Social Sciences

Degree

B.A.

Division

Social Sciences

Program Options

Area of Concentration, Secondary Field

Societies are amazing entities. Millions interact in a variety of ways, trying to build fulfilling individual lives and communities. What forces make societies work rather than descending into chaos? The social sciences attempt to answer this question from a variety of perspectives.

About the Social Sciences Area of Concentration

The Social Sciences AOC gives you the freedom and flexibility to explore important questions addressed in multiple fields and by differing approaches. For example, an Economist, a Sociologist, and a Political Scientist would all approach the study of and remedies for poverty from different emphases. Working with a faculty advisor from the Division of Social Sciences, you will create an individualized plan of study to suit your own needs and interests. The plan will include coursework in at least three Social Science fields, independent study projects, tutorials, internships, research and other academic experiences.

The in-depth, interdisciplinary nature of our Social Sciences AOC is one of the reasons that our students are so well prepared when they enter the workforce and graduate school. Graduates from the program have gone on to pursue careers in a wide variety of fields, with law, business, education and government service being among the most popular.

Featured Course

POLS 4250

Transitions to Democracy in Comparative Perspective

This advanced seminar will tackle the burgeoning literature on the wave of democratization that started in Southern Europe in the 1970s and then swept through Latin America, the old Soviet Bloc, and into Asia and Africa. We will examine several theoretical approaches to understanding why transitions happen and whether they succeed in consolidating democracy. In our discussion of each approach or issue we will examine its usefulness in explaining cases from more than one of the regions mentioned above.

Social Sciences Curriculum