School of Social Sciences

The social sciences are concerned with the study of people, individually and in groups and collectives. Social scientists ask such questions as: How are groups formed? How do people produce and distribute goods? Why do cities grow, and why do some cities decay? What are the causes of war, of racial discrimination, of revolutions? What role does law play in our society? And, how can we improve our quality of life?

Thus, the major concern of the social sciences is the testing of ideas about social, political, and economic institutions. The methods of study and research may range from quiet introspection to participant observation in a community setting to the manipulation of computerized data using advanced statistical techniques. Yet in this great diversity there remains a shared commitment to the description, explanation, and prediction of human behavior — to understanding. And increasingly, social scientists have added a commitment to action: applying their ideas to real-world situations.

Faculty

Professors: Brian J. L. Berry, Ronald Briggs, Anthony M. Champagne, Harold Clarke, Lloyd J. Dumas, Euel Elliott, Edward J. Harpham, Donald A. Hicks, Irving J. Hoch, John Kain, Kimberly Kempf-Leonard, L. Douglas Kiel, Murray J. Leaf, James C. Murdoch, Lawrence J. Redlinger, Richard K. Scotch, Barry J. Seldon, Marianne C. Stewart, Larry Terry, Paul Tracy, Wim P. M. Vijverberg
Associate Professors: Bobby C. Alexander, Philip K. Armour, Kurt J. Beron, Pamela Brandwein, Marie Chevrier, Simon Fass, Sheila Gutiérrez De Piñeres, Paul Jargowski, Gregory S. Thielemann
Assistant Professors: Nathan Berg, Joao Faria, Douglas Dow, Douglas B. Harris, Jennifer Holmes, Dan O’Brien, Fang Qiu, Scott Robinson, Carole Wilson
Professor Emeritus: Alexander L. Clark
Senior Lecturers: Ed Day

Programs and General Courses

The School of Social Sciences has six degree-granting programs: Crime and Justice Studies, Economics and Finance, Geography, Government and Politics, Public Administration, and Sociology. Within each of these programs, students may specialize in areas that complement their interests and career plans, such as urban studies, political economy, law and society, and comparative studies.

Minor Areas of Study

The School of Social Sciences offers minors in Crime and Justice Studies, Economics and Finance, Geography, Government and Politics, Public Administration, and Sociology. Minors are described following each major.

Related Minor Areas:

Minor in Gender Studies (18 hours)

The Gender Studies minor is 18 semester hours. The courses consist of GST 2300, two courses chosen from the following: GST 3301, GST 3302, GST 3303, and nine other hours chosen from AMS 3300, AMS 3318, AMS 4379, BIS 4V04, GOVT 3353, GOVT 3355, GOVT 3356, GOVT 3357, GOVT 4333, GOVT 4334, GOVT 4338, GOVT 4363, GOVT 4364, HST 3324, HST 3366, HST 3371, ISAH 3330, ISAH 3394, ISGS 3312, ISGS 4311, ISGS 4320, LIT 3327, LIT 3380, PSY 3334, PSY 3338, PSY 4345, PSY 4346, SOC 3343, SOC 3352, SOC 3355, SOC 4355.

Minor in Global Studies (18 hours)

The Global Studies minor is 18 semester hours.

Three of the following courses are required:
    GOVT 4329 Global Politics
    ISSS 3349 World Resources and Development
        or ECO/GEOG 3370 The Global Economy
    SOC 3325 Race, Ethnicity and Community
        or GEOG 3351 Race, Gender and Space
The remaining three courses are to be elected among the following:
    ECO 4360 International Trade
    ECO 4382 International Finance
    GEOG 2302 The Global Environment
    GEOG 2303 People and Place: An Introduction to World Geographic Regions
    GEOG 2304 The Human Mosaic: Culture and Space
    GEOG 3341 Politics, Place and Space
    GOVT 3328 International Relations
    GOVT 4345 Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    GOVT 4355 National and International Security
    ISSS 3349 World Resources and Development
        or ECO/GEOG 3370 The Global Economy, if not taken as a required course
    ISSS 4377 Alternative Approaches to National Security
    SOC 3325 Race, Ethnicity and Community
        or GEOG 3351 Race, Gender and Space, if not taken as a required course
    SOC 3355 Gender Across Cultures
    SOC 4335 Immigrants, Immigration and American Society

Minor in Spanish/Hispanic Area Studies (18 hours)

Six semester hours of college-level Spanish (may include Beginning Spanish) and at least six semester hours in Social Science courses, to be chosen from the following: ECO 4360, ECO 4362, ECO 4396, GOVT 3328, GOVT 3350, SOC 4335, SOC 4396, and six hours of such courses in Arts and Humanities, to be chosen from the following: HST 3358, HST 3379, HST 4359, HST 4376, HST 4378, HST 4V93, LIT 3360, LIT 3361, LIT 3363, LIT 4V49.

Social Studies Teacher Certification

Teacher certification is offered in Composite Social Studies, Economics, Geography, Government, and History. Each teaching field requires 24 hours in that field, while the composite requires 48 hours. Specific course requirements are available in the Teacher Development Center or the Office of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education in the School of Social Sciences.

Social Science Core Requirements

All undergraduates receiving degrees in the School of Social Sciences must have taken and passed a core of courses designed to provide breadth and an interdisciplinary perspective beyond any individual social science discipline. These courses include:
    Three semester hours in economics (normally ECO 2302 Principles of Microeconomics or
        ECO 2301
    Principles of Macroeconomics)
    Three semester hours in sociology
    SOCS 3105 Social Statistics Laboratory
    SOCS 3305 Introduction to Social Statistics
    Three semester hours in an approved ISSS or other Social Science course with a
        comparative or international focus; see required comparative or international courses
        under Major Core Courses for each Major.
    GOVT 3325 American Public Policy
    CJS 3301 Theories of Justice, or some other Social Science course with a distributive
        justice emphasis, such as GOVT 3353/SOC 3353, GOVT 4364/SOC 4364, SOC 4356, ECO
        4320, GOVT 4334/SOC 4334 or GOVT 4333/SOC 4333

Fast Track Baccalaureate/Master’s Degrees

Undergraduate Social Science majors (Economics and Finance, Geography, Government and Politics, Public Administration, and Sociology) with a strong academic record (3.0 or above) are encouraged to enter the Fast Track program, which allows students to take graduate courses for undergraduate credit while at the same time satisfying requirements for a master’s degree in Applied Economics, Geographic Information Sciences, Applied Sociology, or Public Affairs. Qualified seniors may take up to 15 credit hours of graduate courses during their senior year. Students enrolled in the Fast Track must maintain a 3.0 grade point average and earn grades of B or better in graduate courses taken. Students who are interested in the Fast Track should talk with the Associate Dean and complete an application form prior to the final 30 credit hours of work for the B.A. or B.S. degree.

Degree Programs in the School of Social Sciences

Crime and Justice Studies
Economics and Finance
Geography
Government and Politics
Public Administration
Sociology

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