College of Letters and Science

Our world grows more complex and interconnected every day. Navigating it well requires an education that explores the intersections of many different disciplines, in pursuit of a greater tomorrow.

In the College of Letters and Science, these intersections are where we thrive. Here we examine divergent perspectives, explore the unknown and urge our students to become curiosity-driven scholars. Faculty and students alike are at the forefront of solving society’s urgent challenges and pushing discovery into uncharted territory.

With your support, we will ensure that every College of Letters and Science graduate can advance their career to new heights and make the world a better place.

Funds Donated

$114.4M donated 76% of our goal reached

For more information contact

Charlene Mattison

Assistant Dean of College Relations and Development

lsdevelopment@ucdavis.edu

530.754.2225

Our Campaign Priorities

Ensuring undergraduate student success beyond the classroom

The Beyond the Classroom Fund supports students in every major, giving them the chance to deepen their disciplinary knowledge through unique and meaningful experiences—like internships, service learning, clinical opportunities, professional development, travel abroad, global engagement and field research.

Many of our students wouldn’t otherwise have the resources to take advantage of these opportunities to gain real-world skills. Your investment in these programs will give them the chance to immerse themselves in their education, to develop a richer understanding of the world, and most importantly, to become better prepared for career success.

Simply put, a gift to the Beyond the Classroom Fund changes student lives.

Endowing faculty chairs and professorships

Our distinguished faculty are recognized across the globe as thought leaders and trailblazers. With endowed chairs and professorships, the College of Letters and Science can attract and retain more of these renowned academics, who will generate innovative research, make life-changing discoveries, educate future leaders and amplify our college’s influence.

By contributing to an endowed chair, professorship or faculty innovation fund, you can play a crucial role in enhancing the college’s stature and deepening our global impact. But what’s at stake is bigger than just our college. You’re investing in the people who will change society for the greater.

Advancing strategic campaign projects

With more than 110 programs of study, our college is known for its breadth of excellence. Our campaign’s initiatives highlight our four academic disciplines: the arts, the natural sciences, the social sciences and the humanities. Yet they focus as well on multidisciplinary expertise, to break new ground in research and creative fields.

Whether it’s pioneering a new arts renaissance, or creating the world’s first center for the study of tea, these projects will reimagine the way our world works:

Arts Renaissance: Revamping our arts education programs with endowed faculty, visiting artists and new facilities
Design Futures: Reimagining our nationally renowned design program to focus on improving the quality of life for all
Brain and Decision Sciences: Expanding our understanding of the mind and brain
Chemistry and Physics Innovation: Improving our facilities to enable groundbreaking discoveries, both applied and theoretical
C.N. Gorman Museum: Establishing a new home for contemporary Indigenous and Native American art on campus
Global Tea Initiative for the Study of Tea Culture and Science: Creating the world’s first center for the interdisciplinary study of tea

Your support for these ventures through funding for endowments, research and facilities will further establish UC Davis as a world leader.

Amplifying excellence among graduate students

Our college’s graduate students are tomorrow’s leaders in academia, industry, the arts, government and beyond. Scholarships and fellowships help us attract these bright and talented minds, and to support and empower them. This makes a critical difference in cultivating the next generation of innovators.

With a gift to these fellowships and scholarships, you can give graduate students more time to focus on their own research and develop their careers, without their needing to work extra jobs to pay for it. And you’ll provide more opportunity for promising scholars of all backgrounds to access an affordable graduate education.

Supporting our academic programs and departments

The remarkable breadth and depth of our college’s academic departments and research are among its most powerful assets. To advance this work and to deepen the impact of each of our departments, we are seeking to establish faculty and graduate student research funds to create field study and undergraduate research opportunities, to support community outreach and partnerships, and to establish endowed professorships.

Supporting our programs and departments will enable groundbreaking discoveries, critical connections and newfound knowledge that will help solve today’s most pressing global issues.

110

Our college offers an exceptional breadth of academic opportunity, with 110 undergraduate majors and minors, and more than 30 graduate programs

14,000

Over 14,000 undergraduates and over 1,500 graduate students major in one of our programs of study

50%

50% of Letters and Science students conduct independent research and creative projects outside the classroom

#4

In 2020, Money magazine ranked us No. 4 among U.S. colleges for “quality of education, affordability, and outcomes"

Mellon Foundation awards $1.5M for disability studies

An American studies professor in the UC Davis College of Letters and Science has received a $1.5 million award from the Mellon Foundation for a project to explore the intersection of research on disability and chronic illness.