Research and Instructional Resources within Disciplinary Colleges: LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES


NOTE: This document was generated from the 1995-1997 UIUC Programs of Study. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, but be advised that requirements may have changed since this book was published. Errors may have also been introduced in the conversion to a WWW document. Thus for items of importance, it might be wise to seek confirmation from either the paper version or a live human being.


Among the major resources and facilities for graduate students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are libraries, museums, laboratories, clinical and training facilities, quantitative services, and interdisciplinary research efforts. A number of schools and departments in the college have superb departmental libraries conveniently located near the units. In particular, the libraries in chemistry, life sciences, and mathematics are exceptional. Some collections for the humanities and social sciences are outstanding, for example, the Slavic collection, the Asian Library, and the Map and Geography Library.

The Herbarium, administered by the School of Life Sciences, is the tenth largest herbarium at an American university. It is both a research and a teaching facility, and its staff serves the public by assisting in the identification of plants.

The Museum of Natural History has served graduate students and faculty members since the 1870s. A number of special collections, including reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and shells from all parts of the world, are housed in the museum. Research specimens for advanced scientific study number more than 400,000.

Two collections of special note in the humanities are the American Center of the International Photographic Archive of Papyri and the Cinema Studies Film Archive.

The World Heritage Museum houses more than 25,000 artifacts that illustrate cultural achievements from prehistoric Europe; ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome; northern Europe; Africa; Asia; and America. The museum's collections are heavily used by University classes in history, art history, classics, and anthropology for general tours and individual research projects.

The Department of Psychology operates the Psychological Services Center, which isthe principal facility for training and research in clinical psychology. The Department of Speech and Hearing Science operates three clinics (speech, language, and hearing) to provide training for its students. The Department of Astronomy operates two observing facilities jointly with other institutions for research and training purposes: a one-meter optical telescope at Mt. Laguna in California (with San Diego State University), and a six-element millimeter-wavelength radio telescope array at Hat Creek in California (with the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Maryland). Observing time for students at other sites, including national observatories, may also be arranged through faculty supervisors.

All of the units in the life sciences, the physical sciences, psychology, and speech and hearing science have extensive laboratory facilities. There are also two outstanding laboratories in the humanities and social sciences: the Language Learning Laboratory and the Spatial Data Analysis Laboratory in the Department of Geography, described below.

Also of particular note are the facilities of the School of Chemical Sciences, which include molecular spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy, and laser spectroscopy laboratories; a radioisotope laboratory; a computer center; a microanalytical laboratory; hydrogenation and high- pressure facilities; and machine, electronic, electrical, and glass-blowing shops.

The Language Learning Laboratory (LLL), in addition to providing teaching facilities, promotes research in language learning and teaching. Advanced technological resources, including international video reception, audio, microcomputers, and television production facilities are available for the LLL.

The Writers' Workshop is a tutorial facility dedicated to the improvement of writing on campus at all levels. Administered by the Center for Writing Studies, the workshop offers writing assistance and advice to students enrolled in any course offered at the University. The workshop is staffed entirely by graduate students with expertise in writing, and graduate students working on theses and dissertations are among its most regular clients.

The Spatial Data Analysis Laboratory, which is administered by the Department of Geography, is responsible for developing and improving research and instruction related to the acquisition, analysis, and display of spatial data. Technical service facilities (including electronic coordinate digitizers, computer terminals, graphics terminals, and a remote sensing and air photo laboratory) are available.

Special computing resources are available in many departments in the college; in addition, all units on campus have access to the Computing and Communications Services Office.

The Department of Statistics, through the Illinois Statistics Office (ISO), provides a consulting service to faculty members and graduate students from all areas of the University. The service provides assistance in design and analysis of various statistical projects.

Units in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences participate in a number of campuswide interdisciplinary efforts, many of which are described elsewhere in this catalog. Some of the instructional units in the college are by nature interdisciplinary. The area studies centers (African Studies, East Asian and Pacific Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and Russian and East European Studies) are examples of these; their degree programs are described in the Programs of Study section. There are two other special units: the Unit for Cinema Studies and the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory.

The Unit for Cinema Studies promotes and coordinates the critical and historical study of the cinema. Its membership represents several departments and reflects various critical and scholarly interests. The unit is also a resource center that promotes cinema teaching and scholarship through its growing archive of film materials and its editorial and analytical equipment for film study.

The Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory, an interdisciplinary program drawing upon fifteen humanities and social science departments, promotes a broad range of teaching, research, and related scholarly activities. For M.A. and Ph.D. degree students in participating departments, the unit offers a formal program leading to advanced certification in criticism and interpretive theory.

There are a number of other groups (some informal) of faculty and students working together on interdisciplinary studies. Examples of these are the Afro-American Academic and Research Program; the Program in Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security; the Southwest Asia Studies Program; and the Women's Studies Program.


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