Degrees and Certificates
These degrees are offered through the following programs:
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humans. Anthropology is the only discipline that seeks to understand all aspects of human life, including past and present social and cultural processes and biological adaptations. It does so by focusing on human variation in time and space, with four traditionally recognized sub-disciplines: archaeology, physical anthropology, cultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. As a consequence of its broad focus, anthropology is also an integrative discipline that brings together scholarly work in the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences.
Communication Studies
Communication is fundamental to all human endeavors. The communication major studies the ways humans use communication to shape identity and ideas. Graduates will transfer with both an understanding of important communication theory as well as demonstrated proficiency in communication skills. Communication studies majors will explore a variety of communication contexts, from intimate relationships, to public address, to new and emergent media, exploring the many ways communication shapes our identities and our realities.
Economics
Two of the most concise definitions of economics are as follows: Economics is the study of production, consumption and allocation decisions under conditions of scarcity, or as the author of The Armchair Economist, Steven Landsburg, says, economics boils down to four words, “People respond to incentives.” Everything else is noise.
Ethnic Studies
Ethnic studies is a multidisciplinary field focused on the analysis of socially-constructed categories such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, nationality and (non) citizenship. Using a range of materials, from literary and musical works to sociological studies and historical texts, we deeply examine the processes whereby social categories of identity and difference are produced, resisted, inhabited, embraced, and transformed across historical time and geographic space.
Geography
Geography provides insights about the earth as the human habitat. It is a way of looking at the earth, not an inventory of its contents. This viewpoint rests on fundamental interlocking concepts. The cultural appraisal of the earth, the regional concept, areal coherence, human ecology, spatial interaction, study of landscape, and the concept of change are all ways the geographer tries to better understand the environment.
History
History is the study of the past. It is by nature an extremely broad discipline that includes an analysis of individuals and groups, events and phenomena, long-term trends, short-term trends, institutions, societies and cultures. In fact, most historians use a variety of methodologies to create accounts and interpretations of virtually every subject imaginable, and often connect their studies to other fields both inside and outside of the social sciences. The value of studying history, of course, is that it helps us to understand who are today and where we came from. In addition, by studying we can develop an understanding of the human experience as lived by the various individuals and groups both inside and outside of our own societies.
Latin American and Latino/a Studies
Latin American and Latino/a Studies is an interdisciplinary program that combines courses from multiple academic departments to give students a broad understanding of historical, social, and cultural aspects of Latin America and Latino/a communities. Coursework in social sciences, literature, music, dance, drama, and Spanish language provides a comprehensive approach to historical and contemporary issues as well as questions of identity, heritage and creative expression.
Philosophy
The conventional definition of “philosophy” is the love of wisdom. However, “wisdom” is a difficult term to define because one may not know what constitutes wisdom and whose wisdom we are talking about. Wisdom is found in every culture and no single culture can claim to possess the ultimate answer and knowledge. In the past, philosophers were considered to be the know it all people. In the West, at one time, philosophy was even considered as the grand syntheses of all knowledge.
Political Science
Are you interested in American politics; international affairs; critical issues such as health, the environment, civil rights; theories concerning the ideal government and how power and resources are allocated in society? Do you want to study these subjects and pursue a career based on your interest? If so, you should consider studying political science.
Psychology
Psychology is the science concerned with behavior, both human and nonhuman—animal, and is only about 125 years old. It is a broad discipline, essentially spanning subject matter from biology to sociology. Psychology studies the intersection of two critical relationships: one between brain function and behavior, and one between the environment and behavior. As a science, psychology follows scientific methods, using careful observation, experimentation, and analysis.
Sociology
Sociology is the systematic study of people and their institutions. It is one of the most broad and diverse social science disciplines in academia whereby virtually every social domain is critically examined and analyzed. Sociologists study marriage and romantic relationships, interpersonal communication, social psychology, poverty and inequality, race and ethnicity, religion, culture, aging, the media, sports, health care, crime and deviance, nationalism, social movements, and globalization just to name a few topics.