The four-year degree programs in Criminal Justice, Politics and Governance, Psychology, and Sociology share a common two-year foundation, in which students acquire breadth in the social sciences, followed by two years of a specific program of study. Students who are initially undecided about which one of these programs best matches their interests and goals may be admitted as Undeclared. The common two-year foundation gives Undeclared students time to explore the program areas before transferring into a program.

Students who have already decided which of the four social science programs they are interested in should apply to those programs directly, and should consult the relevant pages of this calendar for program details.

Semesters One through Four: Undeclared students learn more about the program areas by selecting, in semesters one and two, introductory courses in Criminal Justice, Politics and Governance, Psychology, and Sociology. In semesters three and four, students continue to explore these program areas as well as other social science areas, including Economics and Geography.

Through a range of courses in the first four semesters, Undeclared students develop core competencies necessary to succeed at the university level and in the modern workforce. Through an introduction to the Social Sciences, students explore an approach to critical analysis that is shared by several disciplines and will guide life-long learning. Students develop skills in basic quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, critical and analytical thinking and effective communication. Students also select professionally-related courses from a broad range of areas including Accounting, Human Resources Management, Law, Marketing, Science and more.

Because students achieve breadth in the Social Sciences through course selection in Table I, only the following lower level Liberal Studies (Table A) subject courses can be selected: ENG, FRE, HST, IRL, ITM, MUS, NPF, PHL, SCI, SPN and THL.

Transferability Guidelines

Students who have been admitted into the Bachelor of Arts – Undeclared must declare one of Criminal Justice, Politics and Governance, Psychology or Sociology by fourth semester. No student can remain Undeclared past fourth semester.

Transfers may occur for the Fall term of either their second or third year of studies. Students must declare their program online via RAMSS by February 2nd. All program transfers will be considered on a competitive basis and are subject to program capacity.

Students must have successfully completed CRM 100 and CRM 102 in order to transfer to Criminal Justice for the Fall term of either their second or third year of studies.

Students must have successfully completed POG 100 and POG 110 in order to transfer to Politics and Governance for the Fall term of either their second or third year of studies.

Students must have successfully completed PSY 102 and PSY 202 in order to transfer to Psychology for the Fall term of either their second or third year of studies.

Students must have successfully completed SOC 105 and SOC 107 in order to transfer to Sociology for the Fall term of either their second or third year of studies.

Liberal Studies

Students must take three lower level liberal studies courses during their first four semesters.