Courses offered under the Arts and Sciences (CAS) prefix are not associated with a single academic department. Courses with the CAS prefix are typically considered to be elective credit but may be counted toward a student's major or minor with departmental or program permission.
Interdisciplinary Courses
The College of Arts and Sciences offers courses that bridge two or more academic disciplines or cover a broad disciplinary area (humanities, social sciences, arts, or natural sciences). Interdisciplinary courses encourage students to break down artificial silos and connect with a broad range of scholars regardless of departmental affiliation. Interdisciplinary course topics will vary and may be offered in periodic intervals depending on faculty and student interest.
Academic Support Courses
These courses are designed to help students at all stages of their educational journey find their path and achieve academic success. Courses will help students to strengthen essential skills (time-management, note taking, testing, goal setting, etc.), explore potential majors, minors, and academic interests, and connect to important campus resources.
https://www.uvm.edu/cas/internships-overview
Internships
The College offers elective internship credit to students in any major who complete a qualifying internship experience as defined by UVM’s Policy on Academic Internships. Internship courses award credit for successful participation in specific programs (such as The Washington Center, Semester in the City, Communities of Practice, Community News Service) as well as for successful completion of independent internships arranged by the student. In some cases, internship credit can be applied to the major or minor with departmental permission.
https://www.uvm.edu/cas/individually_designed_major/minor_idm
Individually Designed Major and Minor
The IDMajor and IDMinor are non-departmental, interdisciplinary majors and minors for students whose academic interests are not met by current program offerings. Proposals for an IDM must be developed in concert with a faculty advisor, and then go through a formal review process at the Dean’s office. CAS-prefix courses that award credit for research, teaching assistantships, independent studies, and honors theses may count toward the IDMajor and IDMinor with faculty sponsor approval.
Courses
CAS 1010. Topics In: First-Year Seminar. 3 Credits.
Intensive first-year seminar focused on specific themes and/or disciplinary perspectives. Emphasis on developing critical reading and writing skills, substantive revision, information literacy, and analytical thinking. First-year seminars are frequently organized to meet one of the disciplinary Catamount Core requirements. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Catamount Core: WIL1.
CAS 1019. AP Research. 3 Credits.
Credit awarded for achieving a certain score on the Advanced Placement (AP) Research Examination. The necessary score may vary from year to year; consult Transfer Affairs for appropriate specifics. Catamount Core: WIL1.
CAS 1020. Topics In: LASP Writing. 3 Credits.
Intensive course in a broad disciplinary area (humanities, social sciences, arts, or natural sciences). Part of an integrated first-year experience in which students take 2-4 classes exploring aesthetic, humanistic, social, linguistic, environmental, or scientific issues. May repeat for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Co-requisite: Enrollment in the appropriate Liberal Arts Scholars Program. Catamount Core: WIL1.
CAS 1025. Topics In: LASP Seminar. 3 Credits.
Intensive course in a broad disciplinary area (humanities, social sciences, arts, or natural sciences). Part of an integrated first-year experience in which students take 2-4 classes exploring aesthetic, humanistic, social, linguistic, environmental, or scientific issues. May repeat for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Co-requisite: Enrollment in the appropriate Liberal Arts Scholars Program.
CAS 1100. Academic Success Strategies. 1 Credit.
Overview of core skills needed to help students achieve academic success, at any point in their educational journey. Students will have the opportunity to both strengthen and practice essential academic skills including time-management, note taking, testing, effective listening, goal setting, and study skills.
CAS 1155. Introduction to Excel. 1 Credit.
Gain familiarity with the Excel program interface, formula language, charting, aggregation tools, and more to make better informed and efficient choices in the creation of spreadsheets. Those with no previous experience will become more comfortable and capable users by building a solid foundation of key concepts. For those with experience, the course may fill in some blanks and highlight best practices in using Excel.
CAS 1210. Exploring Majors. 1 Credit.
Supports first-year students in their transition to a college-level curriculum and helps them navigate all that the University of Vermont has to offer, with an emphasis on the College of Arts and Sciences. Promotes student success and engagement through workshops and specific exercises. Exploration of possible majors through faculty visits. Co-requisite: Enrollment in the Catamount Advance Program.
CAS 1220. Liberal Arts to a Career. 1 Credit.
Helps students reflect on past experiences that suggest future career directions. In particular, students develop an understanding of how skills acquired in the liberal arts translate to careers. Students also learn how to prepare for the job-seeking process, focusing on resume and cover letter development, creating an action plan, and identifying resources that will assist in the transition from college to full-time employment.
CAS 1310. Race Dialogues & Facilitation. 3 Credits.
Introduction to dialogue, race dialogues, and dialogue facilitation. Includes an exploration of the concept of dialogue as opposed to debate, discussion, and other forms of communication; and offers instruction in the principles and practices of dialogue facilitation. Students practice engaging in dialogues about (and across) race, culminating in the design and co-facilitation of dialogues for their peers. Catamount Core: D1.
CAS 1315. Intergroup Dialogue: Race. 3 Credits.
Sustained, meaningful conversations about issues of race and its intersections with other personal and social identities. Following a model known as intergroup dialogue, the course will begin by asking students to reflect on and learn from their experiences related to their identities. Students will then engage in co-facilitated dialogues about current issues and events related to differences, power, and conflict as they pertain to race and racism in the United States. Catamount Core: D1.
CAS 1710. Drugs, Demons, & Dancing. 3 Credits.
An interdisciplinary examination of the mind-body problem offering perspectives from anthropology, dance, neuroscience, performance studies, psychology, and religion. Explores relationships between mind, brain, body, and behavior, asking how the senses, the body, and consciousness interact in order to shape our knowledge of ourselves and the world. Catamount Core: AH3.
CAS 1720. Extraterrestrial Life: NatSci. 3 Credits.
A multidisciplinary introduction exploring the origin of life in the universe and the quest for space exploration, aimed at a general audience with various backgrounds. Topics will be approached through the lens of astronomy, biology, physics, geology, chemistry, philosophy, literature, and art. Students seeking N1 Natural Science credit should register for CAS 1720; students seeking AH3 Humanities credit should register for CAS 1722. Credit not awarded for both CAS 1720 and CAS 1722. Catamount Core: N1.
CAS 1722. Extraterrestrial Life: Humn. 3 Credits.
A multidisciplinary introduction exploring the origin of life in the universe and the quest for space exploration, aimed at a general audience with various backgrounds. Topics will be approached through the lens of astronomy, biology, physics, geology, chemistry, philosophy, literature, and art. Students seeking N1 Natural Science credit should register for CAS 1720; students seeking AH3 Humanities credit should register for CAS 1722. Credit not awarded for both CAS 1722 and CAS 1720. Catamount Core: AH3.
CAS 1900. The Washington Center. 3 Credits.
The Washington Center (TWC) Academic Internship Program is a semester-long UVM-partner internship program in Washington, D.C. Credit awarded for successful completion of the professional development programming run by The Washington Center. Co-requisites: CAS 2900, CAS 2991.
CAS 1902. Topics In: Social Innovation. 3 Credits.
Professional development course on Becoming a Problem Solver. To be taken as part of either the Semester in the City or the Semester for Impact programs run by the College for Social Innovation, a UVM partner. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Co-requisites: CAS 2902, CAS 2991.
CAS 1960. Topics in Lib Arts in Prison. 1 Credit.
The Liberal Arts in Prison Program (LAPP) provides enrichment opportunities for those incarcerated locally, and community-engaged learning for UVM students who participate. Topics are variable, with classes under the direction of a variety of faculty from CAS. UVM students will engage in prison activities, but also have enhanced scholarly content and reflective writing assignments. May repeat for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years.
CAS 1990. Special Topics. 1-18 Credits.
See Schedule of Courses for specific titles. May be repeated for credit with different content.
CAS 2900. The Washington Center. 3 Credits.
The Washington Center (TWC) Academic Internship Program is a semester-long UVM-partner internship program in Washington, D.C. Credit awarded for successful completion of one of TWC's academic seminars. Seminars offered vary semester to semester. Co-requisites: CAS 1900, CAS 2991.
CAS 2902. Topics In: Social Innovation. 3 Credits.
Academic course on the Social Innovator's Toolbox. To be taken as part of either the Semester in the City or the Semester for Impact programs run by the College for Social Innovation, a UVM partner. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Co-requisites: CAS 1902, CAS 2991.
CAS 2920. Topics in Cmties of Practice. 3 Credits.
Cohort style internships directed by professionals currently working within their respective fields. Representative topics include sustainable transportation, legislature, nonprofits, the creative economy, and environmental stewardship. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or Instructor Permission.
CAS 2990. Special Topics. 1-18 Credits.
See Schedule of Courses for specific titles. May be repeated for credit with different content.
CAS 2991. Internship. 1-18 Credits.
On-site supervised work experience combined with a structured academic learning plan directed by a faculty member or a faculty-staff team in which a faculty member is the instructor of record, for which academic credit is awarded.
CAS 2993. Independent Study. 1-18 Credits.
A course which is tailored to fit the interests of a specific student, which occurs outside the traditional classroom/laboratory setting under the supervision of a faculty member, for which credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion.
CAS 2994. Teaching Assistantship. 1-3 Credits.
Undergraduate student service as a teaching assistant, usually in an introductory-level course in the discipline, for which credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion.
CAS 2995. Undergraduate Research. 1-18 Credits.
Undergraduate student work on individual or small team research projects under the supervision of a faculty member, for which credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion.
CAS 3922. Internship: Community News. 1-12 Credits.
A partnership with local community papers and media outlets with three primary goals: engage students in journalism, build citizenship skills, and provide content to community newspapers. Run like a mini-newsroom, students file stories to be published in multiple formats while learning how to work in news media. Prerequisite: A Catamount Core WIL1 or FW General Education course.
CAS 3990. Special Topics. 1-18 Credits.
See Schedule of Courses for specific titles. May be repeated for credit with different content.
CAS 3995. Undergraduate Research. 1-18 Credits.
Undergraduate student work on individual or small team research projects under the supervision of a faculty member, for which credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion.
CAS 4990. Special Topics. 1-18 Credits.
See Schedule of Courses for specific titles. May be repeated for credit with different content.
CAS 4996. Honors. 1-6 Credits.
College honors thesis or other department/program honors, under the supervision of a faculty member. Offered at department discretion.