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The mission of the Society, Culture, and Languages programs is to offer a vigorous and exciting broad-based liberal arts education with an emphasis on cultural, global, and political dynamics. The programs provide a combination of theoretical, scientific, practical, and experiential approaches to understanding and solving human problems. Issues of gender, race, class, and culture, as well as hands-on learning, are emphasized throughout the curriculum. Our goal is to graduate students with marketable skills that prepare them for careers in a variety of public and social services and/or for graduate study in related areas.

The Bachelor of Arts with a major in Applied Social and Cultural Studies is an interdisciplinary degree that allows students to integrate coursework from sociology, anthropology, political science, psychology, communications, and other related fields of study. The major core emphasizes social science methods and ways of knowing while introducing students to a variety of social science disciplines. Within the Applied Social and Cultural Studies degree, students will also pursue a concentration in one (1) of the three (3) particular content areas.

In addition to the interdisciplinary approaches to the social sciences, there are two (2) unique elements to this program. First, students complete a one-hundred and twenty (120)-hour internship. This helps students to engage in experiential learning, apply social science to the real world, undertake career explorations. Second, upper-level students participate in a semester-long applied sociological experience. One (1) option is an internship with a minimum of three-hundred and sixty (360) hours of engagement to be selected from a variety of area schools, agencies, and programs. A second option is for a student to study abroad. While studying in a foreign society and culture is important, the primary focus is for students to take courses and engage experientially in a way that helps students develop their areas of interest. There needs to be an integrated social science experience that drives the study abroad learning as well as the opportunity to explore a new society and culture for this to be a successful experience.

Overall, this program will provide students with a strong foundation for understanding today's social issues and problems. Students will also have a wide range of skills and experiences that will enhance their future educational and career opportunities as well as enable them to be more active and aware citizens.