Social Sciences

Shape how societies interact with the world

When you study social sciences, you embark on a journey to examine and explain how individuals and societies function on a range of interlocking levels – such as how people behave and interact with each other as neighbors, in cities and around the world. As you start to question assumptions about cultural practices and learn to comprehend complex issues holistically, you’ll be ready to make reasoned arguments and pioneer solutions to some of our biggest challenges. Your discoveries will help improve how global communities live.

Our academic units in the social sciences

American Indian Studies

Department of Aerospace Studies

Department of Military Science

Department of Naval Science

Economics

Hugh Downs School of Human Communication

School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership

School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning

School of Human Evolution and Social Change

School of Politics and Global Studies

School of Social Transformation

School of Transborder Studies

T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics

Did you know?

Social science graduates are more likely to be employed and move into managerial and senior official roles than graduates in other areas of studies. (Campaign for Social Science)

Did you know?

Tech companies want social science researchers to optimize their ability to reach communities on the web. (Campaign for Social Science)

Exploration of human evolution

Through research in social sciences, Arizona State University’s Institute of Human Origins examines how we evolve in a mission to understand what being human means. From discovering the fossils of the hominin Lucy to reconstructing communities of animals, our scholars have made significant strides in research and discovery over the last three decades.

Our centers and institutes

Our college is home to 15 centers and institutes in the social sciences, encompassing gender equity, population dynamics, digital antiquity and so much more. Our scholars are finding ways to improve how we live. Learn more.

Student research opportunities

If you want to reap the benefits of undergraduate research, consider joining an initiative in the social sciences. From discovering health approaches for obesity to investigating where we come from, you’ll be impacting the world positively. Learn more.

Social learning predicts behavior

Assistant professors and researchers Sarah Mathew and Charles Perreault from the School of Human Evolution and Social Change found that social learning is responsible for variations in human behavior around the world. Read more.