completion of a new library (now the MSU Museum), the library holdings were moved and, for a few years, the president’s office moved, too. In the 1930s the Office of the President returned to the second floor of Linton Hall. In 1969 it was moved again, this time to the new John A. Hannah Administration Building. Overnight, Linton became "Old Administration." In that same year, the building acquired its present name in honor of Robert S. Linton, an alumnus of the Class of 1916 who worked for many years in the building as registrar. In 2001, reflecting on his own days as an MSU student and on President John Hannah’s achievements, former president Peter McPherson described Linton Hall as "the place from which Hannah built the school."