Adult Degree Program Home > Degrees > Social Sciences

Social & Behavioral Sciences Major

Major Overview

I. Introduction

This multi-disciplinary social science major combines coursework from several departments. We offer courses applicable to the major in Economics, History, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology/Anthropology.

Selected courses in Human Resource Management offered by the Business Department also apply to the major. It is not a "major" in psychology or sociology, although you may include courses from these departments.

Because of Linfield's strong liberal arts tradition, courses focus on the historical, theoretical and philosophical foundations of each field rather than on application and techniques. You will become conversant with major theoretical approaches and with the methodologies employed by social and behavioral scientists. A strong emphasis is placed on learning how to learn and how to express yourself clearly and accurately. Graduation requirements outside of the major are listed in the Student Handbook.

II. Career Choices

Some careers allow entry level upon completion of a bachelor's degree. Other careers require graduate work at the master's or doctoral level.

Human services positions such as parole/probation officer, alcohol and drug counseling associate, headstart teacher and community police officer generally require a bachelor's degree for entry level positions. However, they may also require some specialized training beyond the bachelor's degree. Careers in business and industry are more available to those with only a bachelor's degree.

Many careers in education, teaching, counseling or government service require a minimum of a master's degree. An undergraduate major in Social & Behavioral Sciences is preparation for entry into graduate programs such as education, counseling, social work, law, urban studies and criminal justice. For example, several graduates have been accepted into PSU's highly selective MSW program. This major is not, however, appropriate for students seeking advanced degrees in psychology because those programs generally prefer an undergraduate major in psychology and a background in experimental psychology. Students are encouraged to contact prospective graduate schools for admissions information as early as possible.

III. Planning for the Major: Consult with your Academic Advisor

Requirements:
You must complete at least 40 semester credits in two or three social science departments. At least 21 of the 40 must be in Linfield coursework, and at least 15 must be in 300- and 400-level courses. No more than 20 credits from any one department may be counted toward the 40 semester credit minimum. Prior to enrolling in the research methods course, you must complete ENG 377 Fundamentals of Research Writing and at least 12 Linfield credits in the department chosen for your project.

Selecting the departments:
You must select the two or three academic departments early in your program. This insures that you do enough work in each discipline to gain an understanding of how professionals formulate and answer questions. Your personal interests, career goals and the courses available in your community will help you decide which departments to select.

You may choose courses from the five participating Linfield disciplines. However, the majority of classes offered by Linfield's Adult Degree Program come from the departments of Psychology, Sociology/Anthropology (identified as one department at Linfield) and History, plus selected courses in human resource management from the department of Business. If Linfield does not provide an adequate array of courses in your area of interest, we encourage you to augment your program with offerings from community colleges and other four-year institutions.

IV. Research Methods and Research Project

The History Department offers the Research Methods class by every fall. Students who are interested in the field of history are encouraged to take this class as early as possible.

All other Social & Behavioral Sciences majors will take SOA 308 Social Research Methods or PSY 190 Research Evaluation in their senior year. You must complete the research methods class before beginning the research project. Generally, the project is completed during the spring or summer following the research course. You will work independently on the senior project under the supervision of a faculty member. You will communicate with your supervising faculty member through the mail, phone and an occasional face-to-face meeting.

You will find that certain topics in your courses pique your curiosity, yet time constraints limit in-depth study. Keep these areas in mind as a possible foundation for your senior project. Senior research projects have included topics as diverse as cowboy culture, shamanism and teen pregnancy. Please have in mind this type of general topic when you begin the research class. The faculty member will then help you narrow your topic and develop a thesis that can realistically be explored in the allotted time frame.

Courses are scheduled as follows:

History

Research Course: HST 185 Introduction to Historical Methods (3 cr.)
Offered Fall semester on the McMinnville campus.

Project: HST 485 Research Project (5 cr.)
Completed on a tutorial basis with faculty in the History Department.

Sociology & Anthropology

Research Course: SOA 308 Social Research Methods (3 cr.)

Project: SOA 490 Research Project (4 cr.)
Projects will be based on a literature search and will include observations, interviews or experimentation by the student. SOA 490 may be taken spring or summer.

Psychology

Research Course: PSY 190 Research Evaluation (3 cr.), Fall

Project: PSY 490 Research Project (3 cr.), Spring

V. Other Requirements

The research methods class will include information on the interpretation of statistical findings. While not required, a course in statistics (MAT 301 Introduction to Statistics) through Linfield, or an approved transfer course following your intermediate algebra course, would be useful. If you are considering future graduate work, you are strongly advised to consider adding both college algebra and statistics to your bachelor's degree program.

No course is required in computer skills. However, your educational and professional career will be enhanced by learning microcomputer applications. Research papers for many of your courses as well as your senior project are more amenable to required revisions if done on a word processor. In addition, as a professional in the field, an understanding of spreadsheets and databases will be useful. If these are not skills you have already acquired, consider taking CSC 120 Microcomputer Applications or an equivalent transfer course.

VI. Transfer Policies

Linfield will grant transfer credit toward the Social & Behavioral Sciences major for approved courses in anthropology, economics, history, political science, psychology and sociology from other accredited institutions.

Coursework from community colleges in such interdisciplinary fields as Women's Studies, Criminal Justice and Human Services may transfer as general elective credit but will not count toward the major.

Requirements for the Social & Behavioral Sciences Major

• A minimum of 40 semester credits in coursework from either two or three of the following academic departments: Sociology/Anthropology, Psychology, History, Business, Economics, or Political Science. Although the Division of Continuing Education offers few Political Science courses, appropriate transfer work will count toward major requirements. No more than 20 semester credits may be used from any one department toward the major, though there is no cap on the number of credits in a department that may count toward graduation.

• At least 21 credits in Linfield coursework in the major and 15 upper division credits in the major.

• ENG 377 Fundamentals of Research Writing prior to the research methods class.

• A Linfield course in research methods, usually taken in the fall of the student's senior year. At the end of this class the student will submit a proposal for a research project in a field in which the student has taken at least 12 semester credits of coursework. Methods classes are offered in History, Psychology, and Sociology/Anthropology.

• A research project completed during the spring or summer of the student's senior year after departmental approval of the proposal. Ask your advisor for further information on the research project.

Linfield Courses Offered in the Social & Behavioral Sciences Major

Business BUS 301 Management Process BUS 380 Industrial Organizational Psychology BUS 405 Human Resource Management BUS 407 Organizational Behavior BUS 408 Labor Legislation BUS 409 Collective Bargaining BUS 430 Management of Human Relations Economics ECO 271 Microeconomics ECO 272 Macroeconomics ECO 448 Environmental Economics ECO 470 International Economics History HST 185 Intro to Historical Methods HST 167 Survey of Latin American History HST 257 The Pacific Northwest HST 266 Women in US History HST 302 Topics in European History HST 305 Modern Japan HST 306 Modern China HST 316 History of Mexico HST 331 History of Religion in America HST 335 Ethics in Historical Contexts HST 346 Europe and the West Since 1939 HST 371 Race and Minority Cultures in the US HST 376 History of Soviet Russia HST 401 History of the People's Republic of China HST 480 Research Project Psychology PSY 101 Survey of Psychology PSY 190 Research Evaluation PSY 200 Social Psychology PSY 260 Perspectives on Gender PSY 300 Lifespan Developmental Psychology PSY 310 Health Psychology PSY 355 Learning, Memory and Behavior PSY 360 Sexuality: A Developmental View PSY 365 Psychology East and West PSY 375 Theories of Personality PSY 380 Industrial Organizational Psychology PSY 391 Abnormal Psychology PSY 413 Counseling Principles & Theories PSY 450 Psychology of Religion and Consciousness PSY 490 Research Project

Sociology/Anthropology ANT 109 General Anthropology ANT 230 Intercultural Communication ANT 321 Cultural Ecology and Evolution ANT 353 Folklore and Mythology SOA 219 Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean: Society & Culture SOA 223 Cultural Environment of Health SOA 227 South America: People & Culture of the Least-Known Continent SOA 313 Sociology of Health and Illness SOA 323 Native Americans of Oregon SOA 324 Native Americans of the Southwest SOA 325 Native North Americans SOA 346 Peoples and Cultures of Eastern Europe SOA 356 Race and Ethnicity SOA 366 Urban Sociology SOA 376 City and Countryside in Transition SOA 379 Peoples and Cultures of South Asia SOA 405 Social Movements SOA 460 Sexuality, Body & Social Theory SOA 490 Research Project SOC 100 General Sociology SOC 102 Social Problems SOC 304 Deviance SOC 305 Sociology of Poverty SOC 306 Social Work Practice SOC 308 Social Research Methods SOC 322 Sociology of Women SOC 361 Sociology of Culture