College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences

UNC Charlotte’s Department of Psychological Science ranks as the best public undergraduate program in the Carolinas and is among the highest ranked nationwide, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 Best College rankings.

Following two years of study, including extensive faculty and staff input, UNC Charlotte’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences will begin pursuing the path of creating two distinct colleges: one will include the departments of biological sciences, chemistry, physics and optical science, and mathematics and statistics. Additional departments that may join this college, and the constitution of the second college, will be determined soon.

For their exceptional teaching and student engagement, Paola Lopez-Duarte, Samantha Suptela and Lennin Caro have received the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences’ 2023 Excellence in Teaching Awards. Six other faculty were honored as finalists for three awards.

Charlotte’s Master of Public Administration program has surged to its best national ranking ever, reaching No. 46 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings for 2023-24, up from No. 60 just four years ago. With the latest rankings, the nationally accredited program is the #2 ranked public affairs program at a public North Carolina university and the #3 ranked public affairs program in North Carolina.

UNC Charlotte Chancellor’s Professor Roslyn Arlin Mickelson is one of just 18 exceptional education leaders and scholars elected as members of the National Academy of Education for valuable contributions to education research and policy development. This diverse group of leaders and scholars is at the forefront of those who are improving the lives of students in the United States and abroad.

Gold Reel Film Festival: X marks the tenth anniversary of the UNC Charlotte student film festival on Friday, April 21 at 6 p.m., celebrating student films at the fabulous Independent Picture House. Students in Rodney Stringfellow’s “Film Festivals: Production & Theory” class in the Film Studies program, part of Interdisciplinary Studies, have organized the festival to showcase films created by over two dozen student filmmakers.

In fall 2024, the city of Charlotte will continue America’s tradition of embracing the adaptable, celebrated fairy tale The Wonderful Wizard of Oz through a community-oriented Oz festival, organized by two UNC Charlotte experts and supported by seed money from North Carolina Humanities. CharlOz will be centered around the book L. Frank Baum wrote in 1900, but which has been interpreted and adapted in ways that continue to reflect America, its values and its diversity.

The five inaugural recipients of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (CLAS) Distinguished Leadership Awards have helped make the college strong, leaders say. Honorees are Twig Branch, Nancy A. Gutierrez, Margaret Kocherga, Boris “Bluz” Rogers and Shawn Long, who was honored posthumously.

Scholarship recipients Zach Bessant and Toni Moss have benefitted from scholarships and other life-changing opportunities offered through OASES. They shared their stories at the recent OASES scholarship event.

Beth Whitaker, a professor of political science, is interim divisional dean for the humanities and social and behavioral sciences within the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. In fall 2021, the University announced it would launch a review of the structure of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.