McMaster Arts and Science


The Arts and Science Program is an undergraduate program at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. It is one of the smallest direct-entry programs in the university, admitting only 65 students per year, with a total size of about 250 students.
Due to the small size, reputation, and popularity of this program, it requires a competitive high-school GPA in addition to a supplementary application.

History

After the Second World War, McMaster University, like many other universities around the world, saw dramatic increases in student enrollment and degrees granted in the newly developing sciences. Initiatives to revive the liberal arts in the university were proposed in the ensuing years but did not leave the drawing board.
In the mid-1970s, there was a growing sense at McMaster that although 4 year honours degrees were exceeding expectations, the 3 year bachelor's degrees did not. In 1977, a university report recommended that McMaster explore the formation of an interdisciplinary program. In the spring of 1979, an ad hoc committee formed to investigate the recommendations, chaired by Dr. Dugal Campbell, reported to the university Senate. The Campbell Committee report was then endorsed by the university Senate in late June, 1979.
In the late summer of 1979, the Vice President at the time, Leslie J. King, asked Dr. Herb Jenkins, a professor in McMaster's psychology department, to form a council to discuss, and serve as the director of a new baccalaureate program in general studies. The Planning Council presented the "Outline of a New Baccalaureate Degree Programme in Arts and Science" in mid-March 1980. After criticisms were heard at the general faculty meeting on March 27 of that year, the Council revised the outline and presented it to the university Senate in May 1980. In September 1981, the Arts & Science Program welcomed its first year of students.
The Arts & Science Program awards its students with a B. Arts Sc. Students may earn the degree in 3 years, although most students complete the degree in 4 years and earn the "Honours" appellation as any other undergraduate program. At the general faculty meeting of March 1980, the professors from the faculty of Health Sciences were particularly enthusiastic about the outline presented. This led to the formation of the small, inquiry and interdisciplinary-based Health Sciences undergraduate program in 1999. After Dr. Herb Jenkins retired as the first director of the Arts & Science Program, he, along with Dr. Bob Hudspith went on to found the Engineering and Society program at the Faculty of Engineering. McMaster's Integrated Sciences Program has also been modeled with the Arts & Science Program.

Curriculum/Structure

Arts & Science stresses the development of skills in writing, speaking, research, and critical and quantitative reasoning. Its curriculum also aims to provide a foundational university-level knowledge base in the natural sciences and the social thought of the Western world. The program's small size facilitates its strong sense of community and interdisciplinary learning, with students taking a diverse range of courses through their four years. Many of the students specialize in a field by completing a combined honours in addition to the Arts and Science program requirements. Some combined honours require a fifth year of study, unless the student takes courses during summer school or an "overload" course complement. Many students go on to pursue higher learning through either graduate or professional school, or take job opportunities.
Humanities & Social SciencesMathematics & Physical SciencesInterdisciplinaryElectives
Practices of Knowledge
Indigenous Ways of Knowing		Biology/Chemistry/Environmental ScienceInquiry
Social and Political ThoughtCalculusWriting & Argumentation
LiteraturePhysicsTechnology & Society
Eastern StudiesStatisticsIndividual Study/Thesis
Economics
5 courses4 courses5 or 6 courses6 or 7 Elective courses

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4
Practices of KnowledgeSocial and Political ThoughtLiteratureEastern Studies
Writing & ArgumentationPhysicsTechnology & SocietyThesis/Individual Study
Inquiry of Global IssuesStatisticsUpper-year Inquiry Upper-year Inquiry or elective
CalculusEconomicsElectiveElective
Biology/Chemistry/Environmental ScienceElective/Science requirement ElectiveElective

Expansion

During the mid-'00s, the McMaster administration began putting pressure on the program to increase its size from 60 to 100 students per year. This campaign is part of a University-wide expansion of all smaller programs such as Medicine and Health Sciences. The idea was met with opposition from most students and professors in the program. Arguments against program expansion include concerns that the sense of tight-knit community would be lost; that larger classes would reduce the quality of education; and that it would place added pressure on professors. The last increase in class size was in 1996, with an increase in intake from 50 students to 60. This increase was met with similar resistance, and many students and faculty regarded this as the beginning of the end of the intimate learning environment that had gained the Arts and Science Program its strong reputation. Although the issue has not been resolved with finality, measures have been taken to address the issue for the coming few years with the ultimate aim of bringing enrollment back to a maximum of 60 students per year. The number may fluctuate in future years.

Community

Students are part of the Society of Arts and Science Students. SASS is responsible for running social and community events, facilitating inter-program communication, and making educational recommendations to the director of the program. SASS also runs a student website, which is a hub for program information. Arts & Science students have consistently identified the sense of community as one of its main strengths. SASS's logo is a cartoon depiction of its mascot: a Sasquatch. It was updated in January 2020 to replace the defunct prior logo, which had long been suspected of violating the copyright of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Mascot Quatchi.

Directors

Noted alumni