Feinstein School of Humanities, Arts and Education

In SHAE students merge coursework with real-world experience in order to prepare for fulfilling careers and successful lives.

SHAE Turns Passions Into Careers
  • 95%
    Placement Last Three Years

    Through the years, our graduates consistently find success in employment or in graduate school within six months of graduation.

  • 80%
    Graduate with More Than a Single Major

    At RWU, we encourage combining your passions - our programs allow you the space for an additional major and/or minor, which gives you the skills and diverse experiences that set you up for success.

  • 100%
    Real-World Experience

    Our students get the experience employers are looking for from internships, research programs, and hands-on projects unique to each major.

Students conversing in classroom.

Academic Programs

SHAE offers a wide range of degree options for both undergraduate and graduate students. Our programs combine theory with practice, leading to well-rounded students with the skill set to succeed in the workforce or future studies.

Explore the Academic Programs
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Departments

Encompassing the humanities, digital design, education, and history, our departments carry on the great tradition of liberal arts colleges. Each department emphasizes project-based learning experiences and the development of critical skills in order to prepare students for lifelong success.

Explore the Departments
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Faculty and Staff

Our experienced and credentialed scholars and practitioners develop personal, meaningful relationships with students. Both inside and outside the classroom they are directly involved with all aspects of educating our students. 

Meet the Faculty and Staff
Back of shirt at protest.

SHAE - a place of affirmation, belonging, and celebration

At the center of SHAE is the commitment to student belonging and academic success. We provide the spaces and programs that highlight students’ imaginations, passion, and skill development. Meeting students where they are and empowering them to go in their chosen direction is an act of social justice truly in need in this era.

This is the #SHAEAdvantage.

In SHAE, we use our strengths as readers, writers, and thinkers, as artists and educators, to redress past wrongs and envision possible futures. Our students, faculty, and staff welcome and affirm all who learn in our classrooms and engaged spaces. We acknowledge that historically our disciplines have engaged in cultural erasure, educational violence, and the preservation of privilege.  In SHAE, we are committed to building a culture of anti-racism and intersectional inclusivity in which we commit ourselves to resilience and growth.

The Feinstein School of Humanities, Arts, and Education (SHAE) recognizes and celebrates our students' identities that fall under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. Continuously, we strive to learn about these identities that are not fixed, but rather forever evolving, just as our students evolve in their respective areas of study. We strive to embed equity and understanding throughout our curriculum so that students with any identity can feel comfortable inside and outside the classroom. SHAE wishes to learn and connect with all of its members, so that all of us may thrive. 

SHAE's purpose is to use the histories, philosophies, and literatures of the past to forge a better future for all students, faculty, and staff. We strive to support those who have been oppressed and stand with those who feel as if they are continuously told to be who they are not. We shall work to create a platform for every student to use their voice, one that celebrates a better educational experience. Humanities is at the heart of the RWU education, and Belonging is at the heart of SHAE.

-Matthew J. Milotakis 
English Literature and Cultural Studies Double Major, ‘25

Headshot of Abigail Higgins

A Deeper Understanding Through First-hand Experience

Abigail Higgins, RWU Class of 2020
Elementary Education

Most teacher candidates at university-based programs don't have extensive faculty-supervised K-12 classroom time until their senior year. As a sophomore, elementary education major Abigail Higgins is breaking that mold thanks to the new elementary teacher residency model at RWU.

Read full story

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