The University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) is the liberal arts and sciences school of the University of Michigan. The college was established in 1841.

History The College of Literature, Science, and the Arts was originally designated the Literary Department and was the core of the University of Michigan. From 1841 to 1874, the faculty elected a president that communicated with the regents about department needs. In 1875, Henry Simmons Frieze became the first of the deans of LSA.

Departments The College of Literature, Science, and the Arts consists of three divisions: the Humanities Division, the Natural Sciences Division, and the Social Sciences Division.

Humanities Division The Humanities Division consists of the following academic departments and units:

Department of Asian Languages and Cultures Department of American Culture Department of Afroamerican and African Studies Frankel Center for Judaic Studies Department of Classical Studies Department of Comparative Literature Department of English Language and Literatures Department of Film, Television, and Media Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures Department of History Department of the History of Art Institute for the Humanities Kelsey Museum of Archaeology Department of Middle East Studies Department of Philosophy Residential College Department of Romance Languages and Literatures Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures

Natural Sciences Division The Natural Sciences Division consists of the following academic departments and units:

Applied Physics Program Department of Astronomy Biological Station Department of Chemistry Center for the Study of Complex Systems Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department of Mathematics Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Museum of Paleontology Department of Physics Department of Biophysics Department of Program in the Environment Department of Statistics

Social Sciences Division The Social Sciences Division consists of the following academic departments and units:

Department of Anthropology Department of Communication and Media Department of Economics Department of History International Institute Department of Linguistics Museum of Anthropological Archaeology Department of Organizational Studies Department of Political Science Department of Psychology Department of Sociology Weinberg Institute for Cognitive Science Department of Women’s and Gender Studies

Deans

+NameService yearLength (Approx.)Field of studyFaculty of Literature, Science, and the ArtsHenry Simmons Frieze1875–1880 5 yearsClassical StudiesCharles Kendall Adams1880–18811 yearHistoryEdward Olney1881–18821 yearMathematicsHenry Simmons Frieze1882–18897 yearsClassical StudiesDepartment of Literature, Science, and the ArtsMartin Luther D'Ooge1890–18977 yearsClassical StudiesRichard Hudson1897–190710 yearsHistoryJohn Oren Reed1907–19141 yearPhysicsJohn Robert Effinger (acting)1912–19153 yearsFrenchCollege of Literature, Science, and the ArtsJohn Robert Effinger1915–19338 yearsFrenchEdward Henry Kraus1933–194512 yearsMineralogyHayward Keniston1945–19516 yearRomance LanguagesBurton Doan Thuma (acting)1951–19521 yearPsychologyCharles Edwin Odegaard1952–19586 yearsHistoryRoger William Heyns1959–19601 yearEducationBurton Doan Thuma (acting)1962–19631 yearPsychologyWilliam Haber1963–19685 yearsEconomicsWilliam Lee Hays1968–19702 yearsPsychologyAlfred S. Sussman (acting)1970–19711 yearBotanyFrank H. T. Rhodes1971–19743 yearsGeological Sciences/MineralogyBilly E. Frye (acting)1974–19762 yearsZoologyBilly E. Frye1976–19804 yearsZoologyJohn R. Knott (acting)1980–19811 yearEnglishPeter O. Steiner1981–19898 yearsEconomics/LawEdie Goldenberg1989–19989 yearsPolitical SciencePatricia Gurin (acting)1998–19991 yearPsychology/Women's StudiesShirley Neuman1999–20023 yearsEnglish/Women's StudiesTerrence J. McDonald (acting)2002–20031 yearHistoryTerrence J. McDonald2003–201310 yearsHistorySusan A. Gelman (interim)2013–20141 yearPsychologyAndrew D. Martin2014–20184 yearsPolitical ScienceElizabeth Cole (interim)2018–20191 yearSocial SciencesAnne Curzan2019–20245 yearsLinguisticsRosario Ceballo2024–presentincumbentPsychologySource:

Helen Zell Writers' Program

The Helen Zell Writers' Program is a two-year, fully funded Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing within the University of Michigan's English Department. Students in the program concentrate in either fiction or poetry. In 2013, Helen Zell gave $50 million to support the graduate writing program, which was renamed for her.

Alumni and former students include Jesmyn Ward, Celeste Ng, Brit Bennett, Danez Smith, Vievee Francis, and Chigozie Obioma.

Residential College

The Residential College (RC) is a Michigan Living-Learning Program and academic unit within the Humanities Division of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.

Founded in 1967, the Residential College began as an experiment in residential education, designed to create a smaller liberal arts community within the resources of a large research university. The program was developed by a planning committee of faculty that included Theodore Newcomb, Carl Cohen, and Bradford Perkins. Since its founding, the RC has emphasized student-centered, interdisciplinary liberal arts education and active engagement in the learning process.

RC students take courses throughout LSA as well as specially designed RC courses, many of which are seminar courses with fewer than fifteen students. Until 2025, RC courses included written evaluations on transcripts alongside traditional grades. The program also includes dedicated academic advising, arts studios for ceramics, darkroom photography, screen-printing, and other visual arts, theater and gallery spaces, and a community garden, all housed within East Quadrangle.

RC students live together in East Quadrangle during their first and second years, creating a residential community in which classrooms, faculty offices, advising, arts spaces, and student living spaces are located within the same building. Because the RC is part of LSA, its students also complete LSA academic requirements and may pursue majors throughout the college. The RC offers four interdisciplinary majors: Arts and Ideas in the Humanities, Creative Writing and Literature, Drama, and Social Theory and Practice. These majors are housed within the Residential College but are open to all LSA students.

Students in the RC are required to complete four credits of language beyond the 16-credit LSA requirement. Most students do so during their first three semesters through the RC's Intensive Immersion Language Program. Each RC language path consists of two pass/fail eight-credit courses similar to language immersion, followed by a four-credit readings course. Intensive Japanese at the RC has no reading course, and its semi-immersion curriculum consists of two ten-credit courses. Other languages offered include Spanish, French, German, and Russian. At the end of the intensive language sequence, students receive a certificate of language proficiency on their official college transcript.

Students interested in joining the Residential College should indicate their interest in the RC on the Common Application when applying to U-M's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. After admission to LSA, interested students continue through a separate RC admissions process coordinated by the Residential College's admissions office.

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