Vanderbilt University College of Arts and Science

Vanderbilt University College of Arts and Science The College of Arts and Science is the oldest and largest school at Vanderbilt University. Collaboration across disciplines permeates everything we do.

We’re a place where students learn enduring, widely applicable habits of mind, build community, and discover who they are and who they want to become. Diversity--of ideas, backgrounds, opportunities, and topics--is foundational to our strength and fundamental to the Arts and Science experience. We are also Vanderbilt’s oldest, largest, and most academically diverse school, with 35 departments and

programs offering more than 60 unique majors and minors in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences. Housed within a nationally-ranked R1 university, we pride ourselves on our dual focus on undergraduate teaching and world-changing research. Explore our page to learn more about who we are, or visit our website at as.vanderbilt.edu!

Norbert Ross isn’t your typical cultural anthropologist. When he’s out in the field in places like Mexico, El Salvador, ...
09/02/2026

Norbert Ross isn’t your typical cultural anthropologist. When he’s out in the field in places like Mexico, El Salvador, Argentina and Chile, the associate professor of anthropology in the Vanderbilt University College of Arts and Science blends ethnographic research with improvisational theater.

Learn more about his work, which centers on how people learn, process emotions and navigate trauma: http://vu.edu/sn2cm

Not only did we welcome new students to campus this fall, we also welcomed a new dean. Hear from Jason Merchant as he we...
09/01/2026

Not only did we welcome new students to campus this fall, we also welcomed a new dean. Hear from Jason Merchant as he welcomes the A&S community to a new academic year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QRRmJeGqMo

It’s a week of new beginnings! And not just for the students who are gearing up for the first day of classes, but also f...
08/25/2026

It’s a week of new beginnings! And not just for the students who are gearing up for the first day of classes, but also for 35 new faculty who now call A&S home.

From art to math to climate and environmental studies, these new scholars join nearly 800 faculty colleagues in the College of Arts and Science—faculty that are equally passionate about mentoring and teaching students as they are about conducting groundbreaking research that changes the way we understand our world.⁠

Welcome to the A&S community! Read about each of these accomplished scholars.

🔗https://as.vanderbilt.edu/news/2026/08/24/the-college-of-arts-and-science-welcomes-34-exceptional-faculty-members/

A new curriculum, unique fieldwork opportunities, and welcoming new faculty members—growth is happening this fall in the...
08/20/2026

A new curriculum, unique fieldwork opportunities, and welcoming new faculty members—growth is happening this fall in the Program in Climate and Environmental Studies. As the program builds upon its successful launch of the first climate studies major in the nation in 2022, opportunities for students and alumni abound.

“We are eager to see the impact of our new interdisciplinary curriculum and strengthened resources on our students, as they become engaged citizens who not only dream better worlds but also build them into existence,” said Teresa Goddu, professor and program director.

Read more about the exciting updates to CES 👉 http://vu.edu/rt748

The College Core, launched last fall, is a completely reimagined and innovative undergraduate education for A&S undergra...
08/12/2026

The College Core, launched last fall, is a completely reimagined and innovative undergraduate education for A&S undergraduates. By equipping students with the fundamental capacities they need to succeed in today’s world, while also increasing faculty collaboration, the first year marks an important milestone for this new, and continually evolving, experience for students.

“I’m thrilled that the implementation of the College Core has come to fruition, creating the dynamic intellectual environment that we anticipated,” said Paul Stob, professor of communication studies and the first director of the College Core. “We responded to a need to build a curriculum that was more intentional and transparent for our students, so they would understand its purpose.”

Read more 🔗https://as.vanderbilt.edu/news/2026/08/10/as-college-core-marks-first-year-of-redefining-undergraduate-experience/

Nearly $6M in National Science Foundation funding has been awarded to the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravi...
08/10/2026

Nearly $6M in National Science Foundation funding has been awarded to the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves that allows for continued discovery of the most massive black holes in the universe.

With Vanderbilt physics and astronomy faculty as a NANOGrav core node, a sizable portion of the new funding will enable students and postdocs to participate in research that takes the team into the next era of discovery.

Associate Professor Stephen Taylor, and assistant professors Thankful Comartie and Jessie Runnoe, all provide specialized expertise to the NANOGrav effort. With this funding, Taylor and Comartie’s research groups will work with students in their respective areas to develop new gravitational wave search techniques, including the creation of cutting-edge datasets from observations from new radio telescopes. This continued work helps further our understanding of the low frequency gravitational waves that now serve as our “sense” to feel the fabric of space and time created by past space collisions that help researchers paint a historical picture of the universe.

Photograph Credit: NRAO / AUI / NSF

Vanderbilt Physics & Astronomy

ICYMI: For the first time, Vanderbilt faculty presented at one of the most prestigious and culturally defining contempor...
08/06/2026

ICYMI: For the first time, Vanderbilt faculty presented at one of the most prestigious and culturally defining contemporary art exhibitions in the world: the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia in Venice, Italy.

Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair of Art María Magdalena Campos-Pons and Kamaal Malak, artist-in-residence of cultural advocacy and leadership, were prominently featured through exhibiting their work and hosting Resonance, an innovative public dialogue series that fosters sharing, collaboration, and new forms of artistic exchange within the artistic community. More than 10 College of Arts and Science faculty members participated in the Venice Biennale, from photography exhibits to performances to discussions to presentations.

Learn more about Vanderbilt in Venice and Resonance. 🔗https://www.vanderbilt.edu/venice-resonance/

We're all feeling the heat this summer, but according to new research, we're not all experiencing it the same way.A new ...
07/27/2026

We're all feeling the heat this summer, but according to new research, we're not all experiencing it the same way.

A new paper from faculty member Sasha Crawford-Holland examines an often-overlooked question: How do social structures shape our experience of temperature? He argues that heat is not simply a matter of weather or personal comfort. Workplace conditions, housing, incarceration, disability, and access to cooling all influence who faces the greatest risks from rising temperatures.

The work offers a new framework for understanding heat, vulnerability, and climate adaptation in an increasingly warming world.

Read more 🔗vu.edu/tpuf6

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