About LSA
Since 1841, the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) has been the heart of The Michigan Difference, educating young leaders through a rich liberal arts curriculum and creating new knowledge through world-class research and scholarship.
What does that mean exactly?
It means that we offer more than 100 degree programs in over 75 academic departments and programs. It means that we have one of the largest alumni networks in the world with 200,000 living LSA graduates. It means we consistently have a first-year retention rate of over 95%. And it means that 90% of our seniors go on to enter the workforce or attend graduate school.
Former U-M President James B. Angell said Michigan provided "an uncommon education for the common man." As the largest college at U-M, with more than 40 top-ranked programs, LSA continues that tradition of educational excellence.
Every LSA program is among the best in the U.S.
More than 40 are among the top 10, and 5 programs are the best in their fields.
- In 2012, U-M was ranked 18th among the best universities in the world by The Times of London
- As the primary undergraduate college, LSA is the reason U.S. News & World Report ranks U-M as one of the top 10 universities for undergraduate teaching
- The 2011 Newsweek college rankings placed U-M 7th among schools graduating future politicians, 15th among schools for computer geeks, 16th for top schools among CEOs, 24th among most desirable urban schools, and 25th among the most gay-friendly schools
- See our complete list of ranked academic programs
This isn’t just a classic liberal arts college.
Hands-on, practical learning and leadership opportunities are at the core of the LSA experience.
- LSA’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program has been ranked the best program of its kind in the U.S.
- LSA offers more than 70 study abroad programs spanning six continents. (We’d do all seven, but Antarctica is really, really cold.)
- U-M was ranked 11th on the Newsweek list of the top 100 global universities
- The College supports off-campus learning through internship programs, the U-M Biological Station in northern Michigan, the New England Literature Program, and more.
- First and second year students can enroll in LSA’s highly regarded Honors Program; upperclassmen in any major can write an honors thesis.
LSA professors are global leaders in their fields.
And they bring that expertise into the classroom, which is why U-M is consistently ranked as a top teaching university.
- LSA has had 10 MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowships since 1988, including two in 2011: Tiya Miles (Afroamerican & African Studies) and Melanie Sanford (Chemistry)
- In 1999, the Nobel Prize was awarded to Professor Emeritus Martinus Veltman (Physics)
- The College has had two Carnegie Foundation/CASE professors of the year since 2005: Brian Coppola in 2009 (Chemistry) and William “Buzz” Alexander in 2005 (English)
- For more on our exceptional faculty, download the complete LSA Profile (PDF)
Terrence J. McDonald
Arthur F. Thurnau Professor,
Professor of History, and Dean of LSA
"The College's historic mission has been dual: both to change lives and to transform minds. In that effort, and everything that we do in the College, we can take inspiration from our students' own hopes for their journeys of intellectual transformation while they are here."
