Academics

Engage

Join our Intellectual Community

A Gustavus student is an engaged student. Gusties like to be involved — in class discussions, in social justice, in their faith, in campus activities, and in their community. Our dedicated faculty want you to thrive. They want to help you think about ideas from more than one angle, form opinions, and then defend them. The world needs more good thinkers. Our professors believe in rigor and in a diverse and motivated classroom.

75%  Ultimately attended graduate or professional school
11:1  Student to Faculty Ratio
72  Majors
100%  of courses taught by faculty members
15  pre-professional programs in a wide variety of disciplines
Faculty in the classroom.

OPPORTUNITY FOR INQUIRY

Collaborate with professors who are engaged in their discipline’s research, whether that’s in a lab, a book, or the field. There are ample opportunities for undergraduate research, scholarship and creativity.

RESEARCH AT GUSTAVUS

Liberal Arts Learning

Challenge your perspective

What does it mean to take part in liberal arts learning? It means you have a well-rounded education that prepares you to adapt and lead in an ever-changing world. Through classes in the humanities, natural sciences and mathematics, fine arts, education, and social sciences, you’ll learn to identify a problem, examine it from multiple angles, and come up with creative interdisciplinary solutions. This commitment to acting on the great challenges of our time is exemplified through the Challenge Curriculum, our innovative general education experience that concludes with a capstone course focused on a real-world issue.

Explore the Challenge Curriculum

Find Your Focus

Where do your passions meet your purpose and values? How do you want to make a difference? In what field will you take on the great challenges of our time, and make your life count?

OPPORTUNITY FOR DISCOVERY

Gusties study the world around them and they study all over the world, too. Immerse yourself in a new culture to better understand service, leadership, and community, in such places as Sweden, Japan, and Ecuador.

EXPLORE STUDY AWAY

Julie Bartley, PhD

Julie Bartley, PhD

Professor of Geology and Environmental Studies

Expertise

I teach courses that explore how Earth has changed over time. My courses include introductory courses (Geochemistry of the Environment; Our Planet: Introduction to Earth Science) and upper-level courses (Evolution of the Earth; Paleontology; Sedimentary Systems). My research investigates how life on Earth has shaped environments through Earth history. I study the fossil and sedimentary records of microbes and also investigate how we can recognize and interpret microbial records, both on Earth and on other planets.

Read more about Julie Bartley, PhD

Betsy Byers, MFA

Betsy Byers, MFA

Chair and Associate Professor of Art and Art History, Environmental Studies Faculty

Expertise

I teach courses in painting and printmaking at Gustavus, as well as a specially developed course for ES, Climate Change Art, and for First-Term Seminar, Good Art, Bad Art. My courses explore art as both a subjective and objective experience, allowing students to explore how we can communicate visually and utilize art to enhance our daily experience. Of late, my work is inspired by the intersection between art and science, specifically climate change and ice loss.

Read more about Betsy Byers, MFA

Sheng Yang, PhD

Sheng Yang, PhD

Professor of Economics, Marcia Page and John Huepenbecker Endowed Professor in International Business and Entrepreneurship

Expertise

As an economist in the fields of Industrial Organization, Investments, and Applied Econometrics, my research has been mostly focused on the empirical analysis of strategic behavior and market dominance, capital market efficiency, and behavioral economics. The main topics of my publications vary widely and interdisciplinarily, including empirical analysis of asset pricing, structure-conduct-performance paradigm, student ethic awareness, efficiency wage theory, and selectivity bias in survey estimates. My current research is about investigating the short-run and long-run dynamics between exchange rates and stock prices and the path through which monetary policy shocks impact on these markets in small open economies.

Read more about Sheng Yang, PhD

Laura Burrack, PhD

Laura Burrack, PhD

Associate Professor of Biology

Expertise

My teaching spans several areas of biology including microbiology, cancer biology, molecular genetics, and the interdisciplinary borders between biology and society. My research uses microbes to explore the mechanism and consequences of several types of genetic changes seen in cancer cells and during the development of drug resistance in pathogens.

Read more about Laura Burrack, PhD

Laura Triplett, PhD

Laura Triplett, PhD

Associate Professor of Geology

Expertise

I am curious about how human activities on the landscape affect the quality of rivers, lakes, and groundwater. My research projects focus on river water quality, and help communities answer questions like “how can we protect our water?” and “how can we reduce the pollution in our river?” I teach about how the earth works, focusing on topics that intersect with human interests: climate change, rivers, soil, landslides, glaciers, coasts, etc.

Read more about Laura Triplett, PhD

Excellence Defined

Learn From Our Awesome Faculty

They’re nationally and internationally recognized scholars. And they’re devoted to undergraduate teaching. Top-notch intellectuals and people, Gustavus faculty lead 100 percent of Gustavus courses. You’ll meet and learn from them every single day. Helping you discover your passion and purpose through the liberal arts is their passion and purpose.