The Social Sciences study the common elements and collective dimensions of the human experience. Scholars in this division of the College of Letters and Sciences focus on topics as varied as color perception, language acquisition, climate change, sexuality, social identity, markets and risk, wages and work, civil rights and political institutions, kinship and culture, international relations, epochal change, and child development.

The 12 departments that comprise the Social Sciences Division — African American Studies, Anthropology, Demography, Economics, Ethnic Studies, Geography, Gender and Women’s Studies, History, Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology — are each among the most distinguished in the nation. The division is the largest within the University, with 20 percent of the faculty and 25 percent of student enrollments. It is also the most heterogeneous, offering diverse theoretical approaches and empirical methodologies for understanding the ways in which human beings, past and present, have organized their lives. This diversity offers scholars and students an unparalleled opportunity to range far and wide in their search for solutions to individual, social, and global problems.

Dean and Staff

• Dean: Carla Hesse
• Associate Dean: Cathryn Carson
• Associate Dean: Trond Petersen
• Director of Academic Administration:  Ann Gilbert
• Assistant to the Dean:  Josh Mandel
• Budget Analyst:  Helen Workman
• Senior Director, Development and College Relations:  Danielle Hawn Bluey
• Graduate Diversity Outreach Coordinator:  Gloria H. Chun

Academic Departments

In addition, the College offers interdisciplinary majors in Legal Studies (in cooperation with the School of Law) and in Social Welfare (in cooperation with the School of Social Welfare). The College also offers a wide variety of interdisciplinary major and minor programs through Undergraduate and Interdisciplinary Studies.

Related Research Units & Museums

• Archaeological Research Facility*
• Beatrice Bain M. Research Group
• Center for the Study of Sexual Culture
• Field Station for the Research of Animal Behavior
• Geography Computing Facility
• Graduate Group in Folklore
• Hearst Museum of Anthropology*
• History of Science and Technology, Office of*
• Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences*
• Institute of Governmental Studies*
• Institute of Human Development*
• Institute of Personality and Social Research*
• Institute for Business and Economic Research (IBER)*
• Psychology Clinic

*Reports to the Vice Chancellor for Research