THE COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES HAS ONE FOR YOU!

Whether you are a student in the College of Humanities & Social Sciences or another college, you can minor in one of our areas. Six courses in a prescribed area of study – 18 credits – are all that’s needed. With a little planning, most students can readily fit a major and minor within the 124 credits needed to graduate. It’s possible that you’re already close to completing a minor, and you don’t even realize it.

Why a minor in the College of Humanities & Social Sciences?
· Discovery of new knowledge
· Increased job marketability
· Development of leadership skills
· Networking across disciplines
· Contact with additional faculty

Arkansas State University students with majors within the College of Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS) are encouraged to explore minors that complement their major; for example, a major in criminology might minor in sociology or a major in history might minor in political science.

Students majoring outside the College are also encouraged to consider minors in the humanities or social sciences areas; for example, a major in Communications might minor in English or a major in psychology might minor in cognitive science.

Minors in traditional disciplines available through the College of Humanities & Social Sciences are: English, Philosophy, History, Political Science, Criminology, Sociology, Geography, French, Spanish, and German.

A minor in HSS is an excellent academic investment because it offers additional training in important skills, adds to your knowledge of the world and how it works, enhances your intellectual growth, and promotes an understanding and appreciation of diversity. Moreover, HSS minors can give students a competitive edge, thereby increasing opportunities on the job market or admission to graduate or professional schools. Finally, a minor in one of the traditional or interdisciplinary humanities or social sciences areas helps prepare students for future career and community leadership opportunities.

Interdisciplinary Minors
Interdisciplinary minors intersect several disciplines and promote shared knowledge. Moreover, interdisciplinary minors prepare students for a world where careers increasingly bridge a wide spectrum of academic disciplines. The College of Humanities & Social Sciences offers several interdisciplinary minors: African-American Studies; Cognitive Science; Interdisciplinary Family Studies; Modern European Studies; Medieval Studies; Religious Studies; Women & Gender Studies; and International Studies. As the world continues to change, interdisciplinary minors help students move beyond the confines of traditional academic disciplines and focus on cultural and gender diversity, multiple ways of knowing, spirituality, and the discovery of new knowledge.

Exciting possibilities might include: an English major with a minor in Religious Studies preparing for a career as a writer/editor of religious texts, or a business major with a minor in African/African American Studies or International Studies enrolling in graduate school to pursue a master’s degree in International Business.

Collaboration between Colleges
The College of Humanities & Social Sciences is collaborating with the College of Nursing & Health Professions and the College of Math & Science to develop two new exciting minors.

College of Nursing & Health Professions
Homeland Security and Disaster Preparedness
This multidisciplinary minor will integrate principles of early recognition and treatment, mitigation, cultural and spiritual influences, issues related to law-enforcement, and mental health aspects of biological, chemical, radiological and nuclear terrorism as well as natural disasters. Disaster and emergency management will be an integral part of the minor. Students completing the minor should have a basis of knowledge to be a contributor in disasters and emergencies in their communities and places of employment.

College of Math & Science
History and Philosophy of Science and Technology
In our changing world students are facing complex issues whose answers lie on the ability to develop connections among different fields while understanding the intellectual framework for those issues. That is particularly the case of science for which its methodology, history, and philosophy interlace so profoundly. The new minor is aimed at providing students with the tools to understand such issues, whether those students come from the natural sciences, the social sciences or the humanities. One of the most distinctive features of this minor is that it will gather in the same classroom both faculty and students from different disciplines allow encouraging contrasting points of views on the same topics. Additionally, future professionals in areas such as social communications can benefit from this program as it will provide them with the necessary background to transmit to the public an accurate and contextual view of science as an endeavor.

Explore and Learn
We invite you to explore, grow, learn and create your own future with the College of Humanities & Social Sciences. The possibilities are endless. Got a minor? We have one for you!