We aspire to teach students in a transformative environment that stimulates engagement with ideas, each other, and the world.
The UIS College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the largest college at UIS, enrolling approximately 55 percent of all UIS students. It delivers a rich array of undergraduate and graduate programs using classroom-based, online, and blended formats in technologically advanced environments. A wide range of options exists for ongoing study, including experiential learning opportunities through Experiential and Service Learning and interdisciplinary degrees such as the Liberal Studies major. Research extends far beyond the campus, as exemplified by the Emiquon project on the Illinois River. We also emphasize global and multicultural issues throughout the curriculum.
The University of Illinois at Springfield is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
Our Mission
The mission of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) at UIS is to prepare students for the future by providing a broad education for success. We teach students how to participate effectively in an interdependent, diverse, and rapidly changing world, offering education in a transformative environment that stimulates engagement with ideas, each other, and the globe. Find more information about our mission in the CLAS Strategic Compass.
Our Objective
Our objective is to help our students become:
- Intellectually and technologically sophisticated thinkers
- Citizens aware of the challenges that our society faces
- Effective Leaders in their community
As a result, UIS students who graduate with a CLAS degree are fuller, richer individuals who are more capable of competing in an ever-changing job market than students whose education specialized in specific technical skills—especially those skills that may be out of date in just a few years.
Diversity and Global Issues
Enhanced multicultural understanding and cultural competency is essential to a liberal arts and sciences education that aspires to produce community, professional, and political leaders.
Our faculty endeavor to inspire all our graduates to be meaningfully engaged citizens who act with compassion and integrity within both local and global communities, and who promote active engagement in the problems that affect our society at the local, national, and international levels.
Thus, our College is home to programs that promote a greater understanding of the unique experiences of persons traditionally under-represented in the curriculum. These programs draw from many departments, in addition to teaching interdisciplinary courses of their own.
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