Liberal Arts and International Studies
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The Division of Liberal Arts and International Studies (LAIS) is dedicated to delivering a program of excellence in the humanities and social sciences designed to prepare students for the complex challenges of the 21st century. Its faculty members are nationally and internationally recognized scholars and devoted teachers.
The course work in LAIS reveals the communicative, cultural, philosophical, ethical, social, political, environmental, international, and global contexts which impact the practice and application of science and engineering today. Humanities and social sciences play an important role in identifying, formulating and solving engineering problems. The program prepares Mines graduates to live and work in a complex world, understand the meaning and implications of “stewardship of the Earth,” and to communicate effectively in written, oral, visual, and electronic modes.
LAIS Graduate Program
LAIS offers graduate programs that are designed to add value to a student's undergraduate engineering, applied science, or economics degree in the disciplinary areas of international political economy or science, technology and society studies:
- Master of International Political Economy of Resources (MIPER)
- Graduate Certificate in International Political Economy
- Graduate Certificate in Science and Technology Policy
- Graduate Individual Minor
Campus Writing Program
The Campus Writing Program (CWP) is designed to help students improve their ability to meet the expectations for written communication. The communication skills students learn should foster the kind of critical thinking and desire for learning that will enable them to become more effective communicators and life-long learners. The CWP is founded on the idea that when students have both a solid technical and scientific background and the ability to convey their ideas to diverse audiences, they are ultimately in a better position to influence their career paths, their chosen fields, and their world with the full fruit of their talents.
Beyond the Classroom
Hennebach Program in the Humanities
The Hennebach Program in the Humanities, supported by a major endowment from Ralph Hennebach (Mines class of 1941), sponsors a regular series of visiting professors and promotes the general enhancement of the humanities on campus.
Visiting professors have included scholars in classics, environmental studies, ethics, history, literature, philosophy, and social theory as well as the interdisciplinary fields of environmental, policy, and science-technology-society studies.
Music at Mines
The Colorado School of Mines Band was established more than 51 years ago and has a rich tradition of performing for the school and the community. The Concert Choir presents a variety of music in concerts on and off campus. Our Acappella Singers, an audition-only vocal chamber group, is subdivided into four performing groups that regularly present programs for both the Mines and local communities. Facilities for the music program include rehearsal rooms and a computer lab equipped with Pro Tools, Finale and similar software for student use.
High Grade
High Grade is a student-run literary and arts journal that publishes original poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction and art by Mines students, faculty and staff. The journal is produced annually as a high gloss, perfect-bound, full color print publication typically 120-150 pages.
- The Blackwell Award for Excellence in Creative Expression
- The Frank Oppenheimer Science and Society Award
- The Maryanna Bell Kafadar Humanities Award
- The Sacks Fund for Excellence in Environmental Sustainability
For more information, visit the LAIS web site.