College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
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About the College

Welcome to LAS

 

  • 5,702

    Undergraduate Students

  • 1,060

    Graduate Students

About the college

Central to Iowa State University’s mission, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) is a collaborative, vibrant community of faculty, students and staff, committed to learning, research, and innovation. With 21 departments, one professional school, 49 majors, and over 20 cross- disciplinary programs, LAS faculty support student success and engage in pathbreaking research across a wide range of fields.

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Students

LAS is the academic home for nearly a quarter of ISU’s student body. The college also provides most of the university’s core required courses, which means nearly every Iowa State student takes courses in LAS. Academic rigor and a supportive environment prepare students for success as global citizens and innovators of the future. Our students are tomorrow’s leaders in emerging and high-demand fields like data science, artificial intelligence, climate science, and genetics.

Award-winning research

Since 2018, LAS has awarded $639,500 in LAS Dean’s High Impact Awards for Undergraduate Research to financially support student researchers.

  • $60+ Million

    FY22 Research Expenditures

  • 7

    LAS Goldwater scholars in last five years

Faculty

LAS employs roughly a third of Iowa State’s faculty. Our faculty are widely recognized for their high-caliber, interdisciplinary research and scholarly endeavors. You’ll find LAS faculty among the most prestigious honors, including election to the National Academy of Sciences, and fellowships from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation and National Endowment for the Humanities.

Research

The college celebrates and encourages interdisciplinary collaborations that enable innovations, entrepreneurship, and research that positively impacts our communities and the world. From the effects of video gaming on youth to the creation of new materials, LAS scientists are at the forefront of discovery. LAS also maintains an exceptional partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames National Laboratory (Ames Lab), sharing resources to propel groundbreaking research, recruit and retain distinguished scientists, and secure prolific external grant funding.

 

Focused on the future

College faculty and staff know that today’s students aspire to successful careers after graduation. LAS invests in a robust Career Services program to help students gain and leverage their skills and knowledge into careers. Programs like Languages and Cultures for Professionals combine language learning with intensive cultural exploration and internships in another country to prepare students for careers in a global workforce.

Pulse, a student advisory council, provides monthly insight and feedback to the LAS dean about issues and opportunities, to help perpetuate continuous improvement.