CLAS is a vibrant hub of cutting-edge research and creative work spanning disciplines from creative writing and art to space physics and speech and hearing science.
Our exceptional faculty members drive these endeavors, bringing groundbreaking research and artistic excellence directly into our classrooms, studios, and labs, giving our students direct, hands-on experience and opportunities to contribute to these world-renowned efforts.
CLAS faculty lead
Faculty across the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences consistently earn top recognition for their outstanding work. Explore their impact across disciplines.
Robust research productivity
Our size is a strength. Federal funders regularly award large interdisciplinary and cross-department grants that leverage the breadth of the college.
Driving faculty success
The CLAS Grant Support Office assists faculty in acquiring large, competitive grants by supporting the application process and helps facilitate hundreds of grants each year.
$ 66.31 M
Fall 2026 data
490
2026-2027 academic year data
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48
Research and scholarship in CLAS
CLAS continues to advance its research mission by supporting faculty development and productivity, increasing the number of grants and fellowships awarded, and investing in existing and emerging areas of strength with a focus on opportunities for cross-disciplinary research.
Learn more about the accomplishments of our faculty and the impact they are making in their disciplines—and how the college is supporting their work.
Arts and Humanities
In addition to prestigious fellowships like the Guggenheim and Fulbright, humanities faculty secured a $1 million grant to form a National Resource Center for translation and global literacy. Learn more about the interesting and important work happening in the humanities at Iowa.
Natural, Mathematical, and Social Sciences
CLAS is also home to the largest single grant or contract in the history of the University of Iowa: a NASA award of over $160 million to support the TRACERS mission that will launch on a SpaceX rocket in 2025. This is one of many important projects. Explore the impactful and exciting researching happening across the sciences.
News and accomplishments
CLAS faculty are at the forefront of world-class teaching, research, and practice. Their work is making a difference in Iowa, across the country, and around the world.
Faculty achievements
Mathematics Professor Ionut Chifan Receives Prestigious 2026 Frontiers of Science Award
CLAS chemistry professor Renée Cole named Herman J. and Eileen S. Schmidt Chair
CLAS's Catlett among American Academy of Arts and Sciences legacy honorees
CLAS author Tom Lin talks about taking literary risks and road trips
Pulitzer Prize winner Yiyun Li headlines Iowa’s Literary Legends Talk
Grant awards
Tianyu Zhang receives NSF research grant to improve communication infrastructure for manufacturing
Photography faculty receives grant for new creative project on parasitic trees and motherhood
Nearly $1 million awarded in NSF grant to computer science faculty for distributed computing research
English faculty Tara Bynum receives $50,000 John Carter Brown Library fellowship
Muchao Ye receives NSF grant for research on human-centered video surveillance
Research spotlight
CLAS graduate student helps researchers better understand ultrathin crystals
CLAS researchers find parents should combine words with gestures to help their children learn
Using AI in violence prevention should put survivors first, CLAS researcher argues
Jason Robey investigates changes in American incarceration
Photo gallery: CLAS students take part in high-profile physics experiment
Research Resource
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Students research and create here
Students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences have a unique opportunity to participate in high-impact research, discovery and creative work. Faculty experts across a variety of disciplines mentor and work with our students giving them real-world experience that prepares them for their next step after graduation.
Our students have the opportunity to graduate with:
- Lab and research experience
- Published research and creative work
- Presentations and poster sessions
- Symposiums, showcases, and performances
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Building a culture of creativity and discovery
As Associate Dean for Research and Infrastructure, it is my privilege to help CLAS researchers across all disciplines advance their research, scholarship, and creative activity. The breadth of CLAS scholarship is vast: from thought-provoking music, theatre, and dance performances to NASA space missions; from the number one public creative writing program in the country to top-ranked clinical programs in speech pathology and audiology; from computer networks to brain networks; from poetry to politics; from sculpture to sociology; and from the meaning of life to the evolution of life. CLAS has it all, and our researchers bring their renowned work into the classroom to inspire our students to follow their own scholarly path. My talented team provides CLAS researchers with the tools they need to succeed, whether that be specialized laboratory or studio spaces, assistance with grant applications and award management, computing and data solutions, or collaborative connections across campus.
