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College of Social Sciences

Other Information about the College

Office of the Dean	713-743-4000
Academic Office	713-743-4001
Center for Public Policy	713-743-3970
Social Sciences Laboratory	713-743-3918
Department of Anthropology	713-743-3780
Department of Economics	713-743-3800
Department of Military Science	713-743-3875
Department of Political Science	713-743-3890
Department of Psychology	713-743-8500
Undergraduate Director	713-743-8508
Graduate Director	713-743-8508
Public Administration Program	713-743-3890
Russian Studies Program	713-743-3073
Department of Sociology	713-743-3940

Dean: Richard Rozelle, Ph.D., Northwestern University

Associate Dean for Research: Robert A. Carp, Ph.D., University of Iowa

Associate Dean for Academics: Hugh W. Stephens, Ph.D. Yale University

Associate Dean for MIS: Joseph Carbonari, Ed.D., Northern Illinois University

Senior Business Manager: Kal Marchi, M.A., Rollins College

Coordinator of Academic Advising: Barbara Woodward, B.S., University of Houston

The primary goal of education is intellectual development. Although a good college serves other social and moral ends as well, the ultimate basis for assessment is whether its graduates have learned to think for themselves, to analyze, and to achieve independent judgment. A second but not secondary goal of the college involves much more than education. It involves discovery of truth and new knowledge and a dedication to seeking both.

The social sciences are those disciplines and their interactions concerned with developing a scientific knowledge of social beings. Collectively, the social sciences present human beings and their activities as appropriate subjects for rational inquiry and prediction and as capable of a degree of conscious self-management.

All students at the university participate in the course work of the college by taking a core of subjects that form the common background necessary for all fields.

The intellectual disciplines and the courses offered in the college are designed to develop the kind of men and women on whom a good society must depend and to prepare them for rewarding careers. The college emphasizes analysis and the application of social sciences to real world problems. Thus, teaching and research are closely related.

The curricula of the college encourage students to explore many fields of intellectual interest while examining one particular field in depth. Emphasis is placed upon the acquisition of a wide range of knowledge and the development of a mature, self-reliant, self-disciplined person. The knowledge, teaching skills, and research ability of the faculty enable them to instruct and counsel students in all phases of their respective disciplines.

Anthropology

The Anthropology Forum is a club open to all undergraduates majoring in anthropology at the University of Houston. It is designed to stimulate discussion of various issues in anthropology, to sponsor guest speakers from the field of anthropology and "brown bag lunch" discussion groups, to organize attendance at various anthropology seminars, and to encourage peer mentoring among club members. Leadership of the club is on a "rotating" basis, with various members in turn taking the minutes of the meeting, then assuming organization and leadership of the subsequent meeting.

Economics

Membership in Omicron Delta Epsilon, an international honorary society, is open to qualified, interested students majoring in economics. In addition to social activities, the chapter sponsors programs and discussions on topics in economics.

Military Science

The purpose of the National Society of Scabbard and Blade, an honorary society founded at the University of Wisconsin during the school year 1904-05, is to raise the standard of military education in American colleges and universities. Students selected from outstanding cadet officers in the Advanced Course of ROTC are elected to lifetime membership.

Political Science

Pi Sigma Alpha is the national honor society for the academic discipline of political science. In conjunction with the American Political Science Association, the society works to foster excellence in the study of politics and government, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The requirements for membership are completion of at least 15 hours of advanced political science courses at the University of Houston with a GPA of 3.50 in these courses. In addition, a 3.00 overall GPA must be maintained.

The activities of the society include invited speakers, conferences, paper competitions and a periodic newsletter. A membership drive is held in the spring semester. For more information please contact the Political Science Department.

Psychology

Psi Chi is the national honor society of psychology in America. Operating in cooperation with the American Psychological Association, Psi Chi members include students nominated and elected either as undergraduates or graduates. Membership in the University of Houston chapter requires completion of at least nine semester hours, registration for major or minor standing in psychology, ranking in at least the top 30 percent of one's class, having a cumulative GPA of 3.0, maintaining a GPA of 3.5 in all psychology courses attempted at the University of Houston, exhibiting high standards of personal behavior, and the endorsement of three-fourths of the members attending a regular chapter meeting.

Chapter activities include invited speakers (both on and off campus), social functions, a limited number of money-making activities to support chapter activities, and maintenance of a list of faculty seeking undergraduate research assistants and students seeking such experience. The local chapter publishes a newsletter four to six times per year to foster communication among members and with the faculty.

Sociology

Alpha Kappa Delta, an international honorary society, exists to promote interest in the study of sociology, research of social problems, and other social and intellectual activities that will lead to improvement in the human condition. Qualified undergraduate and graduate students are eligible for membership.

Student Association for the Social Sciences

The purpose of the Student Association for the Social Sciences is to encourage, stimulate, and maintain scholastic excellence of individuals in all the subfields and disciplines of the social sciences, as well as to advance the science itself. SASS is designed to augment and enhance the regular curriculum, to afford opportunities for the members to utilize their talents in roles that are meaningful, and to promote interaction among fellow members of SASS, members of the college, the faculty of the departments, and other social scientists.

Center for Immigration Research

The Center for Immigration Research was established in 1995 to conduct research on immigration processes and issues that have policy implications at the local, national and international levels. A major goal of the center is to train students in immigration research. Students work as assistants in research projects and use center research data for writing senior honors theses. The center conducts research from a wide range of perspectives, e.g., health, religion and federal policies in local, national and international areas. Findings from center projects are shared with policy makers and the public through conferences, professional publications and public media. The center actively seeks working collaborations with other academic institutions and community organizations in the United States and abroad.

Center for Public Policy

Established in 1981, the Center for Public Policy serves the Houston community as an impartial research organization in the University of Houston's College of Social Sciences.

Drawing on the collective research and public service interests of university faculty, the center was designed to identify and evaluate major public policy issues through program activities that include conferences and symposia; economic, demographic and political research; and educational programs. Supported by an advisory board of Houstonians prominent in business and civic affairs, the center maintains cooperative relationships with many educational and public service entities in the Houston area.

Social Sciences Laboratory

The Social Sciences Laboratory is sponsored jointly by the departments of Political Science and Sociology to facilitate computer applications in research and teaching among the faculty and students of those departments. The laboratory serves as an archive for data received from the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research and other sources and offers a series of training workshops and class presentations on computer usage, data analysis, and word processing. Laboratory facilities include 21 microcomputer terminals providing use of current software applications and access to the university's mainframe system.

Inter-University Consortium for International Studies

The University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Texas Southern University have established the Inter-University Consortium for International Studies to broaden the opportunities for undergraduates to take courses in the field of international studies.

Students may take certain approved courses at any of the three universities without added tuition. This opportunity is subject to the following conditions:

1. Students must be in good standing.

2. Students can take no more than nine semester hours of courses outside their own universities.

3. All course prerequisites must be met unless waived by the instructor.

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