Arts and Sciences

Carnegie Mellon University follows a distinct approach to undergraduate education that combines professional training with a firm grounding in the arts and sciences. Through your coursework in the arts and sciences, you will broaden your knowledge and learn to draw connections between disciplines.

Arts and sciences courses include mandatory courses in areas such as English, math and physics. You can also choose from elective courses in a wide variety of disciplines, including Arabic studies, history, philosophy, psychology and writing.

Academic Areas

Courses in the arts and sciences cover a wide range of disciplines for students to explore their interests and career options. Students can pursue a minor in many of these areas, and many opt for in-depth research in one of these fields.

Arabic Studies

Arabic Studies courses enhance Arabic language skills, prepare students for their future workplaces, and help shape analytical and critical thinking. Readings in historical texts provide students with knowledge about their history and how it extends to the present time. Literature courses enable students to draw parallels between the past and present.

French

French courses emphasize the development of communicative language proficiency and cultural competence through the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students also learn appropriate grammar structures, vocabulary, and discourse strategies that are necessary for communication.

Information Literacy and Research Skills

Students who study information literacy and research skills learn to find and select their own reading materials and resources, and to critically evaluate all sorts of information sources for bias. They learn to effectively navigate and manipulate information systems like library catalogs, social media, Google, and research databases, and to take control of these resources rather than being controlled by them.

Physics

Courses include physics for biological sciences students, general physics for all disciplines and an introduction to astronomy.

Psychology

Courses include Introduction to Psychology, Social, Cognitive, Health and Sleep Psychology, as well as Face Perception, Research Methods (Social or Cognitive concentration), and Cognitive Neuropsychology.

Spanish

Spanish courses emphasize the development of communicative language proficiency and cultural competence through the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students also learn appropriate grammar structures, vocabulary, and discourse strategies that are necessary for communication.

As an elective, learning Spanish broadens the students’ undergraduate academic experience. It allows students to experience language and culture learning in a dynamic environment which deepens their creative and critical thinking.

English, Writing and Rhetoric

Courses in English, writing and rhetoric help develop verbal reasoning and precision in the use of English. Courses cover a wide range of topics to help students develop their skills in close reading, critical thinking, argumentation and written communication.

History

History teaches students to better understand our collective human autobiography, to draw connections between past events and current concerns, and to think critically about how knowledge is created, interpreted and controlled.

Mathematics

Mathematics lays the foundation for computer science and provides much of the language and quantitative underpinnings of the natural and social sciences, as well as the development of the most commonly used tools in business management. Mathematics courses at Carnegie Mellon Qatar include calculus, integration and approximation, matrices and linear transformations, multivariate analysis, basic logic, algebraic structures, combinatorics, models and methods for optimization, and graph theory.

Philosophy

Philosophy courses at the Qatar campus focus primarily on the study of ethics, both as a theoretical field and in applications to areas such as artificial intelligence, social justice, the environment, and business.

Statistics

In statistics courses students learn how to collect, analyze, and interpret data, as well as how to present their results. Students learn sampling techniques, various descriptive statistics, exploring probability and probability distributions.

Meet the Faculty

Anthony Weston
Anthony Weston

Associate Teaching Professor of Mathematics

Benjamin James Reilly
Benjamin James Reilly

Teaching Professor, History

Crista Crittenden
Crista Crittenden

Instructor of Psychology

Cristian Dimitriu
Cristian Dimitriu

Visiting Associate Professor, Philosophy

Deepa Nair
Deepa Nair

Assistant Teaching Professor, History

Dudley Reynolds
Dudley Reynolds

Senior Associate Dean, Education Teaching Professor, English

Ezzohra Moufid
Ezzohra Moufid

Lecturer, French

Erik Helin
Erik Helin

Special Lecturer, Spanish

Hasan Demirkoparan
Hasan Demirkoparan

Area Co-Head, Arts and Sciences Teaching Professor, Mathematics

Jeffrey Squires
Jeffrey Squires

Assistant Teaching Professor, English

Jocelyn Belanger
Jocelyn Belanger

Associate Teaching Professor, Psychology

Jennifer Bruder
Jennifer Bruder

Associate Dean, Research Associate Teaching Professor, Psychology

Kira Dreher
Kira Dreher

Associate Dean, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Assistant Teaching Professor, English

Lama Nassif
Lama Nassif

Associate Teaching Professor, Arabic Studies

Layan El Hajj
Layan El Hajj

Associate Teaching Professor, Mathematics

Mohamed Zayed
Mohamed Zayed

Associate Teaching Professor, Physics

Marion Oliver
Marion Oliver

Teaching Professor Emeritus

Niraj Khare
Niraj Khare

Associate Teaching Professor, Mathematics

Pia Gomez Laich
Pia Gomez Laich

Associate Teaching Professor, English

Silvia Pessoa
Silvia Pessoa

Area Co-Head, Arts and Sciences Teaching Professor, English

Thomas Mitchell
Thomas Mitchell

Associate Teaching Professor, English

Taeyong Park
Taeyong Park

Assistant Teaching Professor, Statistics

Zelealem Yilma
Zelealem Yilma

Associate Teaching Professor, Mathematics

Dec

08

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Oct 01

CMU-Q math faculty craft questions for the World Math Team Championship Qatar 2024

Dec 05

Dean Trick leads faculty panel at Education City Marhaba

Apr 04

CMU-Q expands Statistical Consulting Center to include Education City researchers

Jan 09

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