The college Liberal Arts and Sciences is the largest and oldest college at Butler University. As it has for over the last 150 years, the college curriculum cultivates the legacy of human thought, imagination, creativity, and research. Students majoring in LAS disciplines learn to think critically, communicate effectively, and reason analytically, as they develop skills that ensure our alumni understand how to continuously learn and adapt. Every LAS major offers experiential learning opportunities such as independent research, internships, study abroad, and service learning that enhance their understanding of their disciplines and ensures that students are well-prepared for employment, graduate programs, and professional schools around the country.
LAS students gain the skills necessary reach their goals at Butler and beyond, so, as the world changes, they readily accept the challenge of new endeavors. Academic and co-curricular experiences prepare students to become effective, engaged citizens who lives of meaning and purpose.
Featured LAS Initiatives:
Dean’s Priority Needs Fund Challenge
This year, Kathy Martin Harrison and Mark Harrison will match up to $5,000 towards the LAS Dean's Priority Needs Fund. The LAS Dean’s Fund provides support for:
- Students engaging in the creation of new knowledge and traveling to present the results of their investigations at professional conferences where the majority of other presenters are graduate students or university faculty members
- Students experiencing study abroad opportunities as they become effective and informed global citizens while studying a wide range of topics
- Students exploring what it means to be human and to create lives of meaning and purpose
- Faculty collaborating with students on independent research projects and presenting the outcomes at national and international conferences
LAS Faculty/Staff Challenge
Dean Howard is challenging all LAS faculty and staff! If 100 LAS faculty and staff make a gift on Day of Giving, in any amount to any area, $2,500 will be unlocked for the LAS Dean's Priority Needs Fund.
Desmond Tutu Peace Lab
The Desmond Tutu Peace Lab at Butler University was created in 2018 to address conflicts and injustices in the U.S. and beyond. We are an innovative think tank dedicated to undergraduate research, activism, dialogue, and advocacy. Through our programs, students grow their capacity for peace and justice leadership by working with their peers, faculty and community partners on speaker series, skills trainings, study tours, and more.
Samuel A. Wilson Fund
The Samuel A. Wilson Fund is a scholarship for economically-disadvantaged STEM students to engage in short-term study abroad opportunities. This scholarship can be used to defray the costs of travel so that all STEM students have the opportunity to engage in an abroad opportunity during their time at Butler.
Ancient Mediterranean Cultures and Archaeology Lab
The Ancient Mediterranean Cultures and Archaeology Lab was founded in 2015 by the Butler Classics program as a small collection of reproduction artifacts that could be used to teach students at Butler and beyond about the ancient world. Since then, the lab has moved into a dedicated space, employs five student interns, and has grown to include replicas, actual artifacts, and an extensive reference library. We hope to complete an online catalog that makes the lab collection accessible and to broaden our outreach to the local community.