UCLA College of Letters and Science

Updated on Dec 27, 2023

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Type Public Campus Urban Founded 1919		Established 1919 Website College website Mascot UCLA Bruins

Dean Humanities: Tim Stowell Life Sciences: Victoria Sork Physical Sciences: Joseph Rudnick Social Sciences: Alessandro Duranti Undergraduate Education: Judith L. Smith Location Los Angeles, California Motto Fiat lux; Let there be light Parent organization University of California, Los Angeles Profiles Facebook

Ucla college of letters and science commencement 2010

The College of Letters and Science is the arts and sciences college of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). It encompasses the Life and Physical Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences, Honors Program and other programs for both undergraduate and graduate students.

The bulk of UCLA's student body belongs to the College, which includes 34 academic departments, 21,000 undergraduate students, 2,700 graduate students and 900 faculty members. Virtually all of the academic programs in the College are ranked very highly and 11 were ranked in the top ten nationally by the National Research Council.

The College originated on May 23, 1919, the day when the Governor of California (William D. Stephens) signed a bill into law which officially established the Southern Branch of the University of California. At that time, a College of Letters and Science was established as the university's general undergraduate program and it began to hold classes the following September with only 250 students in the college. In 1925, the College awarded its first bachelor's degrees. A milestone occurred in 1927 when the southern branch was officially renamed the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), thereby establishing it as a fully autonomous university.

Ucla college of letters and science commencement 2012

Divisions

The college is divided into four divisions — Division of Humanities, Division of Life Sciences, Division of Physical Sciences, and Division of Social Sciences.

Division of Humanities

Applied Linguistics, Art History, Asian Languages & Cultures, Classics, Comparative Literature, English, French & Francophone Studies, Germanic Languages, Italian, Indo-European Studies, Law and Philosophy Program, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies, Linguistics, Musicology, Near Eastern Languages & Cultures, Philosophy, Study of Religion Major, Scandinavian Section, Slavic Languages & Literatures, Spanish & Portuguese, Writing Center and Writing Programs,

Division of Life Sciences

Psychobiology, Computational and Systems Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology, Neuroscience, Physiological Science.

Division of Physical Sciences

Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Earth and Space Sciences, Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy, and Statistics

Afro-American Studies, Anthropology, Archaeology, Chicana/o Studies, Communication Studies, Economics, Geography, History, Human Complex Systems, Political Science, Sociology, Gender Studies

Alumni

Kay Ryan, English, 16th poet laureate of U.S.

Brad Delson, "Linkin Park" member

Richard Heck, 2010 Nobel Prize in chemistry

Paul Terasaki, organ transplant medicine and tissue typing

Notable faculty

Utpal Banerjee, Department chair and professor of molecular, cell and developmental biology; professor of biological chemistry, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Jared Diamond, professor of geography, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Medal of Science recipient and MacArthur Fellowship (1985)

Alessandro Duranti, Department chair and professor of anthropology, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Andrea Ghez, MacArthur Fellowship (Genius Grant winner, 2008), professor of physics and astronomy

Thomas M. Liggett, professor of mathematics, National Academy of Sciences

Thom Mayne, Professor of architecture, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Calvin Normore, Professor of philosophy, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Theodore Porter, Professor of history and department vice chair for undergraduate affairs, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Charles Ray, Professor of sculpture, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Saul Friedländer, MacArthur Fellowship (1999)

Debora Silverman, Professor of history and art history, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Terence Tao, Fields Medal–winning mathematician, National Academy of Sciences, MacArthur Fellowship(2006)

Paul Terasaki, organ transplant medicine and tissue typing

Commencement ceremonies

The main graduation commencement ceremony for the College of Letters and Science is held annually on a Friday night in June in Pauley Pavilion. For two years in a row, the scheduled commencement keynote speaker had canceled the engagement. Bill Clinton canceled in 2008 for not wanting to cross a picket line. Actor and alumnus James Franco canceled in 2009 because of his filming scheduling conflicts. Rock band Linkin Park's Brad Delson accepted the last minute invitation to speak at the 2009 commencement ceremony.

June 11, 2010 – Columnist Gustavo Arellano of '¡Ask a Mexican!'

References

UCLA College of Letters and Science Wikipedia

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