The College of Letters & Science is the heart of this great university. We are the largest academic unit at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the heart of this great institution.
The strength of Letters & Science is the people. L&S is home to more than 800 faculty, 22,000 undergraduate and graduate students and 190,000 living alumni.
We invite you to learn more about our strategic priorities and discover how our liberal arts tradition is helping Wisconsin and the World.
On Wisconsin!
Gary Sandefur, Dean
College of Letters & Science
Fast Facts: An Overview of the College of Letters & Science at UW-Madison
Dean
Gary Sandefur
Faculty
- More than 800 Faculty
Students
- Total students: 21,300 (2010)
- 17,080 undergraduates (2010)
- 4,184 graduate students (2010)
Credit Hours
- 648,897 Total Hours (2009-10)
Academic Offerings
The College of Letters & Science is comprised of more than 35 departments, 60 interdisciplinary research centers and five professional schools across three broad divisions: arts and humanities, physical and natural sciences, and the social sciences.
- Undergraduate majors
- Master's, Doctoral and Professional degree programs
Popular Majors
UW Madison's five most popular majors are in L&S.
| 1. Political Science | 457 |
| 2. Biology* | 439 |
| 3. Economics | 430 |
| 4. History | 370 |
| 5. Psychology | 323 |
*The Biology major is offered jointly with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Total Degrees Conferred
- 3,644 undergraduate degrees (2009-10)
- 1,062 Ph.D and professional degrees (2009-10)
Alumni
Total living alumni: 191,970 (2011)
Research Funding
Total Extramural Research Awards: $136.2 million (2009-10)
Federal Research Awards: $121.0 million (2009-10)