Academic Departments and Programs

Capitalize academic departments and programs specific to Union College (Anthropology, Mathematics, the Department of Theater and Dance, International Programs)

• She teaches in the Department of Mathematics.
• She is the director of International Programs.

On second and succeeding references, use “the department,” “the program.”

• The department now offers special courses in musical performance, stage make-up and stage combat from the Elizabethan period to the present.

Use lowercase when referring to a field of study or to a department or program at another institution. (She teaches psychology at the University of Michigan. Exceptions, of course, include names of languages: English, French, Japanese.)

For official names of Union departments and programs, capitalize both the name and the word “department” or “program” (but not the preceding “the”).

• the Religious Studies Program (or Religious Studies)
• the Department of English (or the English Department)
• the Department of Visual Arts (or the Visual Arts Department)

When referring to the department, use upper case.

When referring subsequently to “the department” or “the program,” don’t capitalize it. Note: When referring to Union, we make an exception and capitalize “the College.”

Do not capitalize general initiatives or undertakings such as “the undergraduate program,” “the varsity soccer program,” or “the leadership gifts program.”

Do not capitalize the names of disciplines or fields of study (except for countries or languages, which are always capitalized).

• The chemistry curriculum has rigorous lab requirements.
• She’s a history major, with a minor in American studies.

Capitalize and put quotation marks around the proper names of courses.

• “The Science of Human Movement" course brings together biological sciences and theater and dance.

Some commonly misnamed units, and their correct names, are:

• Minerva Program (formerly Minerva House System)
• Minerva Houses (the houses, on second reference)
• Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life (not Greek Life)
• Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies (not Women and Gender Studies)