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American Studies, Art, Art History and Archaeology, Classics, College of Arts and Humanities, Communication, English, History, Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Program and Center for Jewish Studies, Linguistics, Philosophy, School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, School of Music, School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

2026 ARHU Commencement: Undergraduate Ceremony

We look forward to celebrating the important milestone of commencement with our graduates, their families and friends and our faculty and staff.

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Arts for All, Roshan Institute for Persian Studies, School of Music

UMD Professor’s Poem Becomes Play-Opera About Women in Prison

Inspired by real accounts, “For Women Serving Time” opens March 20 at Dupont Underground.

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College of Arts and Humanities, English

Professor Emerita Merle Collins Recovers Overlooked Life of Louise Little

Collins received the Barbara T. Christian Literary Award for “Ocean Stirrings.”

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What interests you?

learning about...

a career in...

Whatever your interests and aspirations, ARHU is committed to providing the knowledge, skills and opportunities all our students need to write their own stories and chart their own paths.

"In ARHU, you’re learning about how people interact with the world and each other. My goal is to build things that people are going to use. Just technology knowledge can only go so far. You have to understand how people are going to use them to be truly successful."

Ozzie Fallick '14, Software Engineer, Google
Linguistics

"Cross-cultural communication is one of the most important skills that I learned at ARHU, and I use it to engage and inform the community in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean about our events, exchanges and any other information that supports our key policy priorities in the region. ARHU gave me the tools to understand why in diplomacy, it’s as much about what you say as how you say it."

Krystle Norman '08, Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State
Spanish and Portuguese

"I had always loved art, but I never knew you could make a career out of it until I studied abroad in Rome. There, I took a full course load of art courses and learned all about the factors of being an art professional. It was life-changing. Now I feel lucky that I’m doing something that I’m so passionate about."

Laura Sheridan Raiffe '09, Regional Account Manager, Christie's Fine Arts
Art History and Archaeology

"One of the most important things I got out of my ARHU experience is my ability to parse arguments, think critically and see multiple sides of an issue. Being in law school, it’s important to do that—it’s a skill I use every day. Not a class goes by, not a case gets read that this skill doesn’t come into play."

AJ Clayborne '13, Student, Harvard Law School
English

GRAND CHALLENGES

DEMAND FEARLESS IDEAS

The research and creative works of our faculty, students and alumni are setting the agenda for transformative dialogue about the value of the arts and the humanities in the world today.

Research Highlights

New Scholarship from The College of Arts and Humanities

Explore Our Research

Happening at ARHU

A woman being shackled and strip-searched multiple times just to attend a college class in prison was an image Fatemeh Keshavarz couldn’t forget. Moved by that determination, Keshavarz, a poet and professor of Persian @umdsllc and director of the Roshan Institute for Persian Studies, wrote a 10-page poem exploring the inner lives of incarcerated women and the complexities behind their stories. That poem has now become a theatrical work titled “For Women Serving Time,” created with pianist and composer Adrienne Torf. Opening March 20 at @dupontunderground in Washington, D.C., the @inseriesopera play-opera blends poetry, music and performance to examine incarceration and the humanity of women often reduced to labels. “I felt if I didn’t talk about these women, they would be silenced,” Keshavarz said. “They would remain invisible.” Read more at the link in our bio.
We're thrilled to share that ARHU received $217,046 from 807 donors on Wednesday! Thank you to all of our donors ❤️. Your gift will make a difference at a time when the arts and humanities matter more than ever. #GivingDayUMD
Macbeth opens tonight at @TheClariceUMD! Last night Dean @stephshonekan and Provost Jennifer King Rice had a chance to catch the dress rehearsal, along with a group of ARHU staff participating in Dean Shonekan’s Higher Ground series which engages staff in experiencing and discussing music, books, theater and other creative and scholarly works! 📖 🎨 🎶 Performed by students in @UMD_TDPS and directed by Assistant Professor Fatima Quander, this adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy is set in the United States in a not too distant dystopian future - one devastated by ecological ruin and social fragmentation. In addition to the shift in time and place, the production’s revisionist approach includes breaking the characters out of traditional conventions of gender. Get your tickets today! Showtimes on March 6, 7, 10, 11 and 12. 📸: Taneen Momeni

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