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WHERE CURIOSITY DRIVES IMPACT

Change begins with curiosity.

From exploring new ideas to solving the world’s biggest issues, LAS empowers thinkers and doers to transform curiosity into measurable impact.

We believe that education is more than lectures and textbooks. It’s about cultivating minds that question, explore, and act with purpose. And we know that when curiosity meets opportunity, innovation follows—and the impossible becomes possible. 

LAS News
Joseph Trujillo-Falcón
Researchers advance first-of-its-kind AI tool for translating life-saving weather warnings across the U.S.
 Nearly 69 million people in the United States speak a language other than English at home, yet weather warnings have long been issued almost exclusively in English. A new study documents how the National Weather Service is using artificial intelligence to change that, developing a...
Students looking at an opossum
What does it mean to live in a multi-species world?
 As humans, we rarely ponder life through the perspective of a non-human, but what happens if we try to see the world through the eyes of a bird, a squirrel, or an opossum? Anthropology professor Jane Desmond offers this question to her graduate...
black-and-white photo of Folger Adam Jr.
Creative writing contests keep memory of WWII-era poet alive
 Folger Adam Jr.’s eyes were drawn to the bronze plaque hanging over the fireplace in the dining room. “In honor of the brothers of the Illinois chapter Alpha Delta Phi who rendered service during the World War.” Below, there were many names.Adam was an LAS student from Joliet, Ill. Enough...
Bob Byars in front of bookshelf
The ballad of Bob Byars
Robert Pahre is a longtime professor of political science at U of I. Bob Byars had a vision. Once an assistant professor at Illinois, he had left the university on poor terms. However, he loved his students and remained in...
women running on track
Starting from scratch
 After two days and nine previous events of sprinting, jumping, throwing, and vaulting, the final race of the decathlon is less about speed than endurance — pushing forward even as the body begins to break down. By that point, Straus said, the hardest part isn’t just physical.“The worst part...
Kara Federmeier
The meaningful milliseconds
 Psychology and neuroscience professor Kara Federmeier directs the Cognition and Brain Lab and co-leads the Illinois Language and Literacy...
war landscape
A global war without end
 World War II became a global war in 1942, after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, drawing the U.S. into the war. All the world’s most powerful nations were at war with one another, and the fighting spanned the globe.But the war was global in other ways too — in the unifying idea of a fight for...
person sitting on bench in front of large paintings
A hub for connection and learning
 Who is a museum for? At the university’s Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, the answer is: All of us. Illinois undergraduate and graduate students and faculty and staff: of course.  K-12 students and teachers: absolutely. Community members...

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99.6%
of Illinois students take a class in LAS
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70+
majors offered within LAS
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33%
of campus' tenure-track faculty members work in LAS
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180,000
network of LAS alumni
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New students: Start your LAS journey

Fuel your curiosity, explore big ideas, and discover what drives you. Designed for new students, LAS First-Year Experience will help you connect, grow, and step confidently into college life.
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When you support the College of LAS, you play a crucial role in shaping the success of thousands of students and faculty.

Join us in creating a powerful network of influential thinkers and proven achievers—and help us seek a better tomorrow, today.