With each passing year, the Social Sciences become even more important in helping to make sense of the rapid and profound changes occurring all around us.

Within the Social Sciences is a core of academic programs that rank among the nation's finest in exploring the vital issues of our time.

In the fields of study in the Social Sciences--anthropology, geography, communications, history, political science, sociology, economics, and study of ethnic heritage--faculty and students seek to understand the forces that act on us as individuals and groups in an increasingly complex world.

Research and teaching in the Social Sciences bring to life the intellectual and human diversity that are prominent in world cultures--in the political workings of our governments, in creating a new appreciation of history, and in understanding the social nature of the human experience. Students learn exciting and diverse methods of social and environmental analysis, such as archaeology, statistics, game theory, remote sensing and imagery, textual analysis, ethnography, geographic information systems, field work, and ecology.

Students and faculty in the Social Sciences develop the knowledge and analytical tools needed to understand the intricacy of human interaction, and to appreciate and value the expressions of human experience. They increasingly explore new and evolving fields that cross many disciplines: the study of public policy, the vast range of issues that affect women and the family, American society and culture, the environment, and the evolving questions of population and its impact on the globe.