Learning from the best

At the heart of U.C. Berkeley’s achievements and reputation is a faculty second to none, honored around the globe for its intellectual preeminence. Berkeley’s professors are pioneers — researchers and scholars who change the world with their accomplishments and shape the minds of future generations with their engaging teaching skills.

L&S students find themselves in classrooms with some of the most distinguished minds in research and academia. They include scientists such as astrophysicist George Smoot who just won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006; English professor and Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Hass; and MacArthur fellows Michael Manga, Lu Chen and Nicole King, 2005 winners of what’s known as the “genius award,” whose awards made Berkeley the home of more MacArthur fellows than any other institution.

Perhaps even more importantly, our professors spark students’ love of learning and discovery with their effusive passion for teaching. They are teachers such as neurobiologist David Presti, a “hero” to his students and the winner of the Golden Apple Award for Outstanding Teaching; Distinguished Teaching Award recipients such as statistician Ani Adhikari, philosophy professor Hubert Dreyfus or Shakespearean and Renaissance scholar Jeffrey Knapp; or astronomer Alex Filippenko, recently named national Professor of the Year and beloved by his students for his "ability to light the astral fire in undergraduates."

The 800 L&S faculty members includes 13 of the 20 Nobel Prize winners on the campus; 3 out of 4 Pulitzer Prizes; and 12 out of 16 MacArthur “Genius” Awards.