Roger Williams University (Feinstein College of Arts and Sciences) - Overview
Feinstein College of Arts and Sciences at Roger Williams University
The Feinstein College of Arts and Sciences (FCAS) is the cornerstone of a Roger Williams University (RWU) liberal arts education. RWU is located in Bristol, Rhode Island, and considers FCAS to be the unifying center of the university and of its undergraduate studies. All RWU students converge in the halls of FCAS as they pursue their core curriculum requirements, regardless of their major. With nearly 20 majors and minors, FCAS has the largest number of students, faculty members, and courses of study.
Feinstein College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Degrees and Programs of Study
Feinstein College of Arts and Sciences offers undergraduate programs in the humanities, the natural and social sciences, and the fine and performing arts. All students meet in FCAS to explore the traditional disciplines in the university's core curriculum and, in growing numbers, to earn dual majors. Students also take electives to explore subjects outside their majors. Feinstein College of Arts and Sciences fosters cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary studies. Graduates prove that the traditional liberal arts curriculum combined with cutting-edge inquiry into newly emerging fields provides the essential education for the twenty-first century.
Small classes, with none taught by teaching assistants; a commitment to student-centered learning and achievement; and quality distinguish FCAS, its faculty, students, and programs. With degree programs ranging from anthropology and digital communications to dance and political science, offerings are plentiful. The range of programs underscores the Roger Williams University commitment to nurturing a love of learning across a lifetime. Students who have difficult time choosing just one major can choose from one of the Feinstein College of Arts and Sciences' many double majors.
Feinstein College of Arts and Sciences Faculty
The college's programs and its faculty members are dedicated not only to preserving and handing down the tradition, but to developing habits of mind that appreciate and can deal well with the increasing complexities of contemporary, global life and work. Teaching and learning in FCAS is characterized by exploration, diversity, inquiry, interaction, tolerance, confidence, competence, community, and service.
Feinstein College of Arts and Sciences Facilities
The academic departments in FCAS are housed in several different buildings, grouped by their needs for laboratories, studios, stages, lecture halls, and technology requirements. The Marine and Natural Sciences Building (MNS) houses the science and mathematics programs and state-of-the-art labs, including an open seawater lab and the state's only shellfish hatchery. Located just a few hundred yards from Mount Hope Bay, MNS offers students use of a 3,000-square-foot, newly expanded Wet Lab that includes added space for the university's tropical marine ornamental program. It also works in collaboration with the New England Aquarium.
The Performing Arts Center (PAC) contains a professionally lighted stage and performance areas as well as costume, makeup, and scenery rooms. More than 30 events are staged there each year.
In keeping with the university's mantra "learning to bridge the world" is its newest addition: Global Heritage Hall. This facility embodies RWU's global commitment and provides students with state-of-the-art learning and language resources while celebrating the heritages of the Italians, Portuguese, Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos, and "Bristolians" that are represented in Rhode Island.
Education is the means by which students prepare for the challenging roles they will play and for the civic responsibilities they will fulfill in this rapidly changing world. As students complete their studies in FCAS, they carry forward a sense of the joy involved in the process of discovery and an understanding of why that fundamental process must be integral component of their daily lives. At the FCAS, students discover how the traditional arts and sciences impact contemporary interdisciplinary and professional studies. Graduates of Feinstein College of Arts and Sciences achieve in the fullest sense of a well-rounded education.