Frequently Asked Questions About the School of Arts & Humanities
Yes. Most of our programs require writing or portfolio samples in addition to standard application materials. Please see specific instructions by department:
Cultural Studies/English/History/Philosophy/Religion
All applicants are required to submit a writing sample of previous work in addition to the statement of purpose. You may submit samples of any length you feel indicate your writing ability, but please note that we will be unable to return any items submitted as part of your application (please, no books). Most applicants submit one or two scholarly papers or excerpts of around 10 to 15 pages. Writing samples should not exceed 30 pages.
Art
Applicants to the Art Department must electronically upload a portfolio of representative work for evaluation. Portfolios will be accepted only through the online service provided by SlideRoom: www.claremont.slideroom.com. Portfolios should consist of 15 images of recent artwork that represent a cohesive body of work. Performance and/or video artists may submit work that is no longer than three minutes. Summary educational information, the names of your three references, and a copy of your one-page artist statement will also need to be provided with your SlideRoom portfolio submission.
Statement of purpose: Provide a one-page artist statement (no longer than 500 words) in lieu of the two- to three-page statement of purpose.
Art applicants are not required to submit GRE or GMAT scores.
Music
Applicants to degree programs in performance must audition as part of their application process. Auditions are scheduled after an application for admission has been submitted. Information on music auditions is provided on the program’s application checklist.
The most successful applicants are intelligent, passionate about their education, driven to excellence, and serious about becoming active contributors to the learning environment. Because the School of Arts & Humanities is interested in building a diverse, interdisciplinary community of scholars, we do not use a restrictive set of standards for admissions but rather seek to evaluate each applicant on his or her individual merit and specific profile of experiences and goals.
Yes. We offer sessions regularly throughout the year. If you can’t make one of those sessions, please contact our admissions staff (admissions@cgu.edu or 909-607-7811) and we’ll be happy to set up a personal visit for you.
No. Our students come to us with degrees in a variety of fields within the social sciences, humanities, and the arts as well as other academic backgrounds. Obviously, the greater the background you have in your chosen field of study, the better prepared you will be to complete the assigned work.
Music and Art applicants should have demonstrated ability in their medium or performance area and are required to submit supplemental information along with their application (see above for specific requirements).
No. Every effort is made to review transcripts of previous academic work carefully and to consider the many factors that can affect the picture they present. We are aware of the differences that occur between one’s freshman and senior years and of the many outside factors that may impact a student’s academic performance. We do expect students to do well in their major, but we do not set a requisite grade point average. We take into consideration not merely the grades received but also the quality of the institution, the difficulty of courses taken, and the reputation of the professors with whom an individual studies.
Please view our application checklist for all application requirements.
Yes. The admissions committee is careful to weigh community and campus activities, as well as professional experience, when considering an applicant. While we are clearly an academic institution, we know that real-world experiences contribute significantly to a students’ education. We therefore respect the time, effort, and learning a student gains from work outside the classroom.
The School offers two courses abroad and an exchange program with the University of Zurich for Religion students. School of Arts & Humanities offers two classes abroad: a joint Cultural Studies/TNDY course with Bath Spa University in England and an archeological field methods REL/TNDY course in Akko, Israel. Course descriptions are below:
Heritage, Culture & Managing the Past in the Old World & the New
Summer EXCHANGE Course
Joshua Goode
This course is a jointly taught, dual-campus class that examines heritage management of historical sites and museums in both Los Angeles and the Bath region. While in Los Angeles, students from Bath and CGU will explore important cultural heritage sites, including the Getty Villa, the Autry Museum of the American West, the Huntington Library, Watts Towers, and the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, among other sites to be determined. In Bath, the students will use the university as home base to explore the city, named a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1987, and its many museums and historical sites, including its complete Roman baths, One Royal Crescent House Museum, and the Jane Austen Center. Outside Bath, we will explore Oxford and London to talk with museum leaders and heritage management experts. Stonehenge and the Victoria and Albert Museum are planned as part of the itinerary outside of Bath.
The differences between the two locations will pose in very clear relief the different kinds of issues that face heritage management experts in both contexts. How do we protect and manage historical sites and collections? Where do we find funding for the arts and cultural patrimony in a complicated setting of public and increasingly private fund-raising? How do we convey and maintain the cultural significance of these sites to contemporary and future audiences? Particular focus will be placed on the structural and economic differences between the regions that define how the arts and heritage efforts are funded and how broader, more globalized forces will define civic and national commemoration and historical education efforts in the future.
Archaeological Field Methods
Tammi Schneider
Akko, Israel
The main component of this course will be the actual work conducted in the field. Students will work in fields that are broken up into squares. Every student will be taught how to record the finds and eventually will be responsible for some of the recording. Recording methods include such things as taking levels; recording find spots; filling out tags for pottery buckets, soil samples, and special finds; photo records; balk drawing; making top plans; and recording pottery reads. All students will be responsible for pottery washing and will attend the pottery readings at which the pottery from their squares is analyzed. Every day there will be a tour of all of the fields and a presentation of the special finds discovered with a preliminary analysis. Each student will spend a minimum of one day at camp working on preservation of finds already discovered. Class will be taught in Akko, Israel, during the summer.
The Religion department has a partnership with the University of Zurich allowing exchange students from each of the institutions. The University of Zurich is one of the leading research universities in Europe and offers the widest range of study courses in Switzerland. It offers a unique opportunity to study Protestant theology in a place that has been a center of theological learning since the Reformation in the 16th century as well as philosophy of religion and comparative religion in a newly devised program of the cultural study of religion. Students studying in Zurich must be prepared to deal with instruction in German.
No. At this time all classes offered by the School of Arts & Humanities are taken at CGU or at the campuses of the other Claremont Colleges.
The School of Arts & Humanities has a very limited number of research assistant (RA) and teaching assistant (TA) positions available for the simple reason that we educate only master’s and doctoral students. The RAs and TAs whom we do employ are selected directly by our faculty and receive compensation in the form of payment, rather than tuition reduction. As a general rule, the faculty selects continuing students for these positions. If you would like to be considered for either an RA or TA position, please tell your faculty advisor that you wish to be considered if such a position becomes available.
The School of Arts & Humanities does not have a typical student, which is part of what makes the school unique. Our students’ interests and backgrounds are extremely varied. We welcome and train artists, musicians, archivists, curators, historians, philosophers, writers, educators, and many others. What all our students share is intellectual curiosity and a commitment to their fields of study while embracing the breadth and interdisciplinarity encouraged in SAH.
The School of Arts & Humanities has a large network of alumni in diverse fields from professors at universities across the nation to local artists to administrators and educators at various for-profit and nonprofit organizations, such as New Balance and the Autry National Center.
Art Department FAQ
No. The admission committee looks at all applicants with a variety of backgrounds.
Upon the review of your transcripts, the Art department faculty may allow you to transfer a limited number of classes or credits.
Applicants to the Art Department must electronically upload a portfolio of representative work for evaluation. Portfolios must be directly uploaded to the application after submission. Portfolios should consist of 15 images of recent artwork that represent a cohesive body of work. Applicants must include the title, size, year, and medium for all 15 images that are included in the portfolio. Performance and/or video artists may submit work that is no longer than 3 minutes in length.
Statement of purpose: Provide a one-page artist statement (no longer than 500 words) in lieu of the two- to three-page statement of purpose.
Art applicants are not required to submit GRE or GMAT scores.
Music Department FAQ
You can find that information on the program’s application checklist. Please note, MA in Music and PhD in Musicology applicants are encouraged but not required to submit scores from the GRE as part of their application.
Yes. Applicants to degree programs in performance must audition as part of their application process. Auditions are scheduled after an application for admission has been submitted. Information on music auditions is provided on the program’s application checklist.