The College of Arts and Sciences at Bucknell University was established on September 1, 1961. The Board of Trustees approved a reorganization of the administration of the University into three colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering, and the College of Business Administration. The reorganization was designed to increase the quality and effectiveness of the administration, but not create change in the degree program or basic character of the University.

Each college is headed by a Dean who reports to the Provost. The instructional departments within the colleges are responsible to the curricular programs of the college of which they are a part and to the professional standards and commitments of their disciplines. Each department designs its own major and minor programs for approval by its college curriculum committee. The Curriculum Committee of the College of Arts and Sciences has jurisdiction over all aspects of the curriculum of the college and includes all matters related to course offerings, the establishment of degrees, of majors, of minors, and of the provisions and requirements of those degrees, majors, and/or minors. The Interdepartmental Major Committee maintains authority over individually proposed interdepartmental majors.

The College of Arts and Sciences offers the following degrees: traditional Bachelor of Arts degree; choice of the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in the natural sciences, mathematics and computer science; and professional degrees in music, education, and management and accounting. The College also follows a College Core Curriculum designed to provide students with the foundation for a lifetime of critical thinking and civic engagement and the opportunity for intellectual exploration and in-depth study in a discipline.