The social science department houses the following programs: criminal justice, human services, media communications, political science, and sociology.  The department's programs examine numerous elements of society.  All departmental programs include a mixture of theory and practice, and stress clarity in written communication, oral communication, and critical thinking.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM

The criminal justice program is an applied interdisciplinary program in the social sciences emphasizing a liberal arts approach to the administration of, practice in, and understanding of the criminal justice system.  The program is designed to prepare students for a variety of entry-level positions in criminal justice and to provide them with a knowledge of the causes of crime, as well as the workings of the criminal justice system (police, courts, and corrections) and law in society.

HUMAN SERVICES ASSESSMENT PROGRAM

Human services is a complex social system designed to prevent, identify, and respond to the problems people can experience in daily living, such as poverty, abuse, illness, and social isolation.  The human services program prepares students for entry-level human services employment and graduate study in related fields.

MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS ASSESSMENT PROGRAM 

Media communications students study and practice the theory and practice of conveying information, ideas and opinions to various audiences.  Besides building communication skills, the media communications program emphasizes the importance of ethical conduct by media practitioners.  Students also learn about the historical and contemporary effects of media messages on the society at large.

POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM

Majors within this field prepare students for governmental careers, law or graduate school through the development of a factual understanding of American goverment and administration, politics, policy and institutions, and international issues over four years of study.

SOCIOLOGY ASSESSMENT PROGRAM

Sociology focuses on "the analytical study of the development, structure and function of human groups and societies."  In simple terms, human services and criminal justice are applied disciplines which take the analytical insights of the science of sociology and use them for solving "real world" problems.