Why the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts?
UC Merced fosters an integrative environment that draws from various disciplinary research traditions, but is not limited by their boundaries. The School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts offers a broad range of programs dedicated to preparing students for varied roles as responsible and thoughtful citizens and leaders. We offer research and academic programs in anthropology, art, cognitive science, economics, English, foreign languages, global arts studies, history, management, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology, Spanish, world heritage and writing to:
- prepare students for meaningful careers and professions;
- encourage intellectual and moral growth;
- promote sound decision making;
- instill the values of lifelong learning; and
- encourage civic responsibility, public service and understanding in a diverse, global society.
Culture, society and artistic expression differ widely on the basis of their historical eras and geographical locations. As students learn to understand the ways time and place have shaped lives, institutions and works of the imagination, they develop perspectives that enable them to better understand and shape our futures.
Students have the opportunity to follow personal paths of discovery in disciplinary or interdisciplinary curricula, while at the same time gaining depth and expertise in methodological domains such as social statistics, historiography, geographic information systems, economics, cultural analysis and cognitive science.
