Lewis & Clark is broadening its curriculum, giving students more ways to connect a liberal arts education to fast-changing fields.
Data Science Major Building on the success of the existing data science minor, this new major brings together computing, statistics, and disciplinary expertise from across the liberal arts. The result is a program that emphasizes not only technical fluency, but also ethical reasoning, commuication, and real-world applications. Students will be taught not only how to analyze data, but also how to question it—where it comes from, what it reveals, whom it serves, and how it can be used in ways that are ethical, thoughtful, and humane.
Law and Policy Minor This minor gives undergraduates an interdisciplinary way to explore how law shapes public life and intersects with major social and political questions. Along with building a grounding in the American legal system, students have the unique opportunity to take select courses at Lewis & Clark Law School and gain hands-on experience through its practical skills clinics—valuable preparation for law school, public policy, or related careers.
Education Minor This minor explores teaching and learning through a liberal arts lens—one that values curiosity, cultural awareness, and critical thinking alongside classroom practice. Interdisciplinary by design, it pairs foundational courses with electives in areas like child development, communication, and the social contexts of schooling. Students gain direct exposure to K–12 education, including a practicum in a local school, while benefiting from advising and connections to the teacher preparation programs at L&C’s Graduate School of Education and Counseling.
Cybersecurity Minor This interdisciplinary minor introduces students to one of today’s most pressing and fast-growing fields. Combining technical study with courses in areas such as philosophy, law, psychology, and international affairs, it explores not only how digital systems are protected, but also the ethical, legal, and social questions surrounding them. A new grant-funded Cybersecurity Clinics course will add hands-on experience, giving students the chance to connect classroom learning with the community’s real-world cybersecurity challenges.
AI Minor This minor enables students to engage with one of the most consequential technologies shaping contemporary life. It provides technical training in computer science and mathematics with critical study of AI’s broader social implications, including questions of bias, privacy, democracy, intellectual property, and environmental cost. Students learn not only how AI and machine learning systems work, but also how to apply them thoughtfully to real-world problems. While especially appealing to students in computer science, the program is designed to be accessible to students pursuing any major.
