The overall goal of the Department of Social Sciences is to have a competent faculty who will offer a curriculum that will prepare students with the necessary skills to function effectively in government agencies, industry, and research and professional careers. Specifically, the Department of Social Sciences strives to:
- Prepare students for course work at the graduate level and for professional schools;
- Help students develop the necessary skills to function effectively in government agencies, industry and research; and
- Help students achieve their personal and career goals.
Objectives for the History Program are:
- To provide students with the foundational knowledge of history and the critical understanding necessary to allow them to effectively contribute to an increasingly complex and culturally diverse national society;
- To promote historical reasoning skills through source comparison and analysis; and
- To produce graduates with an understanding of and ability to pose sound historical questions and use primary and secondary sources to generate scholarly research papers to answer these questions.
Objectives for the Public Administration Program are:
- To prepare students to serve as professionals in administrative careers in government, public service agencies, and non-profit organizations;
- To offer an opportunity for civil service practitioners to obtain additional training necessary for upward mobility; and
- To prepare students for graduate study in Public Policy and Administration, Criminal Justice, Health Administration, Community Leadership or Law School. Graduates of the program will be qualified to work in every facet of the public or private sector.
Objectives for the Political Science Program are:
- Students in Political Science should exit Mississippi Valley State University with a firm grasp of the basics in Political Science.
- Students in Political Science should either enter productive employment or proceed to graduate or professional schools.
- Students in political science should engage in significant academic extracurricular activities. These activities could include participating in intramural competition with organizations such as the University Mock Trial and Model U.N. teams; maintaining membership in academic clubs including PI Sigma Alpha (the national honor’s society), the Political Science Club, and The Pre-Law Club; and attending and presenting at professional meetings.
- Faculty members in Political Science should maintain up-to-date approaches to teaching and learning (including pedagogy and curriculum revision) that serve the needs of our students.
- Faculty members in Political Science should participate in community service.
Objectives for the Social Science Education Program are:
- To prepare students to serve as effective educators by using the ten National Council Social Studies themes.
- To prepare students to serve as effective social studies educators by performing student teaching within an appropriate 7-12 educational environment.
Objectives for the Sociology Program are:
- To expose students to theories, issues and perspectives relevant to the study of sociological theory.
- To provide the tools for independent critical analysis, integration, and creative expression.
- To prepare graduates with the skills to engage in social research at a level that qualifies them for entry into graduate school and professional employment.
Objectives for the Rural Public Policy Program are:
- To comprehend what constitutes a rural community;
- To provide an understanding of the public policy
- To comprehend the key approaches to state and rural public policy planning, evaluation and analysis;
- To comprehend the institutional, economic, demographic, ideological, and cultural context of contemporary public policy;
- To conduct reserach and analysis of state and rural policy; and,
- To understand the role of social welfare policy in service delivery, practice, and the attainment of optimal individual and social well-being.