Social Sciences Courses
SOC1123 First Year Experience
Explores the challenges students most frequently face in pursuing and achieving a college degree. Students will identify their own perceived challenges, share critical insights to meeting them, and implement their own plan of action to address and overcome such challenges.
3 Credit Hours
SOC2100 Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare
The course introduces students to the field of social work and the U.S. social welfare system. Students will explore the profession’s history, values, ethics, and methods while examining how social welfare policies address contemporary social issues. The course also includes overviews of social welfare history, the range of contemporary services and agencies, and professional values, ethics, licensing, and associations
3 Credit Hours
SOC2110 AI-Powered Communication
Explores emerging Artificial Intelligence (AI) trends and their social and ethical implications. Analyzes the impact of AI on content generation, creativity, media production, and employment. With a focus on academic and professional integrity, students will develop and apply AI literacy skills in a variety of contexts.
3 Credit Hours
SOC2205 World Cultures
Explores collective human experiences by examining norms, values, and practices of a variety of cultures around the world from the perspectives of the social sciences, including cultural anthropology.
3 Credit Hours
SOC2210 Introduction to Sociology
Examines the social institutions such as culture, family, and education that shape and influence the behavior of the individual and groups with emphasis on examining contemporary social problems. Topics explored include the study of human social life, theories and methods of sociology, and basic sociological concepts.
3 Credit Hours
SOC2215 Introduction to Political Science
Provides an overview of the American political system, the ideas that shaped it, and the conflicts that continue to redefine the relationship between people and political power.
3 Credit Hours
SOC2218 Police and Society
Introduces the history and traditions of American policing. Examines the role of the police in advancing justice in a democratic society. Topics include law enforcement operations and strategies, such as profiling, organizational structure, community affairs, police use of force, and various major concerns in public policy.
3 Credit Hours
SOC2220 Criminology
Introduces the various causes of crime in a free society. This course considers factors such as free will, biology, and other possible causes, such as DNA, nutrition, hormones, and subcultures of violence.
3 Credit Hours
SOC2225 Introduction to Psychology
Explores the basic principles of psychology and their direct application to individuals’ thoughts and behaviors and awareness of their own everyday existence. Topics explored include human development, personality, cognitive process, motivation, emotion, adjustment, perception, and psychological disorder and treatment.
3 Credit Hours
SOC2230 Victimology
Focuses on criminal victimization of women, men, children, the elderly, minorities, immigrants, and LGBTQ populations. The nature of the victimization process, the relationship between victims and offenders, and the criminal justice system will be explored. Various practical applications and policies will also be covered.
3 Credit Hours
SOC2231 Human Relations
Explores the interpersonal skills known to be key ingredients for successful everyday interactions with a focus on the challenges of workplace relationships involving coworkers, supervisors, and customers/clients. Some major skill areas covered in the course include making a good impression with your employer, managing conflict with difficult coworkers, working on a team with diverse groups of people, providing exceptional service for customers/clients, and managing on-the-job stressors.
3 Credit Hours
SOC2235 Artificial Intelligence and Society
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming decision-making throughout society. For example, these changes in the justice system raise questions about fairness, accountability, and civil liberties. This course offers students the opportunity to explore real-world applications of AI in areas such as policing, sentencing, surveillance, and risk assessment. Through case studies and legal controversies, students will develop ethical reasoning, critical thinking, and digital literacy skills to evaluate the impact of AI on individuals, institutions, and public trust.
3 Credit Hours
SOC2270 Special Topics in the Social Sciences
Involves readings and discussions, at an introductory level, organized around selected topics in the social sciences. Topics will vary each semester.
1 to 3 Credit Hours
SOC3110 Create an Equitable Workforce
Explores power constructs in everyday interactions in the workplace through the lens of race, gender and other categories of identity with a focus on the challenges of workplace relationships involving coworkers, supervisors, and customers/clients. Some major skill areas covered in the course include recognizing conscious and unconscious biases and micro-aggressions, managing conflict related to various biases, and successfully working on diverse teams.
3 Credit Hours
SOC3120 Corporate Social Responsibility
Examines the primary social responsibilities played by three types of institutions: businesses, governments, and nonprofit groups. Students will participate in a critical review and discussion of various perspectives on the meaning of Corporate Social Responsibility, its underlying philosophy, sustainable business practices, moral duties and obligations, and other related topics, as presented in this course.
3 Credit Hours
SOC3305 Marriage and Family
Examines the institution of marriage and the family throughout history and across cultures with an emphasis on the contemporary family. Topics such as the changing family, raising children, love, mate selection, sexuality, ageism, productive communication, divorce, breakups, traditions, gender roles, and domestic violence are studied. Students also analyze and research the sources and identify factors of public issues in the family system including family-related social problems.
3 Credit Hours
SOC3310 Intercultural Communication
Introduces the various cultural influences on communication. Emphasizes the obstacles and portals to effective communication. Students study the communication styles of different cultural groups and learn to apply cultural perspectives to their daily interactions in business and in their private lives.
3 Credit Hours
SOC3318 Drugs and Drug Policy
Examines the intersection of drugs, crime, and the criminal justice system in the U.S. society from a historical and contemporary perspective. This course also reviews and analyzes local, state, national, and international drug control policies. Topics will include the war on drugs, draconian drug laws, decriminalization and legalization of cannabis, the opioid crisis, prevention, treatment, and more.
3 Credit Hours
SOC3320 Gender, Race, and Class
Explores relationships between race, gender, and class. This course examines reality in the determination of socioeconomic mobility and analyzes the perceived role of race and gender in American society.
3 Credit Hours
SOC3332 Understanding Social Behavior
Explores how people think about, interact with, and influence others. Social and practical problems facing individuals, groups, and communities are examined using social psychological theory and research. Students investigate possible solutions to media framing of stories, creating stronger communities, building cohesive teams, predicting criminal behaviors, and valuing human diversity.
3 Credit Hours
SOC3350 Psychology of Design
Introduces the role and influence of the physical environment on our lives. In this course, students think, experience, research, discuss, and create elements of design. We not only create the environments in which we live but we are also greatly influenced by them. From an Environmental Psychology perspective, students explore the person-place relationships in a variety of environments such as the home, retail, office, children’s spaces, and recreational.
3 Credit Hours
SOC3360 Law and Society
Introduces basic concepts in law and examines functions of law in society, such as resolving disputes and protecting liberties. The course explores the relationship of law to societal values of equality, justice, and order and how law shapes the everyday lives of individuals. Social forces and events are studied for how they bring equitable legal change, including civil rights.
3 Credit Hours
SOC4100 Sociology of Leisure Travel
Explores the role of travel and leisure behaviors in the lives of different individuals, social groups, and cultures. Using a psycho-social lens, students will critically examine and evaluate topics such as: functions of leisure and travel activities, leisure and travel perceptions and priorities, and patterns of leisure and travel behaviors. How business policy and decisions are influenced by travel and leisure trends will also be examined.
3 Credit Hours
SOC4110 Manage Organizational Bias
Examines discrimination in the United States including current legal protections for all protected classes. Explores how positive, inclusive relationships can be developed at both societal and organizational levels. Through exploring bias and inequality constructs, diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies will be developed and applied using interactive scenarios.
3 Credit Hours
SOC4410 Lifespan Human Development
Explores major concepts and theories of human development from a lifespan perspective and considers their application to the real world. Students will examine several domains of development, including physical, cognitive, social, and personality, and will consider contemporary research to inform our understanding of human development as a lifelong process, which unfolds over time in a social, cultural and historical context.
3 Credit Hours
SOC4415 Global Conflict
Explores global trends impacting all societies. This course examines major social, economic, and cultural issues confronting nations and affecting the lives and well-being of individuals worldwide. The development and spread of the contemporary world system and capitalist culture are explored, including associated benefits of wealth and technology and problems of inequality and unrest.
3 Credit Hours
SOC4422 Forensic Psychology
Examines the psychology of issues related to the law and legal systems, such as determination of competency and insanity, expert testimony, the social psychology of the courtroom, and credibility of witnesses. Covers a broad array of subtopics such as severe mental illness and criminal behavior, juvenile delinquency, risk assessments, criminal profiling, false confessions, eyewitness testimony, and current trends in corrections and sentencing. Students will review research methods and case studies to enhance their understanding of this discipline.
3 Credit Hours
SOC4425 Abnormal Psychology
Provides a broad overview of the various psychological disorders and their etiology. Students gain an understanding of the complex processes involved with classifying, diagnosing, and treating mental illness. Encourages positive attitudes toward people with psychological disorders.
3 Credit Hours
SOC4470 Special Topics in the Social Sciences
Involves readings and discussions, at an advanced level, organized around selected topics in the social sciences. Topics vary each semester.
Prerequisite: Any 2000-level course in the Social Sciences
1 to 3 Credit Hours