In his new book Mysteries of the National Parks: 35 Stories of Baffling Disappearances, Unexplained Phenomena, and More, UC Davis alum Mike Bezemek probes beneath the stunning beauty of National Park System sites to explore hidden history, infamous crimes, strange discoveries, legendary figures and more.
Arts and humanities students at the University of California, Davis, engage with the world in new, thoughtful and imaginative ways. In the upcoming Arts & Humanities 2025 Graduate Exhibition, students from across the College of Letters and Science are creating public spaces for connection and storytelling, questioning long-held assumptions and histories, and using artistic expression and design to suggest new pathways to a more sustainable future.
This year, both the winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History and the sole finalist are alumni of the UC Davis History Department Ph.D. program. The Pulitzer Prize is one of the most prestigious honors in journalism, literature and music composition.
The College of Letters and Science at UC Davis has selected two projects for its L&S Unites initiative which grants up to $120,000 for research on cutting-edge multidisciplinary research to help advance knowledge and address society’s most pressing problems.
Every day faculty and students from the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis are highlighted in the news media, having their research featured and commenting on the most pressing issues facing the world. Check out some of these news media highlights from the past month.
Dylan Mulder is an award-winning industrial designer, lecturer, consultant and digital fabrication expert whose work encompasses product design, feature films and wearable technology. Mulder will give a talk titled “Weaving Heritage and High Tech: From Wearables to Movie Magic” on May 15 at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art.
Shayne Langford, a lecturer in the Department of English in the College of Letters and Science, won the Maurice Prize for Fiction for his unpublished novel, which he's been working on since his days as an undergraduate at UC Davis. John Lescroart, who started the prize, called Langford's manuscript “dark and powerful.”
The UC Davis Department of Psychology graduate program was ranked #6 among public institutions and #14 overall in the 2025 US News & World Report Grad School rankings. This ranking places the department in the top 2% of U.S. psychology Ph.D. programs and second only to veterinary medicine among UC Davis graduate programs.
University of California, Davis, researchers have developed a new, neuroplasticity-promoting drug closely related to LSD that harnesses the psychedelic’s therapeutic power with reduced hallucinogenic potential. The research highlights the new drug’s potential as a treatment option for conditions like schizophrenia, where psychedelics are not prescribed for safety reasons.
Lishan AZ, Laura Starkston and Hannah Tierney have been named the 2025 Dean’s Faculty Fellows for the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis. The three-year fellowships are part of the College of Letters and Science Faculty Investment Initiative to support early faculty research excellence and development.
