Salem College offers a bachelor of arts in the visual and performing arts with concentrations in art history, studio art, pre-art therapy, and music. It also offers minors in: Art History, Studio Art, Music, Visual and Performing Arts, Therapeutic Arts, and Visual Literature. These programs provide students with a solid background in academic training while exposing them to a wide variety of media, techniques, and contemporary issues. The result is a graduate confident in their abilities and clear in their artistic and performing goals.

The Biochemistry major introduces students to the application of chemical principles to biological systems across living organisms. Students learn and integrate biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics to understand and solve problems within the spheres of health, medicine, environment, forensics, and food at the molecular level. Salem offers a bachelor of science in biochemistry.

Biology is the study of life at all levels, including molecules, cells, microbes, the anatomy and physiology of organisms, and ecosystems. We provide students with a solid foundation of the fundamentals of biology, producing well-rounded scientists grounded in the liberal arts. Salem offers biology as a bachelor of science degree or bachelor of arts degree, and also a biology minor. Each of these programs has an innovative curriculum designed to enhance students’ knowledge in a holistic way to understand and apply the fundamental facts and principles concerning living matter, from molecules to the environment, through an evolutionary lens.

The business administration major offers students an essential combination of pre-professional preparation and a solid foundation in the liberal arts. Both are essential to success in today’s increasingly global and diverse business environment. You belong in this program of study if you are committed to hard work, aren’t afraid to take risks and understand that, above all, progress is about growth. In addition to a bachelor of arts with a major in business administration, Salem offers a minor in business administration as well as a minor in business entrepreneurship.

Business Administration students will have the option to complete their core business courses entirely online or in person. This program will be supported by co-curricular experiences for enhanced learning, skills development for marketplace preparedness, and access to community engagement opportunities. Once a student declares a Business Administration major, they will be required to meet with the program director for Business Administration either in person or over Zoom.

The business administration major with a concentration in digital marketing is offered in collaboration with Rize Education. The concentration in digital marketing requires four courses that are only taught online by Rize-affiliated faculty, not by Salem College faculty. This major offers students a special combination of pre-professional preparation and a firm foundation in the liberal arts. Both are essential to success in today’s increasingly global and diverse business environment. Interdisciplinary in nature, the major includes courses in accounting, business ethics, business law, business statistics, computer applications, economics, finance, management, marketing and mathematics.

Chemistry is the study of the properties, structure and behavior of the matter that surround and include you — from energy to medicine to the food you eat. Salem offers a bachelor of arts degree with a major in chemistry as well as a minor in chemistry and a minor in nutrition that pairs well with our chemistry and biochemistry program.  Graduates from Salem’s chemistry program either go directly to graduate school or are employed in the field.

The communications and media studies major at Salem develops students’ understanding and practice of oral, written, and visual communication. Our disciplinary assumption is that through communication practices, people coordinate social and cultural activity, influence change, and define their identities. In this century, digital media content creation and quickly emerging technologies continually alter human communication practices, giving rise to social, ethical and legal questions. Salem offers a bachelor of arts degree as well as a minor in communications and media studies.

The bachelor of arts in design major at Salem College blends coursework in studio art, art history, and design into an interdisciplinary program that builds student creativity and skills. The program culminates in a capstone project where students apply their talents to professional design challenges. The major offers concentrations in interior design and graphic design and a design minor.

Teaching is most definitely an art. At Salem, women (undergraduate) and men and women (graduate-level) looking to become educational leaders of tomorrow learn the art of teaching through a careful and intentional blend of course work and multiple field-based experiences. And through it all, they enjoy a close and collaborative learning environment.

Salem offers a bachelor of arts with a major in Teaching, Schools, and Society with several interdisciplinary concentrations blending broad areas of study and foundational education classes: Advocacy (public policy, history, sociology, and psychology), Literacy (English, creative writing), Natural Sciences (bio, chemistry, physics, and earth science) and Social Sciences (history, sociology, economics, and political science).

Engaging Ethics is both a commitment and a program.  Our commitment is to ensure all students understand how to reason about ethical questions and choose ethical actions.  We help you get there through a series of courses, built into the academic core and arrayed through the majors, that link principles of ethical behavior with problems that challenge our world.

The English and Writing Studies program is purposefully integrated to allow students to develop critical and ethical thinking skills in a variety of contexts: studying and writing about English language literature through historical, social, intellectual, and aesthetic lenses and exploring literature by women and writers from diverse cultures. Salem offers a bachelor of arts in English and Writing Studies. The English major offers concentrations in English and Professional Writing, or English and Creative Writing. The program also offers minors in English, Professional Writing, and Creative Writing.

Salem’s Environmental Studies major concentrates on the study of natural systems and our relationship with them as a basis for taking action to support sustainability at levels ranging from personal to local to global. The goal of the Environmental Studies program is to deepen students’ understanding of past and present environmental issues, develop their grasp of the principles of conservation ecology, prepare them to manage environmentally sustainable processes, and prepare them to shape public opinion and public policy to produce social change in support of sustainable environmental systems.

Many students take exercise science classes because they enjoy sports, and while exercise science is certainly fun, it’s also a great deal more. Exercise science at Salem is the in-depth study of physical activity and its effect on the health and well-being of individuals and communities. As a women’s college we approach our study of human movement holistically through the life sciences, social sciences and humanities, with women’s experiences in physical activity woven throughout the curriculum. When paired with a business administration minor, this is an excellent path for students desiring to explore entrepreneurship in health. Salem offers a bachelor of science in exercise science, a bachelor of arts in exercise science, and a minor in coaching.

The health advocacy and humanitarian systems program deepens students’ understanding of health and social change. The program’s mission is to foster future community and organizational leaders, and to prepare them to shape the policies and systems that impact individual, community and global health outcomes. Salem offers a bachelor of arts in health advocacy and humanitarian systems as well as a minor in health advocacy and humanitarian systems.

In the health communication program at Salem, students take part in a comprehensive study of arts, communication, data and health science fields to develop skills in health data analysis and hone their ability to create effective messaging that helps audiences live well. As part of their courses, students collect data, learn statistics, and create podcasts, infographics, public service campaigns and journalistic reporting. The curriculum is designed to welcome transfer students and students who began their education in other disciplines. The bachelor of arts in health communication is a data-driven and creative program of study.

The bachelor of arts and minor in health humanities provides students with an interdisciplinary exploration of human health—past, present, and across cultures and communities—through the methods and materials of the humanities and arts. Health humanities students thoughtfully examine cultural understandings of health, healing, and healers through history, narrative, art and ethics. This program provides a pathway for students who want to pursue health-related careers with a broad cultural understanding.

The health science major at Salem allows students with an interest in the natural sciences to explore interdisciplinary perspectives on health and the healthcare industry. This program of study is also a pillar of Salem’s initiative to support more women building foundational knowledge that will help them thrive in the field of health leadership. Salem offers a bachelor of science and a bachelor of arts in health science.

The history major at Salem invites students to explore historical narratives through the lens of race, class, gender, ethnicity and place. Students focus on American history and the history of Western Civilization and select from a variety of courses dealing with several non-Western regions. History students will delve into the particular histories of American and European women, American Indians and African Americans and explore the impacts of colonialism, race and empire. Salem offers a bachelor of arts with a history as well as a minor in history.

The Honors Program at Salem College offers academically talented students a community that pushes conventional scholarly boundaries to promote excellence. Honors Scholars interact with peers, prominent scholars, writers, business professionals, and community leaders to advance their critical thinking skills and their knowledge of the increasingly diverse world in which we live.