Welcome

UC Davis is one of the most renowned universities in the world – making a difference in the lives of people every day. Fueled by learning and energized by discovery, the UC Davis tradition of engagement with the local community, the nation and the world guides all that it does. UC Davis is a pioneer in interdisciplinary problem-solving, and its four colleges, five professional schools, more than 100 academic majors and 86 graduate programs make it the most comprehensive of all the University of California campuses.

The College of Letters and Science has been at the heart of UC Davis' pioneering work for over 55 years. The largest of the colleges at the university, it opens the doors for future generations through a rigorous academic program that combines the fundamental liberal arts, mathematics and sciences with endless opportunities for individuals to pursue their dreams. Limitless possibilities offer themselves for students at the college – with undergraduate research programs, powerful centers of teaching and research in areas that study the mind and brain, language, and computational sciences. Whether you are a student, parent, alumnus, or friend of the college, experience what doors the college can open for you.

Featured News

New Study Closes In On Geologic History of Earth's Deep Interior

By using a super-computer to virtually squeeze and heat iron-bearing minerals under conditions that would have existed when the Earth crystallized from an ocean of magma to its solid form 4.5 billion years ago, two UC Davis geochemists have produced the first picture of how different isotopes of iron were initially distributed in the solid Earth. Full Story

Smart Summer Reading From College of L&S Authors

From critically acclaimed novels to nonfiction looks at Israeli foreign policy, primate parenting and the paranormal, UC Davis authors have published an array of provocative new books in the last year. Here are 10 titles that will smarten up any summer reading list. Full Story

Undergrad Cellists Play for Yo-Yo Ma

As a music major here at UC Davis, the most spectactular activity that I've had the privilege to participate in recently was a master class at the Mondavi Center with Mr. Yo-Yo Ma, the extensively recorded, world-famous cellist.
http://www.ucdavis.edu/spotlight/0509/class_with_the_master.html?homeflash=true

Bright Lights, Big Talent

It is mid-March, the day of the “final exam” in the winter-quarter course Designing With Light. In a few hours, a panel of UC Davis design professors and lighting industry experts will judge lighting fixtures the students have spent three months designing and building. The top projects will earn the best grades, naturally, but this year there are additional incentives: The winners will be displayed at the lighting industry’s mammoth trade show in New York City.
http://www.ucdavis.edu/spotlight/0509/bright_lights_big_talent.html?homeflash=true

Centennial Feature: Carl N. Gorman

The C.N. Gorman Museum, located inside the historic Hart Hall, has been a showcase for the creative expressions of Native Americans and other artists of diverse cultures and history for more than a quarter century. The museum was created in 1973 by the Native American Studies Program (and later a department) to honor its founding faculty member, Carl N. Gorman, who was born in 1907 and lived a rich life of adventures and artistry before he died in 1998.
http://centennial.ucdavis.edu/timeline/history/namesakes/

Ron Mangun Appointed as Dean of the Division of Social Sciences

George R. Mangun, professor of psychology and neurology, has been appointed dean of the UC Davis Division of Social Sciences. Mangun emerged as the top candidate during a national search that started when Steven M. Sheffrin stepped down in May 2008 after 10 years in the dean's office. Mangun has served as interim dean since Aug. 1. Full Story

Nano-Sandwich Triggers Novel Electron Behavior

A material just six atoms thick in which electrons appear to be guided by conflicting laws of physics depending on their direction of travel has been discovered by a team of physicists at the University of California, Davis. Working with computational models, the team has found that the electrons in a thin layer of vanadium dioxide sandwiched between insulating sheets of titanium dioxide exhibit one set of properties when moving in forward-backward directions, and another set when moving left to right. Full Story

Native Americans Descended From A Single Ancestral Group

For two decades, researchers have been using a growing volume of genetic data to debate whether ancestors of Native Americans emigrated to the New World in one wave or successive waves, or from one ancestral Asian population or a number of different populations. Now, after painstakingly comparing DNA samples from people in dozens of modern-day Native American and Eurasian groups, an international team of scientists thinks it can put the matter to rest: Virtually without exception the new evidence supports the single ancestral population theory. Full Story

Some Short-Term Memories Die Suddenly, No Fading

The human brain stores some kinds of memories for a lifetime. But when our eyes are open and looking at things, our gray matter also creates temporary memories that help us process complex tasks during the few seconds these visual memories exist. For decades, scientists have held that such short-term memories don't suddenly disappear, but grow gradually more imprecise over the course of several seconds. Full Story

Guest Lecture by Physicist David Gross Now Available Online

David Gross, a professor of physics at UC Santa Barbara who won the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics, visited the UC Davis campus this spring to discuss string theory and the Large Hadron Collider. His talk is now available online. Full Story

Design Museum Exhibits Shoes From Around the World

The UC Davis Design Museum will put on display shoes from around the world starting May 11. And just as exceptional is the student involvement in the exhibition itself. Full Story

Professor Fuses Math, Physics to Unlock Biology's Secrets

If you like your science all neat and tidy, Alex Mogilner may not be the man for you. But if you’re intrigued by the idea of combining sloppy math with biology and physics to study things like the shape of crawling keratocytes or the assembly of mitotic spindles, then keep reading. Mogilner, a UC Davis professor with joint appointments in mathematics and neurobiology, physiology and behavior, is a mathematical biologist who views the math side of his profession as a tool to explore the biological side.
http://www.ucdavis.edu/spotlight/0309/mogilner_equals_science_cubed.html?homeflash=true

Schoolchildren May Need Coaching on Emotions, School Success

Your 7-year-old may understand that a positive attitude is an asset when taking a spelling test, doing a math problem or tackling a science lesson. But don't expect a kindergartner to make that link. Full Story

New Book Examines Black Quilts from Slavery to the White House

When her first son was shot to death, Ora Poston Knowell poured her grief into a quilt. Every April 15, she hangs it in his honor from the front porch of her Oakland, Calif., home. On May 5, she displays the quilt she stitched in memory of his brother, killed seven years later. The grieving mother is among nine black quilters profiled in a new book, "Crafted Lives: Stories and Studies of African American Quilters," by Patricia Turner, professor of African American and African studies at the University of California, Davis. Published by the University Press of Mississippi, it is in bookstores now. Full Story

College Currents: The College of Letters and Science Magazine

College Currents, the College of Letters and Science bi-annual magazine, highlights what's new with the college's students, research, faculty, alumni, and friends. Find out more.

More News

For more news about the students, research, and teaching at the College of Letters and Science, visit our News and Publications page.