From the Dean of the College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences

Welcome! Thank you for visiting the CLASS website and exploring all the amazing programs that we offer. We live in turbulent and uncertain times, but our university continues to adapt and thrive, looking to meet our present challenges with determination and hope.

Our college, in many ways, constitutes the heart and soul of the university experience. It is the home of the liberal arts, and it remains the largest college on our campus, with several thousand students, 10 departments and schools, and over forty degree programs. All of them boast award-winning and top-profile faculty who form lifelong mentorships with students and wonderfully devoted staff who provide valuable support and ensure success. I'm truly honored to serve as the dean of such a robust and dynamic college.

I wanted to thank you, first, for being interested in the University of Idaho. This university is one of the finest and most venerable public institutions in the American West. We hold to our land-grant mission to provide top-notch education to our citizens. Here you will find superb degree programs with stellar faculty and staff. You will also find a friendly and nurturing environment. We hope that you will call our university community your home. And Moscow is the kind of place where children still walk to school or ride their bikes to sports practice or even keep paper routes. There are few communities like it to be found.

I wanted to thank you, secondly, for being interested in the programs in our college. Your interest reveals two things: curiosity and courage. This is because our degree programs touch intimately on the human condition — what it means to think and create and act in the world. By choosing one of these fields, you are choosing the life of the mind. From here, our students go anywhere, whether by stepping directly into exciting professional careers or embarking on a larger academic journey that will land them in law, medicine, business, education or in any number of professions.

I encourage our students to make the most of their time in college. In so doing, you will build memories and experiences that will last a lifetime and make your journey richer and more fulfilling. What you study here at the University of Idaho will prepare you for this journey and help you create the future.

If you would like to join us as a student, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us for more information at class@uidaho.edu. If you're an alumna or alumnus or an aficionado of our disciplines, this is a perfect time to deepen your connection. Please email us and let us know where you are and what you are doing. Join us in building a brighter future for our college and our university!

All best wishes,
Sean Quinlan