College of Arts and Sciences

More English teachers in Illinois attended Illinois State than any other school.

All undergraduate majors are eligible and encouraged to participate in research. Research opportunities can be a part of an independent study with a faculty member, a class assignment, or a funded project.

Illinois State produces the second highest number of Physics Teacher Education graduates in the U.S. Our program regularly earns the Five Plus awards from the American Institute of Physics and has four students that have won the Lotze scholarship, the most in the U.S.

The School of Communication's Chicago Alumni Pipeline connects undergraduate students to alumni working in a variety of communication-related occupations. This initiative prepares students for the workplace, demonstrates the multitudes of careers possible with a communication degree, and forges stronger relationships between the school and alumni.

The Department of Mathematics is one of Top 5 largest producers of Mathematics Education Ph.D. degrees in the nation. Graduates will also be qualified to assume positions as mathematics curriculum consultants in school districts, researchers in educational laboratories, or staff members in educational publishing companies. See where our graduates are working.

The Department of History is the largest producer of History-Social Sciences teachers in the state and one of the largest in the country.

The Illinois Geographic Alliance (IGA), administered through the National Geographic Society, has been headquartered at Illinois State since its founding in 1987.

The Department of English was the first in the nation to establish a doctoral program in English studies.

The Department of Economics is the first in the nation to offer a master's degree in Applied Economics with a sequence in Electricity, Natural Gas and Telecommunication Economics.

The School of Biological Sciences touts a nearly 90 percent acceptance rate for its students who apply to post-baccalaureate programs, such as graduate school, medical school, pharmacy school, or a physician assistant program.

Illinois State is a powerhouse in the biomathematics field. We're home to the new Center for Collaborative Studies in Mathematical Biology: Intercollegiate Biomathematics Alliance.

School of Biological Sciences students have access to an entomology collection containing 24,000 specimens used by scientists around the world. The department has a collection of more than 6,000 birds and mammals and a greenhouse with a teaching collection of more than 660 species of flowering plants.

The School of Biological Sciences leads Illinois State with the more Distinguished Professors than any other department on campus.

Illinois State is home to two biomathematics journals, including the only one in the world for undergraduate research, and is headquarters for the Intercollegiate Biomathematics Alliance.

80 percent of students in the Department of Chemistry are involved in research with faculty, internships, or student-teaching.

The Department of Chemistry is one of the largest producers of chemistry teachers in Illinois.

The graduate program was recognized by the National Communication Association with the Outstanding Master’s Program Award in 2013.

The public relations program was the first and only one in Illinois to earn a Certification in Education for Public Relations (CEPR) from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) in 2013.

The School of Communication’s state-of-the-art Social Media Analytics Command Center is the first of its kind in the Midwest. The center is dedicated to studying social media analytics and strategy.

Students get real production experience at TV-10, which recently transitioned to full high-definition (HD) production in its on-campus studio in Fell Hall.

The School of Communication was named the top undergraduate program by the Central States Communication Association in 2014, recognizing curriculum development, program quality, and course design.

Staff at the School of Communication’s award-winning student newspaper, The Vidette, have won 79 state and national awards over the last three years.

Each year the School of Communication’s COM Week offers events for students designed to enhance their education and generate future employment opportunities.

In 2015 WGLT Public Radio was recognized with two national Edward R Murrow awards, three regional Murrows, the Kaleidoscope Award for reporting cultural diversity, Illinois State's Commitment to Diversity Award, and seven Illinois Associated Press awards, including Outstanding News Operation.

WZND student broadcasters have won over 175 national, regional and state awards and scholarships for Excellence in Radio in the last 20 years.

Students in the Master's Program of Speech-Language Pathology have achieved a three-year average pass rate of 96% on the PRAXIS exam.

The Center for Renewable Energy, directed by Economics Professor David Loomis, has led the Illinois Wind Working Group for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Powering America initiative since 2006.

The Registered Student Organizations (Economics Student Association and Undergraduate Women in Economics) organize several annual events, including trips to the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis and Economics conferences, a Career Night, and special seminar speakers.

The Department of Economics is home to the Institute for Regulatory Policy Studies, which provides funding for research assistantships and internships. The institute maintains close ties with the business and regulatory community.

The Registered Student Organizations (Economics Student Association and Undergraduate Women in Economics) organize several annual events, including trips to the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis and Economics conferences, a Career Night, and special seminar speakers.

Illinois State was chosen for the Undergraduate Women in Economics Challenge, a national initiative to boost the number of women in economics majors. It's spearheaded by Harvard University and funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Each year Illinois State hosts the English Studies at Large conference, giving students the opportunity to present critical work and engage students from other universities.

The Department of English was the first in the nation to establish a doctoral program in English studies.

Each year Illinois State sponsors the Central Illinois Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference, providing a forum for graduate students throughout the region to present original research.

Our TESOL certificate graduates have taught English as a foreign language in Japan, China, Korea, Russia, Kenya, and several countries in South America.

Our English Language Institute attracts students from all over the world. Its Intensive English Program focuses on practical learning and the special needs of adult language learners.

Our Teaching of Writing certificate students are in-service language arts teachers who are active in attending and presenting at the National Council of Teachers of English conferences each year.

We're one of the few programs in the U.S. to require an off-campus capstone experience of every undergraduate major—either a meaningful summer internship or student teaching. Interns work at the National Geographic Society, emergency management agencies, GIS leader ESRI, and more.

Our program hosts very active and vibrant weekly colloquium series and offers at least five career-oriented activities and discussions each semester as part of our Career Year Program.

The highly multidisciplinary Environmental Studies minor incorporates courses from across the sciences, liberal arts, technology, and the humanities, including biological sciences, chemistry, physics, geography, geology, agriculture, sociology, technology, anthropology, and philosophy.

The geology program’s summer Field Camp is the capstone experience for students, who apply their accumulated knowledge and skills to investigate unfamiliar geologic areas. The 6-week camp took students to Wyoming and South Dakota in 2016.

Year-round the geology program strongly emphasizes field-based education. Unlike many other schools, Illinois State offers classes with field trips as part of the curriculum.

Illinois State was one of only two schools recognized in 2016 by the American Association of Geographers in its inaugural Award for Program Excellence.

Geography Social Science Teacher Education majors can meet a statewide community of geography educators through the Illinois Geographic Alliance, which is headquartered at Illinois State.

GEOMAP, our Institute for Geospatial Analysis and Mapping, plays a particularly important role in supporting this mission of student research. Student opportunities with GEOMAP have led to many prestigious internships and employment placements upon graduation, including with organizations such as Esri.

Illinois State’s hydrogeology graduate program is the only one of its kind in Illinois.

The close-knit geography program boasts a 1-to-10 faculty-student ratio and average upper-level class sizes of less than 20. This gives students opportunities to participate in faculty-led research.

We operate our own well fields close to campus, providing hands-on hydrogeology experiences for students. Students can install wells, focus on water sampling, measure hydraulic conductivity, and perform other hydrogeological research.

Several of the Department of History’s M.A. graduates are pursuing their Ph.D. or law degree in programs such as Purdue University, University of Massachusetts, and Arizona State University.

Quality student research is published in the journal Recounting the Past .

The Instructional Technology in World Languages certificate is a unique opportunity for graduate students to take an interdisciplinary approach to hands-on exploration of how technology can enhance foreign language instruction in K-16 settings.

The Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures received a grant from the European Union Centers of Excellence to help with the establishment of a European Studies major on campus. A two-day European Studies Symposium was held in April 2015.

Throughout the year, the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures funds campus and community events. These events include film rentals for the Spanish Film Club and AsiaConnect Film Festivals and sponsorship of the Children’s Discovery Museum’s El Dio de los Muertos educational event.

The French and Francophone Film Series provides three film showings per semester of both classics and contemporary Francophone cinema creating a meeting place for current students to engage more deeply with Francophone topics and practice speaking and listening in French.

Each year at least three students are awarded the German Alumni New Student Scholarship, which was established in 2008 with the generous support of German program graduates.

Students may choose either Theoretical and Applied Linguistics or Literary and Cultural Studies as their area of emphasis. In addition to coursework, students do either a thesis or comprehensive exams.

Illinois State's National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society chapter, Sigma Delta Pi - Eta Upsilon, earned several national awards in 2015-2016.

Illinois State's National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society chapter, Sigma Delta Pi - Eta Upsilon, was co-recipient of the prestigious Ignacio and Sophie Galbis Award in 2015. Only 12 chapters in the U.S. earned that honor.

The Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures offers Spanish 120, "Introduction to Academic Spanish for Spanish Speakers" each year to meet the increasing population of heritage Spanish speakers who attend Illinois State.

The Italian club La Tavola was founded by a student-led group of Italian-American and Italophiles. It has grown into a full-fledged RSO with cultural events and conversation hours.

Gino Richardson, Italian Studies minor and president of La Tavola, applied for and received (out of only 15 others in the entire country) the recognition of Italian ambassador through the National Italian-American Foundation. He also won a trip to Washington DC and a NIAF Grant that covers cultural events at Illinois State.

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages recognized the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures’ teacher education program in its inaugural Global Engagement Initiative, which honors programs that actively engaged students in using the language beyond the classroom.

There are several student organizations connected to the Latin American and Latino/a Studies program, including the Association of Latin American Students, Black and Latino Male Movement, Latin American Theatre Association, Ritmo Del Alma Latin Dance Team, and Spanish Club.

Since 2009, Illinois State has been designated as a Center of Actuarial Excellence, which recognizes the University as having an outstanding actuarial program. In 2016, Illinois State was one of only four institutions in the world to be honored with the Casualty Actuarial Society University Award, recognizing exemplary work in preparing students for a career in the property and casualty insurance industry.

The Actuarial Science Program at Illinois State University is a Center for Actuarial Excellence (CAE), one of the first nine academic programs in the United States to receive that recognition in 2009, and the first one in the State of Illinois. Illinois State was also one of the first four institutions in the world to be honored with the Casualty Actuarial Society University Award in 2016, and we also won that award again in 2019, after a required three-year waiting period.

Graduate students in the Department of Mathematics who demonstrate academic leadership, promise, and strong character can apply for the Mathematics Master's scholarship award.

The Department of Mathematics offers various facilities and support services for students, including the Mathematics Materials Center, Mathematics Resource Classroom, and computer labs.

The Department of Mathematics is one of the largest producers of secondary mathematics teachers in the State of Illinois.

Those studying to be secondary mathematics teachers can participate in a unique National Science Foundation-sponsored research experience, which invites Chicago Public Schools students to Illinois State for a week to do mathematics research guided by our students.

The Department of Philosophy hosts its Undergraduate Philosophy Conference every year, giving Illinois State students the opportunity to present papers to others in the field.

The Religious Studies program regularly sponsors events like the “Why Study Religion?” conference, allowing students and faculty to explore important questions about religion in new ways with scholars from around the world.

Computational Physics is one of only a few programs in the U.S. designed to educate students in computer simulation of physical systems.

Undergraduate students in the Department of Physics participate in faculty research programs, present at many conferences, and co-author publications in major scientific journals.

Illinois State’s Solar Car Team was founded by Department of Physics students and faculty. Team members have repeated top finishes in national and international solar car races.

Two alumni of the Department of Politics and Government, Jason Barickman and Scott Bennett, are currently Illinois State senators.

The Department of Politics and Government partners with other university units to support students with the Washington, D.C., civic engagement summer trip.

The Department of Politics and Government organizes an annual student conference for graduate and undergraduate students to present their research. The conference has gained international recognition, attracting students from across the U.S. and around the globe.

Students of Politics and Government attended the Republican National Convention and Democratic National Convention in 2016 as volunteers.

Illinois State's Mock Trial team hosted in the Department of Politics and Government has advanced to the American Mock Trial Association's national championship rounds seven consecutive years.

The Department of Politics and Government's Model United Nations team has received the Distinguished Delegation Award in 2014 and 2015 and an Honorable Mention Award in 2016 and 2017 at the MUN National Competition in New York City.

The Autism Place at Illinois State has provided civic training opportunities to over 100 students, provided year-round services to more than 100 individuals with autism and their families, and served as a site for many clinical research projects.

Students who complete the master's program in Clinical-Counseling Psychology are eligible to sit for both the Illinois Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and Licensed Professional Counselor Examinations.

Illinois State’s Cognitive and Experimental Psychology (CxP) Colloquium Series welcomes several scholars from around the world to campus each semester to present research colloquia, interact with our students and faculty, and share ideas related to the field of cognitive science.

Roughly two-thirds of our Industrial/Organizational-Social Psychology graduates work as applied practitioners in organizations, consulting, or research settings, and one-third choose to continue on to a Ph.D. program.

Students learn from full-time faculty who frequently publish in top-rated journals in diverse areas of psychology. Each year, Department of Psychology faculty supervise more than 200 students working on research projects.

The Minor in Psychology can support a major or provide a level of competency in an area of interest. It also enhances the range of knowledge relevant to students' major and career goals.

The Quantitative Psychology sequence focuses on the use of quantitative methods in the solution of problems in theoretical and applied psychology. The sequence provides critical foundation preparation for advanced graduate study and can facilitate entry into careers in community college teaching or a variety of careers in the business-industrial sector.

The School Psychology doctoral program, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2016, is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association and approved by the National Association of School Psychologists, the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation, and the Illinois State Board of Education.

The Specialist in School Psychology graduate program is approved by the National Association of School Psychologists, the Council for Accreditation for Educator Preparation, and the Illinois State Board of Education.

The School of Social Work and Center for Adoption Studies host the annual African American Advisory Council Institute, bringing together national experts to share strategies for strengthening vulnerable families and helping youths in foster care.

The School of Social Work hosts the Social Work Day conference every year, giving students direct access to experts in the field.

Undergraduate students in the School of Social Work receive 30 percent more hours in field practicum than what is typically required by standards and at other universities.

Illinois State's Center for Child Welfare and Adoption Studies established its First Start Academy in 2017 to help prepare high school-aged youth in foster care for college. There are only a handful of First Star academies in the U.S.

Illinois State offers one of the few gerontology practice concentrations for Master of Social Work (MSW) programs in the state.

Graduate students follow their passions in flexible two-year, research-based programs. We offer individualized, supportive, and hands-on instruction and mentorship from four-field research faculty.

Students in this program get to complete an experience in gerontology, such as a professional practice internship or an independent study topic relevant to the social aspects of aging.

Students in the Social Aspects of Aging minor complete a guided, pre-professional internship, applying academic knowledge to policy and practice in careers most relevant to them.

Sociology students continue learning beyond the classroom, with internships, field schools, undergraduate teaching and research assistantships, and other opportunities, including an Anthropology Club.

The sociology master’s program is at the gold standard level as described by the American Sociological Association. Students get extensive training in research methodology and theory, making them well-prepared to work in an increasingly data-driven world.

Our program requires a thesis. This puts students in a favorable position to earn a future Ph.D. or enter the workforce in almost any position.

Graduating seniors in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology must write a publishable quality thesis paper based on the collection of original data.

The Women’s and Gender Studies program hosts an annual student research symposium for that brings top scholars to campus.

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) has been a vibrant part of the ISU community since 1972. Our curriculum and programming are designed to engage students as active critical thinkers and to give them the conceptual tools they will need to think clearly about nuanced production of systemic injustices and to work collaboratively toward solutions.