The College of LAS is home to more than 600 faculty experts working on the world’s fundamental problems and grand challenges. In addition to conducting ground-breaking research and creative activity, they provide a multitude of opportunities for students to get involved.
Research
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a R1 research university, and College of LAS faculty members are integral part of the campus' research activity. They earned nearly $71 million in grant funding during the 2021-22 school year and contribute to campus' interdisciplinary research institutes:
- 83 at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology
- 117 at the Carl R. Woese Institute of Genomic Biology
- 10 at the Humanities Research Institute
- 6 at the Institute of Sustainability, Energy, and the Environment
- 21 at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications
LAS faculty members lead their fields and generate new knowledge in the sciences, humanities, and social sciences. They have been honored with the National Medal of Science, Guggenheim Fellowships, National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships, Nobel Laureate, Pulitzer Prize, and memberships to the National Academy of Sciences and American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
LAS faculty also oversee opportunities for students to get involved in their research, earning hands-on experience in the lab and contributing to work that makes our world a better place.
Research areas
The college prides itself on an interdisciplinary and collaborative environment that allows broader thought and inventive ideas in all three of its main research areas.
 Mathematical, life, and physical sciences LAS researchers are building on the foundations of mathematical and scientific knowledge and applying it to topics like mathematics, statistics, actuarial science, geography, geology, and several different kinds of biology. In 2018-19, they received $29.9 million in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health and $16.6 million from the National Science Foundation. |
 Humanities In LAS' humanities units, faculty members are exploring people, the challenges they encounter, and how they respond through literature, writing and the human experience. Faculty members have received NEH Fellowships, which support advanced research in the humanities; the recipients produced articles, books, digital materials, and other scholarly resources. |
 Social and behavioral sciences Faculty members are studying society, relationships, and human behaviors. They're shattering longstanding myths about how humans interact and providing new guidance about how we learn and process the world around us. They work together through research centers like the Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Initiative in order to tackle global challenges. |
Undergraduates are encouraged to design their careers by researching alongside our faculty members. Many graduate students conduct research, publish papers, and write theses and dissertations while studying at the University of Illinois.
Read about LAS faculty research
Hear from some of the college’s most distinguished members.
