Social Science, A.A.

Degree: Associate in Arts
HEGIS Code: 5622
Curriculum Code: 2873.SOC
Campus Location(s): City, North, South, Distance
Liberal Arts Division

Pre-Admission Recommendations: Math I, 1 year Science
Recommended High School Courses and/or Experiences: 2 years Math, 2 years Science
Career Opportunities/Further Education: Transfer to Bachelor’s Degree Programs in Economics, Government, Education, History, Psychology, and Sociology

Program Description Program Competencies

The Liberal Arts curriculum has a dual purpose. The courses provide students subject matter enabling them to transfer to a four-year college or university, but the curriculum is also designed to provide general education for those who desire it.

Requirements are listed on the following pages for programs granting Associate in Arts and Associate in Science degrees. The Associate in Arts requirements are designed to give students a balanced distribution of courses in English, humanities and social sciences. The Associate in Science requirements are designed to give a student a balance between mathematics and laboratory sciences. These programs have been formulated to ensure a maximum level of acceptance for the transfer student regardless of the program for which he/she applies at a four-year institution.

Program Description

The objectives of the Social Science curriculum are twofold: to provide a transfer program for students in the Social Science disciplines as well as in areas such as the arts, sciences and business/ management; and to provide general education courses for students enrolled in other curricula.

For those students who transfer to four-year institutions (particularly state colleges and university centers within New York State), the program provides completion of lower-division requirements in any of the social science departments. The attainment of the Associate in Arts degree can confer full first-term junior status.

Erie Community College has agreements with the State University of New York at Buffalo, Hilbert College and various other four-year institutions to make it possible for students to achieve guaranteed course or program transferability and/or acceptance from SUNY Erie into the four-year social science major of their choice. Program requirements for both joint admissions and articulation agreements are specified in the Admissions section of this catalog.

The Social Science Program presents a broad spectrum of study in both the social and behavioral sciences, comprising the disciplines of anthropology, economics, geography, government, history, human service, psychology, sociology and interdisciplinary social science. The variety of topics available within these areas enables students to design a course of study specifically related to their individual academic and career goals. In a world of such rapid technological and social change, the social science major is uniquely qualified to adapt to new courses of study and job market fluctuations.

All degree candidates must complete a minimum of 60 credit hours to graduate. Students must seek approval for all courses from their adviser prior to registration. Courses not approved by a social science adviser may not be accepted as credit toward a degree. Social science majors must select the required 21 credit hours from among the social science disciplines which include anthropology (AN), economics (EC), geography (GP), government (GO), history (HI), human service (HU), psychology (PS), sociology (SO) and social science (SS).  Within these 21 credit hours in Social Science, students must take either PS100 OR SO100 and at least one History course. In addition, social science majors must receive a grade of “C” or better in all social science courses used to fulfill the 21 hours of social science elective credit in their degree program. Students must study from at least three disciplines and may not exceed 12 credit hours in any one discipline.

Program Competencies

Upon completion of the Social Science, A.A. program, students will be able to:

• identify major concepts, models, and issues of at least one discipline in the Social Sciences;
• describe and apply the methods social scientists use to explore social phenomena, including observation, hypothesis development, measurement and data collection, experimentation, evaluation of evidence, and employment of mathematical and interpretive analysis; and
• demonstrate an understanding how historians use evidence to study the recorded past, to situate events, artifacts, and experiences in their historical context, and to analyze the process of change over time.