The mission of the School of Social Sciences is to provide students with a historical and contemporary context for investigating and understanding the individual, communities and societies, and the commonality and diversity of the human condition through our teaching, research, and service. Because the School is committed to excellence, we encourage and support continuous development by teachers/scholars to create, share and advance knowledge, and we endorse the principles of the scientific method.

We strive to provide high quality instruction, which promotes lifelong learning and allows students to develop the capabilities needed to meet the complexities and challenges of the future. We seek to fulfill our mission by instilling in our students, especially our majors, the knowledge and skills to analyze information in a rational and logical manner, communicate effectively, and apply a healthy skepticism to simplistic explanations of complex problems.