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:

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.

A faculty member conducts research

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.

Faculty examine a map.

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.

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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.

Student research opportunities

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.

LAS
Expertise

Read about LAS faculty research

Dean's Distinguished Lecture series

Hear from some of the college’s most distinguished members.

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