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Mission

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is dedicated to delivering the highest quality arts, humanities and social science education in Canada consistent with our standing among the top 15 universities in the country. Our faculty members are committed to providing students with a positive, respectful and rewarding learning experience that encourages broad understanding of different communities, societies, cultures, literatures, languages and ways of knowing. Our goal is to encourage students to develop strong critical thinking, analytical reasoning, problem solving and communication skills and creative talents that will foster their development as knowledgeable, engaged and confident citizens and leaders.

Guiding Principles

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Strategic Plan is predicated on the following guiding principles:

Our first priority is our academic mission: the advancement and dissemination of knowledge.

We aim to create and support high quality academic programs that attract and retain the most highly qualified students, faculty and staff and allow us to become a ‘destination’ Faculty nationally and internationally.

Research intensity will continue to be a hallmark of our mission, distinguishing the Faculty within our region and reflecting our distinctive profile nationally and internationally.

We place high value on the intersection of cultures and languages, locally and internationally, and view our undergraduate and graduate degrees as contributing to students’ capacities to understand global processes, make positive contributions and enhance their career prospects.

Our academic programming builds understanding of philosophies, histories, literatures, societies, cultures and politics and requires students to inquire critically, read deeply, write cogently, and express themselves thoughtfully in a wide range of media, including the performing arts.

We place a high value on interdisciplinarity, which we see as built on strong disciplinary foundations.

We affirm the principles of academic freedom, intellectual integrity, scholarly autonomy and individual expression in teaching, administration and research. Internal governance and external partnerships, contracts, funding or commercial projects must respect these principles.

We aim to enrich the larger communities in which we are embedded, actively engaging with and contributing to our city, province, and region.

Dr. Jennifer Andrews
Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Dr. Andrews can be reached at fassdean@dal.ca or 902-494-1439.

For information about the application process, residence, and other issues, please see dal.ca/futurestudents

HÂþ»­ University Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Marion McCain Arts and Social Sciences Building
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4R2

1-902-494-1440