Because we know that choosing can be difficult, we provide extensive advising support. Whether you are a freshman who wants to talk about general education possibilities or a senior who wants to discuss graduate school, our faculty members, deans, and counselors are committed to helping you. The Major Depth of knowledge and understanding in a particular field is provided by the major. Your major can be a traditional subject, such as English, history, or physics, studied within the normal departmental context. Or, at Union, the first liberal arts college to offer engineering, you may study one of the principal branches of engineering.
Students decide on a field of concentration by the end of their sophomore year.
Those who want to pursue a secondary field of concentration may select one academic minor, normally consisting of six courses. As a college committed to a liberal education, Union requires that a substantial portion of each student's education be devoted to study outside the area of the major. Through the General Education Curriculum, students are encouraged to strive for a breadth of learning that will complement the expertise acquired in the major. To give students a surer grasp of the heritage represented by the western tradition, the General Education Curriculum requires each student to take one of several two-course history sequences as well as associated literature and civilization courses. To give students a better knowledge of foreign cultures, the program has strong incentives to study a foreign language, embark on a Term Abroad, or study a non-western culture.