The School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Alabama at Birmingham is central to the fulfillment of the university's mission to advance human knowledge and understanding. By providing an environment for research and creative endeavor, the School contributes to the creation, recovery and interpretation of knowledge and works of art. Through its educational programs it both imparts an understanding of what has been achieved in the past and draws students into the ongoing creative process as active participants.
The School of Arts and Humanities is an integral part of the liberal arts at UAB. One of the central aims of the liberal arts is to cultivate self-understanding, and to achieve this goal the arts and humanities are essential. The School pursues this aim as a community of scholars and artists bound together by the highest standards of academic freedom and integrity in teaching, research and service.
In the School of Arts and Humanities, teaching, research, creativity, and service are not disparate goals but are closely related. Its programs are predicated upon the belief that effective teaching is the indispensable foundation of excellence in higher education. In this spirit, the School serves Alabama by offering educational opportunities, public performance and exhibitions, and by offering the benefits of scholarship and learning to society as a whole. Faculty share their expertise with the community through partnerships with community organizations and other cooperative endeavors.
But perhaps most fundamentally, the mission of the School is focused on people. We are committed to the idea that liberal arts develop literate, thoughtful, aesthetically aware, and intelligent people who will continue to learn throughout their lives and who will take their places as valued citizens of Alabama and the larger world.