Social Sciences and Global Studies
Social & Behavioral Sciences BA
The Social & Behavioral Sciences (SBS) at CSUMB encompass a broad range of disciplines and fields, including: history, sociology, political economy, archaeology, anthropology, geography/GIS, and Native American Studies.
Our faculty are recognized experts in their fields and provide a good student-to-teacher ratio. This ensures that students get the attention they need to achieve skills and knowledge that will make them highly-valued experts in analyzing and addressing social problems in a rapidly-changing world.
We provide a strong foundation in classic and modern social theory for all students, who then use their interdisciplinary training within their specific fields of study. Students often borrow from aligned disciplines, making SBS capstones some of the most unique approaches in undergraduate scholarship in the state.
An Introduction to SBS
Bachelor of Arts curriculum
The Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) encompasses all of the interrelated social and behavioral sciences while providing students the opportunity to specialize in one or more areas of the social and behavioral sciences. The core curriculum, which provides students with skills and knowledge common to all of the social and behavioral sciences, and courses in the student's chosen field of specialization, present a thoughtfully planned set of learning pathways with faculty mentors acting as guides to the curriculum.
Preparation for the major
Interested first year students should focus on completing the lower-division General Education requirements. If they know which concentration in the Social & Behavioral Sciences they will be choosing, they should consider taking a lower-division GE course in that field. For example, students who expect to have a concentration in Sociology should consider taking SOC 100 to meet their Area D1 General Education requirement. There are comparable lower-division GE courses in Anthropology, Geography, Political Economy, and Social History.
Junior transfer students, as well as juniors who began as freshmen at CSUMB, who have completed lower-division GE enter the major by enrolling in the major proseminar (SBS 300) and its lab (SBS 300L). Students who did not declare SBS as their major when they first enrolled at CSUMB will need to see an SBS faculty member to have their major declared in CMS. Normally, this faculty member will be the instructor in SBS 300L.