The major in Social Policy and Public Service (SPPS) provides an interdisciplinary perspective on the study of policies and society at the individual and group levels. Students can select one of three focus areas while completing their upper-division work: (1) Education, (2) Governance, or (3) Health. The curriculum emphasizes social welfare, social structures, and public policy to facilitate in-depth analysis of complex social issues while generating real-world skills and application capacities. Centered in a scientist-practitioner model, field placements at local non-profit and government agencies, community action research, and internships offer valuable experiential learning that promotes critical decision-making and problem-solving skills. The honors program allows majors to engage in research leading to the completion of an honors thesis. The topic for the honors thesis, reflecting a social science theme, is determined by the student in consultation with a faculty advisor.
The honors program allows SPPS majors to engage in research leading to the completion of an honors thesis. The topic for the honors thesis, reflecting a social science theme, is determined by the student in consultation with a faculty advisor.
Through SPPS, students can integrate a curriculum that focuses on governance, community management, leadership, and social service. Grounded in research, the curriculum highlights societal inequalities and partners with local non-profit and government agencies to facilitate student learning and 300 hours of field work and internships. The non-profit organizations provide students insights on agency practices and social services. They also offer a partnership where students complete ethnographic research to gain professional and research training. Further, the three-quarter field placement facilitates the development of community skills, leadership, mentorship relationships with community supervisors, and networking. Majors have the opportunity to use their classroom knowledge in applied and individual learning experiences, such as internships, field studies, or research with a faculty advisor.
