Behavioral Science (BS)

Vision Statement

The Behavioral Sciences cover the range of human experience, action, and processes from the individual to the global level. Behavioral Sciences are Anthropology, Psychology and Sociology.

Mission Statement

The Behavioral Sciences explore the interrelationships of the individual, the group and community, social institutions, human biology and psychology. Our program’s mission is to provide the advanced skills, knowledge, and experiences needed by entry-level professionals in social work and human services, as well as to prepare our graduates to be able to pursue advanced degrees in the behavioral sciences.

Program Description

The Behavioral Science baccalaureate is a 120 credit (4 year) degree that is an integration of anthropology, psychology, and sociology. This major is designed for students interested in careers in the Behavioral Health fields or pre-graduate studies in Psychology, Social Work, Counseling or applied anthropology/psychology/sociology. For career planning, it is recommended students take a minor such as Criminal Justice or Education, or specialty courses such as the MHRT-C (behavioral health) sequence.

Careers

Our Behavioral Sciences major is designed to provide a foundation for careers in social services, counseling, social work and rehabilitation. If a student is planning to do graduate studies, we recommend reviewing the requirements for particular graduate programs during the late sophomore/early junior year, in order to acquire the prerequisite competencies.

Program Goals

Major Goals for the Behavioral Sciences are as follows:

1. Students will develop the capacity for critical reasoning; and become skilled at critically evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing through research and writing, using multiple sources of information about the human experience. Students will use critical reasoning to recognize assumptions underlying arguments; to construct valid arguments, and to create solutions to problems.
2. Students will demonstrate knowledge competence in the disciplines of behavioral sciences through understanding of the historical development of the fields, and through mastery of theories, phenomena and concepts, research methodologies, and applications.
3. Students will demonstrate quantitative reasoning skills. Students will identify and solve quantitative problems in behavioral sciences, manage data, recognize and work with relationships among variables, and develop calculation skills.
4. Students will apply knowledge competency through applying theory to explain phenomena and to analyze case studies; to apply research methodologies to problem solving and to the further development of critical reasoning.
5. Students will demonstrate effective oral, written, and technological communication in the human sciences and in their professional careers.