College of Arts + Sciences: Indiana University

Make way for the leaders, creatives, and groundbreakers of tomorrow

We prepare students for an ever-changing future by providing a foundational liberal arts and sciences education that is more relevant than ever. Here, breakthroughs are fueled by unfiltered imaginations and unconventional ideas. Whether in the classroom or in the lab, on stage or in the field, you’ll gain the skills and experience you need for what’s new, next, and not-yet-imagined.

Undergraduate experience

Learn about our degree programs, the admissions process, experiential learning, research opportunities, and career preparation.

Graduate experience

Find information about graduate degree programs, admissions, funding opportunities, research, and career preparation.

Artificial intelligence used to improve speed and accuracy of autism and ADHD diagnoses

It can take as long as 18 months for children with suspected autism spectrum or attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorders to get a diagnostic appointment with a psychiatrist in Indiana. But an interdisciplinary team led by IU researcher Jorge José has developed a new diagnostic approach using artificial intelligence that could speed up and improve the detection of neurodivergent disorders.

Read about the study

IU professor’s book, Apocalyptic Ecologies, shortlisted for prestigious environmental literature prize

Shannon Gayk, Professor of English in the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington, has been named a finalist for the 2025 Book Award from the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE), a top national honor recognizing excellence in environmental writing.

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Research could increase crop yields, reduce costs for farmers

“Imagine that we could return half of the Midwest to prairie. We could increase the planet’s ability to capture carbon, restore our insect populations and restore our ecosystems to a better balance,” said Roger Innes, Distinguished Professor of Biology in the College at IU.

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In new book Wrecked, Thomas Nelson connects America’s industrial decline to Edmund Fitzgerald tragedy

Fifty years after the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sunk below the icy waters of Lake Superior, a new book by Wisconsin political leader and current IU graduate student Thomas Nelson offers a bold reinterpretation of the shipwreck—not merely as a maritime mystery, but as a symbol of the slow collapse of American manufacturing.

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IU biologists find that cannibalistic behavior in toad species may reveal hidden clues about evolution, genetics, and environment

A groundbreaking new study about tadpoles that turn into cannibals may sound like fodder for nature trivia, but it carries a much deeper message about evolution—and even about ourselves. The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, shows that extreme behaviors like cannibalism in some species may begin as flexible responses to the environment, and then later become hardwired over generations.

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Dictionaries as artifacts and in the modern era

Provost Professor of English Michael Adams co-authoredThe Cambridge Handbook of the Dictionary, and talks dictionaries as an underserved area of research, bias in word definition, and the place of AI in dictionaries of the future.

Read about Michael Adams

A hub for curiosity + diverse thought

The College of Arts and Sciences values curiosity and diverse thought as core strengths and essential elements in the success of its educational mission. Our commitment is grounded in our aspiration to cultivate intellectual rigor and curiosity among our students and to prepare them to thrive in and contribute to a complex and interconnected world.