Social Studies Major
Are you interested in learning more about social studies education? As a social studies major you can expect to to learn about history and political science, while integrating information to teach psychology, sociology, economics and geography. You will learn social studies skills that can be implemented into your classroom or throughout your professional career.
This major is highly recommended to be paired with an education major!
Program Details
Program Overview
As a social studies major you will be prepared to teach a wide range of subjects to middle and high school students. The program emphasizes history and political science, but also prepares students to teach sociology, psychology, economics and geography. This broad-based approach provides you with critical-thinking, problem-solving and communication skills that are prized by school districts. Graduates of this program are teaching in public and private schools and serving as museum educators.
Program Concentrations
This program is made up of the following concentrations. Learn more about concentrations.Concentration Overview
The History Concentration provides students an in depth overview of world and U.S. history. Students will learn about a wide range of topics from ancient times to the modern era including the Roman Empire, the French Revolution and Napoleon, and the World Wars. This study will help students develop skills in research, historical analysis, and communication.
Concentration Overview
This concentration provides students a global perspective on political science and history. In it, students will examine how global politics and international relations function and also obtain an understanding of the world’s history. This will help students develop a wide range of skills including research, analysis and problem solving.
Courses in this Concentration
Concentration Overview
The Political Science concentration provides an in depth knowledge of political science. In it, students study American politics and government, law and political theory. This study will help students develop research, analysis, and communication skills.
Courses in this Concentration
Concentration Overview
Social institutions are necessary structures in human society, but they also shape persistent inequities and inequalities of class, ethnicity, gender, age, race and nationality in people’s lives. This concentration focuses on social structures that serve as mechanisms for the creation and perpetuation of social disparities, while also studying how individual and collective action in turn, affect the impact of societal structures on people’s lives.
Courses in this Concentration
Concentration Overview
This concentration focuses on how intersections of race, gender, class, and other significant social locations shape social identity and inequality. Students in this concentration area learn to interrogate the complicated ways that human behavior is shaped by both structure and agency through a variety of theoretical vantage points with an emphasis on race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, and gender.
Courses in this Concentration
Concentrations on this page are required for this program. Additional courses or concentrations may need to be added to meet program or credit requirements.
Program Coursework
- Applied Statistics
- Ancient and the Medieval Worlds
- History of the Modern World
- Building of America: The Story of the American People
- Twentieth Century America
- The United States in World War II
- Introduction to Women's History
- International Politics
- Intercultural History: Latin America
- The Tumultuous Sixties
- U.S. Foreign Policy
- International Politics
- U.S. Foreign Policy
- American Government
- Intercultural History and Politics
- The Law in American Politics
- Justice and Power
- The Presidency
- Introduction to Sociology
- Contemporary Social Problems
- Sociological Theory
- Research Methods
- Research Seminar
- Black and Latinx Identities in Pop Culture
- Social Psychology
- Racial and Ethnic Groups
- Sociology of the Body
- Special Areas in Sociology
The specific degree requirements on the website are for illustrative purposes and may change at any time. Please contact the Registrar's Office, Academic Advising or refer to the course catalog for detailed program requirements.
Liberal Arts Core
LEADERSHIP: 4 credits
- Freshman Seminar (1 cr.)
- Spiritual & Ethical Literacy (3 cr.)
- Personal Branding Communication (3 cr.)
- Writing for the 21st Century (3 cr.)*
- Quantitative Problem Solving (3 cr.)*
- Language & Culture (3 cr.)
CORE LITERACIES: 15 credits – Choose one (1) course from each broad theme. Course options can be found in the course catalog or on the academic advising page. Broad themes are:
- Narratives of Identity (3 cr.)
- Science, Environment & Culture (3 cr.)
- Social Tensions (3 cr.)
- The American Experience (3 cr.)
- Approving the Better Things (3 cr.)
Professional Core
Culminating Experience
- Pre-Internship
- Internship
- Capstone
Internship Sites
As a social studies major, you can apply your knowledge through experiential learning. Stritch provides the unique opportunity for social studies majors to connect with internships in Milwaukee and surrounding areas.
Internship sites may include:
- Milwaukee Public Museum
- Housing Ministries of American Baptists in Wisconsin
- Cedarburg History Museum
- Jewish Museum Milwaukee
Jobs for Social Studies Majors
Are you curious about social studies jobs? Here is a list of options for social studies majors...
- Sociologists
- Historians
- Teachers
- Political Scientists
Contact admissions or the program faculty with questions about this program.
Mary T. Duarte
Faculty - History
