Compass Courses (HUM 10) are the flagship courses of the Division of Arts and Humanities. These high-enrollment courses offer lower-division students the opportunity to learn from a team of three faculty members in a dynamic format. Courses are organized around a central, interdisciplinary theme—for instance, “Global Citizenship,” “Race and Empire,” “Climate, Environment, and Humanities,” “Queer Belonging,” “Pandemic Times,” or “Surveillance and Technology”—and aim to attract students to the study of the arts and humanities.
This is an annual call, and proposals are typically due in late October. Courses must appeal to an audience of primarily new, lower-division students. Please review the Call for Proposals before submitting an online application. The call for Fall 2025 proposals was closed on October 25, 2024, and awards will be announced in. November.
Funding includes:
- Research funds ($5,000 for the lead instructor and $4,500 for each co-instructor);
- Funding for three GSIs positions; and,
- Course enrichment funds ($2,000 in support of a guest lecture or other class activity).
- If the department has a demonstrated need, course replacement funding may be requested through the TAS process. Funds must be used within the same fiscal year and will be based on actual teaching replacement costs up to the going L&S course replacement rate.
The proposal form is brief and requests the following information:
- Biographical information about the instructors;
- Proposed course title and a draft course description;
- A basic (narrative) description of the course that includes: (1) some of the connections you would cultivate in this course—central themes, sample readings, and sample assignments; (2) an articulation of how these topics and approaches will appeal to lower-division students and attract students to A&H; and, (3) how you might make use of course enrichment funds. The narrative must be uploaded as a single PDF of no more than 1,000 words.
If you have any questions or technical issues, please contact Emily Rabiner at emily.rabiner@berkeley.edu.