McMaster Arts and Science

Arts and Science Program

The logo for the Society of Arts & Science Students (SASS), designed by Ben Barrett-Forrest (Class of 2014).
Established	1981
Director	Jean Wilson
Undergraduates	250
Location	Hamilton, ON, Canada
Degree Granted	B. Arts Sc.
Mascot	SASSquatch
Website	McMaster Arts & Science

The Arts and Science Program (also known as: ArtSci, Mac ArtsSci, or Arts & Sci) is an undergraduate program at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. It is one of the smallest and most prestigious direct-entry programs in the university, admitting only 70 students per year, with a total size of about 250 students.

Due to the small size, reputation, and popularity of this program, it has for many years been one of the most selective undergraduate programs in Canada, requiring a competitive high-school GPA in addition to a detailed supplementary application.

After the Second World War, McMaster University, like many other universities around the world, saw dramatic increases in student enrollment and degrees granted in the newly developing sciences. Initiatives to revive the liberal arts in the university were proposed in the ensuing years but did not leave the drawing board.

In the mid-1970s, there was a growing sense at McMaster that although 4 year honours degrees were exceeding expectations, the 3 year bachelor's degrees did not. In 1977, a university report recommended that McMaster explore the formation of an interdisciplinary program. In the spring of 1979, an ad hoc committee formed to investigate the recommendations, chaired by Dr. Dugal Campbell, reported to the university Senate. The Campbell Committee report was then endorsed by the university Senate in late June, 1979.

In the late summer of 1979, the Vice President (Academic) at the time, Leslie J. King, asked Dr. Herb Jenkins, a professor in McMaster's psychology department, to form a council to discuss, and serve as the director of a new baccalaureate program in general studies. The Planning Council presented the "Outline of a New Baccalaureate Degree Programme in Arts and Science" in mid-March 1980. After criticisms were heard at the general faculty meeting on March 27 of that year, the Council revised the outline and presented it to the university Senate in May 1980. In September 1981, the Arts & Science Program welcomed its first year of students.

The Arts & Science Program awards its students with a B. Arts Sc. Students may earn the degree in 3 years, although most students complete the degree in 4 years and earn the "Honours" appellation as any other undergraduate program. At the general faculty meeting of March 1980, the professors from the faculty of Health Sciences were particularly enthusiastic about the outline presented. This led to the formation of the small, inquiry and interdisciplinary-based Health Sciences undergraduate program in 1999. After Dr. Herb Jenkins retired as the first director of the Arts & Science Program, he, along with Dr. Bob Hudspith went on to found the Engineering and Society program at the Faculty of Engineering. McMaster's Integrated Sciences Program has also been modeled with the Arts & Science Program.