Message from the Dean

Dean Terry McDonald

Welcome to the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts! LSA is nationally recognized as one of the leading liberal arts colleges in the country. Our departments and programs have consistently ranked among the top 10 in the nation. We are proud that our long history as an undisputed leader in the liberal arts has been achieved in an environment of diversity, acceptance and opportunity that is the hallmark of public education.

Because of our excellent reputation, LSA is able to attract outstanding faculty and remarkable students and bring them together to advance knowledge, transform lives and fulfill dreams. As a student in LSA, you will have the opportunity to take advantage of all the College has to offer to expand your horizons, challenge your expectations and prepare you for a fulfilling and successful future.

Four years of study in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences will prepare you for the complex and ever-changing world of work that awaits you after graduation. In a culture marked by a globalizing economy, and a pace of change that is blindingly fast, the abilities you develop here — thinking analytically, writing clearly, and reading carefully — will provide you with the breadth and adaptability that will become the foundation for a rich life and an active citizenship. You may choose to gain first-hand knowledge about a different culture through study abroad, to engage in significant research with a faculty mentor, or to enrich your creative expression in an intimate and supportive living-learning community. These experiences and more will make you better able to define and to solve social and scientific problems, to evaluate works of art, to respect diverse views and to understand the crucially important fact that the world has been made — and can be remade — by people just like you.

Our thousands of alumni tell us that the knowledge they gained through the study of the liberal arts opened doors to their future and prepared them for personal and professional success. They share with us their memories of the professor, the book or the class in LSA that first fired their interests — in science, literature, politics and other areas — which have sustained and deepened their lives over many years.

We are ready to welcome you to Michigan — to make a difference in your life, and to equip you to make a powerful and positive difference in the world.

 

Terrence J. McDonald,
Dean
College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
and Professor of History