School of Behavioral and Social Sciences

Professor Estelle Owens, Dean and University Historian

Professor Peter Bowen, Associate Dean

Professors Eric Ash, Richard Boyer, Perry Collins, Linda Hutcherson, Judy Jarratt, Don Knox, Wilburn Lackey, D. Niler Pyeatt, Glenn Simmons, Kevin Z. Sweeney, G. Geoffrey Wells, Peggy Wilson

Associate Professors Cassondra Collins, Debra Lavender-Bratcher, Mee-Gaik Lim, Robert Morris, Thomas Ray, Albert W. Smith

Assistant Professor Rebekah Crowe, Karen Dempster, Justin Lawrence, Brian McClenagan, David Wilson

Purpose

The School of Behavioral and Social Sciences exists to educate students in the behavioral and social sciences disciplines of the liberal arts in an academically-challenging, distinctively Christian environment.

The geography curriculum provides courses in historical, human, and physical geography. The program is designed to equip students to teach geography in the public schools and/or to meet general education core requirements in the social sciences.

The study of history acquaints students with the major themes, forces, and people that have shaped the human experience. It also strives to understand the process by which historians discover, analyze, and interpret the past. The curriculum seeks to prepare history majors for graduate study or a career in a history-related field and to develop critical thinking and communication skills within a historical context.

The human services major is available in an A.A.S. or B.A.S. degree program only and is designed to prepare students for entry into social services.

The justice administration curriculum is designed for students who want a career in some aspect of corrections, courts, law enforcement, probation and parole, or a local, state, or national justice agency. This major is available in the B.A./B.S. and the A.A.S./B.A.S. degree programs, with slight differences in requirements.

The political science curriculum provides students with an analytical and historical understanding of the ideas and beliefs of American political culture; the heritage of Western political thought; and a critical knowledge of the origins, development, and operation of state and national governments in the context of American federalism. The program further seeks to foster a global perspective by giving students a comparative framework of political analysis. The objective of the political science major is to prepare students for government service or other graduate or professional training in a related field.

The psychology curriculum provides professional training, personal development, and preparation for graduate study in psychology and/or in human relations therapy skills. Students who want to prepare for law school can major in any of a wide variety of courses. Success in law school depends upon excellent analytical and communication skills, and a
classic liberal arts curriculum stresses those same skills.

The social studies curriculum is designed for students seeking secondary education composite certification in economics, geography, history, and political science.

The sociology curriculum focuses on the social system concerned with processes that shape individual communication, world views, and behavior and on the interrelatedness of social groups, social problems and human behavior. A major in sociology prepares students for professional careers in human/social services and for graduate study in the field.

Environmental studies is an interdisciplinary major that focuses on the interaction of human beings with the natural and engineered environment.

Pre-Professional Programs

Students who wish to enter specific professional or graduate schools should write to those schools to receive advice about the courses of study expected of those who would enter.

Pre-Christian Counseling - This specialization requires a double major in psychology and in either religion or religious education. This double major prepares a student for graduate work in counseling, provides a strong theological foundation, and prepares a student for a range of Christian counseling opportunities. For the specific requirements in the religion or religious education majors, see the Pre-Professional Track in the School of Religion and Philosophy section of this catalog.
Pre-Law - Students who want to prepare for law school can major in any of a wide variety of courses. Success in law school depends upon excellent analytical and communication skills, and a classic liberal arts curriculum stresses those same skills.