Program Description

The Social Science major is recommended for transfer students as it provides a basic foundation for subsequent specialization in many liberal arts fields of study. The value of the degree is now recognized by business and industry as it requires a variety of skills demanded in business, education, health, law, and government, as well as the social services.

Learn more about the program on the Business and Social Sciences website.

Program Learning Outcomes

• Students will be able to identify connections and linkages between specific fields of study, events, and ideas and larger studies of specific themes, developments, and topics in anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology.
• Students will be able to critically analyze a variety of primary and secondary sources in the fields of anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology and draw scholarly interpretations from them.

Career Opportunities

The General Studies student should market educational accomplishments as a collection of career transferable skills in communication, the global arena, public service, problem solving, production, and personnel management. Courses in statistics, business principles, computer science, and language arts should be taken as elective units to increase marketability of the graduate to potential employers.

Award Type(s)

• AA = Associate in Arts Degree

Units Required

• Major: 30

Additional Information

Note: Students having difficulty in attaining an associate degree because of timing or availability of classes should consult with a counselor to submit a petition for course substitution.

Associate Degree Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Units
English Proficiency
Select one of the following:
ENGL 1A	COMPOSITION & READING	5
ENGL 1AH	HONORS COMPOSITION & READING	5
ESLL 26	ADVANCED COMPOSITION & READING	5
or equivalent
Ethnic Studies
Any course in the ETHN (Ethnic Studies) subject code, currently approved for Area F of CSU GE and Area 7 of IGETC
Mathematics Proficiency
College-level math course at or above the level of Intermediate Algebra

A minimum of 90 units is required¹ to include:

• Completion of one of the following general education patterns: Foothill General Education, CSU General Education Breadth Requirements or the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)
• Core courses (30 units)

¹

Additional elective course work may be necessary to meet the 90-unit minimum requirement for the associate degree.

Note: All courses pertaining to the major must be taken for a letter grade. In addition, a grade of "C" or better is required for all core and support courses used for the degree.

Core and Support Courses

Course List

Code	Title	Units
Core Courses
Select any combination of 30 units from at least five departments:		30
Anthropology
ANTH 1	INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
or ANTH 1H	HONORS INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 2A	CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
or ANTH 2AH	HONORS CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 2B	PATTERNS OF CULTURE
ANTH 3	WORLD PREHISTORY: THE RISE & FALL OF EARLY CIVILIZATIONS
ANTH 4	FIRST PEOPLES OF NORTH AMERICA
ANTH 5	MAGIC, SCIENCE & RELIGION
or ANTH 5H	HONORS MAGIC, SCIENCE & RELIGION
ANTH 6	PERSPECTIVES FROM AFRICA
ANTH 8	INTRODUCTION TO ARCHAEOLOGY
or ANTH 8H	HONORS INTRODUCTION TO ARCHAEOLOGY
ANTH 12	APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY
Economics
ECON 1A	PRINCIPLES OF MACROECONOMICS
ECON 1B	PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS
ECON 9	INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
or ECON 9H	HONORS INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
or POLI 9	INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
or POLI 9H	HONORS INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
ECON 25	THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
Geography
GEOG 1	PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
GEOG 2	HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
GEOG 5	INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
GEOG 10	WORLD REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY
Global Studies
GLST 1	INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL STUDIES
or GLST 1H	HONORS INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL STUDIES
GLST 2	GLOBAL ISSUES
History
HIST 3A	WORLD HISTORY FROM PREHISTORY TO 750 CE
HIST 3B	WORLD HISTORY FROM 750 CE TO 1750 CE
HIST 3C	WORLD HISTORY FROM 1750 CE TO THE PRESENT
HIST 4A	HISTORY OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION TO 800 CE
HIST 4B	HISTORY OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION: 700-1800
HIST 4C	HISTORY OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION 1789-PRESENT
HIST 8	HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICA
HIST 10	HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA: THE MULTICULTURAL STATE
HIST 17A	HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES TO 1815
HIST 17B	HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FROM 1812 TO 1914
HIST 17C	HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FROM 1914 TO THE PRESENT
HIST 18	INTRODUCTION TO MIDDLE EASTERN CIVILIZATION
HIST 20	HISTORY OF RUSSIA & THE SOVIET UNION
Humanities
HUMN 1	CULTURES, CIVILIZATIONS & IDEAS: THE ANCIENT WORLD
or HUMN 1H	HONORS CULTURES, CIVILIZATIONS & IDEAS: THE ANCIENT WORLD
HUMN 2	CULTURES, CIVILIZATIONS & IDEAS: OF EMPIRES & CONFLICT
HUMN 3	WORLD MYTHS IN LITERATURE ARTS & FILM
or HUMN 3H	HONORS WORLD MYTHS IN LITERATURE ARTS & FILM
HUMN 4	TRAUMA & THE ARTS
or HUMN 4H	HONORS TRAUMA & THE ARTS
HUMN 5	CULTURES, CIVILIZATIONS & IDEAS: THE MODERN WORLD
or HUMN 5H	HONORS CULTURES, CIVILIZATIONS & IDEAS: THE MODERN WORLD
HUMN 6	THE SHOCK OF THE NEW: FROM THE MODERN TO THE CONTEMPORARY
HUMN 7	GLOBAL RELIGIONS: CONTEMPORARY PRACTICES & PERSPECTIVES
or HUMN 7H	HONORS GLOBAL RELIGIONS: CONTEMPORARY PRACTICES & PERSPECTIVES
HUMN 9	ONCE UPON A TIME? THE IMMORTAL LURE OF FAIRY TALES
HUMN 10	ON THE MOVE: ARTISTIC REPRESENTATIONS OF MIGRANT EXPERIENCE
HUMN 11	INTRODUCTION TO POPULAR CULTURE
or HUMN 11H	HONORS INTRODUCTION TO POPULAR CULTURE
or MDIA 11	INTRODUCTION TO POPULAR CULTURE
or MDIA 11H	HONORS INTRODUCTION TO POPULAR CULTURE
HUMN 12	POPULAR CULTURE & UNITED STATES HISTORY
or HUMN 12H	HONORS POPULAR CULTURE & UNITED STATES HISTORY
or MDIA 12	POPULAR CULTURE & UNITED STATES HISTORY
or MDIA 12H	HONORS POPULAR CULTURE & UNITED STATES HISTORY
HUMN 13	VIDEO GAMES & POPULAR CULTURE
or MDIA 13	VIDEO GAMES & POPULAR CULTURE
HUMN 14	THE ART OF PEACE: NARRATIVE REPRESENTATIONS OF PACIFISM
Political Science
POLI 1	POLITICAL SCIENCE: INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
POLI 2	COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
or POLI 2H	HONORS COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
POLI 3	INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY/POLITICAL THEORY
or POLI 3H	HONORS INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY/POLITICAL THEORY
POLI 15	INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS/WORLD POLITICS
or POLI 15H	HONORS INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS/WORLD POLITICS
Psychology
PSYC 1	GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
or PSYC 1H	HONORS GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
PSYC 2	CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY
PSYC 4	INTRODUCTION TO BIOPSYCHOLOGY
PSYC 10	RESEARCH METHODS & DESIGNS 1
PSYC 14	CHILD & ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT
PSYC 21	PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN: SEX & GENDER DIFFERENCES 2
or WMN 21	PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN: SEX & GENDER DIFFERENCES
PSYC 22	PSYCHOLOGY OF PREJUDICE & DISCRIMINATION
PSYC 25	INTRODUCTION TO ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY
PSYC 30	SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 3
PSYC 33	INTRODUCTION TO PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY
PSYC 39	PSYCHOLOGY OF SPORTS
PSYC 40	HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
PSYC 49	HUMAN SEXUALITY
Sociology
SOC 1	INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
or SOC 1H	HONORS INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
SOC 8	POPULAR CULTURE
SOC 10	SOCIAL RESEARCH METHODS & DESIGNS 1
SOC 11	INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WELFARE
SOC 14	SOCIOLOGY OF CRIME
SOC 15	LAW & SOCIETY
SOC 19	ALCOHOL & DRUG ABUSE
SOC 20	MAJOR SOCIAL PROBLEMS
SOC 23	RACE & ETHNIC RELATIONS
SOC 28	SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER
SOC 30	SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 3
SOC 40	ASPECTS OF MARRIAGE & FAMILY
Women's Studies
WMN 5	INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN'S STUDIES
WMN 11	WOMEN IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
WMN 21	PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN: SEX & GENDER DIFFERENCES 2
Total Units		30

¹

The student may complete either PSYC 10 or SOC 10, but not both, to satisfy the core course requirements.

²

The student may complete either PSYC 21 or WMN 21, but not both, to satisfy the core course requirements.

³

The student may complete either PSYC 30 or SOC 30, but not both, to satisfy the core course requirements.