Curriculum
In addition to completing the units required for a given major, Pacific Humanities Scholars take a series of seminars that cultivate their talents and shape their future. Students will also complete the University of the Pacific's General Education program, which includes our nationally acclaimed Pacific Seminars. Special projects and field trip opportunities round out the Pacific Humanities Scholars curriculum, along with participation in career development activities with the aid of a dedicated career counselor.
Curriculum Components
First Semester Seminar: In this course, students explore individual and collective modes of expression across the Humanities. Students enjoy exposure to a wide range of cultural enrichment activities, from world-class opera performances to intimate, one-on-one sessions with visiting scholars and artists. This academic and experiential approach cultivates an understanding of the Humanities as a profound force in human civilization.
Second Semester Seminar: Building on the first semester's experiences, this course emphasizes the role of cognitive science, philosophy, and technology in the pursuit of social justice. Focusing on the applications of the Humanities in the Digital Age, the seminar challenges students to engage with social issues facing a global society through theoretical and practical modes of problem solving.
Throughout the program, students have the benefit of a dedicated career counselor, a database of internships tailored to their professional goals, and networking opportunities with local and national employers, giving students the edge in a highly-competitive marketplace.
Summer Study Abroad: In the summer after their second year, students will have the option of building their cross-cultural competence by participating in one of three unique courses of study in Italy, Central America, or Asia.
Undergraduate Research Project: The fall of the third year will be devoted to undergraduate research, enabling students to work closely with a faculty member of their choosing in order to refine their expertise in their major subject while adding depth to their analytical reasoning, creativity, written expression, and communication skills.
Capstone Seminar: The final seminar in the spring of the third year will focus on community-based learning, the objective of which is to translate education into transformative action, ensuring that Pacific Humanities Scholars do not lose sight of the "humanity" for which our field is named.
Enrichment Activities: The Pacific Humanities Scholars experience is enriched by a variety of cultural and social excursions, available exclusively to our scholars. From great opera houses to intimate regional theatres, the coasts of California to Oregon's Rogue Valley, our scholars travel far and wide to observe the role that the Humanities play in modern society.
- Year One:
In the first-year seminar, students explore individual and collective modes of expression across the Humanities. Students enjoy exposure to a wide range of cultural enrichment activities, from world-class opera performances to intimate, one-on-one sessions with visiting scholars and artists. This academic and experiential approach cultivates an understanding of the Humanities as a profound force in human civilization.
Freshman scholars also take a four-day trip with their cohort to Ashland, Oregon in the Fall, allowing them to make close connections with their classmates and see the humanities come alive at the nationally acclaimed Oregon Shakespeare Festival.