The B.A. Program in Social and Political Systems at Pine Manor College integrates sociology and political science into a single program of study. It has a central set of courses that emphasize understanding social and political systems from the neighborhood to the world. We see the place in all communities for activism and leadership. Core courses also provide the capstone senior-year experiences that help students integrate and define what the major means for them. Program courses reinforce the broad general educational objectives of the College by consciously integrating teaching strategies that reflect the Portfolio outcomes.
Learning Outcomes of the SPS Program
Graduates with a major in SPS will:
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Be knowledgeable about important aspects of society and politics, such as social problems, social and political structures (including government and institutions), sources of conflict between and within societies, and the nature of globalization
- Have a sense of their personal capacity to be agents of social action and social change.
- Be able to design and undertake social science research
- Be able to write effectively in the language of social science
- Have the ability to interpret and evaluate quantitative information, both informally in their lives and as a social scientist
- Be able to think critically and theoretically about the social and political environment in which we live – to be “practical skeptics”