Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree

Get Ready to Make an Impact

Champion social justice. Alleviate income equality. Improve government services. Learn how to help prevent crime and improve outcomes so communities can thrive. Lay your foundation for a productive and fulfilling career.

In Michigan Tech’s bachelor of science in social sciences degree program, you'll investigate the forces that shape human behavior and give rise to social norms and cultural patterns. Study how human social, economic, and political behavior is organized and how it changes over time.

Our students are exposed to empirical social science methodology alongside contemporary and classical social science theory. Prepare for success in graduate school, law school, management, and other professions. Pursue research opportunities in the Geospatial Research Facility, learning to use GIS to address a range of problems. Learn to use software tools for ethnographic and survey research at Michigan’s R1 flagship technological university.

Prepare to Make a Difference

Before you can change the world, you must understand it. A degree in social science cultivates the complex knowledge and skills needed for graduates to create a secure and healthy future for all. Issues around social justice and economic disparity offer new challenges and new opportunities as governments, non-profits, businesses, and the public look for solutions.

With a degree in social science, you will gain the tools needed to study the causes of societal problems. You’ll better understand and be equipped to respond to complicated issues and lead humanity toward a better future. Expand your knowledge and focus on where you want to make your impact by adding a minor, certificate, or even a second major, from any department on campus to complement your degree.

Tailor a portion of your degree to a disciplinary area of interest—such as sociology, political science, anthropology, or history—while also providing broad exposure to the social sciences. Choose courses that fit your interests: social science research methods, introductory disciplinary courses, and advanced disciplinary courses. The method courses include ethnography, demographics, survey methodology, social statistics, graphical information systems (GIS), and historical methods; skills you can apply to most any career.

History Concentration

The History Concentration is ideal for students interested in understanding the roots of today’s most pressing social, environmental, and political challenges. This concentration emphasizes the relevance of historical study to contemporary issues such as inequality, conflict, globalization, and environmental change. Through hands-on experiences—including internships, immersive research, and capstone projects—students gain valuable technical and communication skills while collaborating with community partners like the MTU Archives, the Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw, and the Finnish American Heritage Center. This concentration blends academic depth with real-world application, preparing students for a range of careers and graduate study.

Policy, Law, and Society Concentration

Policy, Law, and Society is tailored to students interested in law school or exploring policy-related careers and interdisciplinary research. This concentration provides a foundation in legal topics with classes in government and policy issues, including American government, environmental policy, and international law. A broad liberal arts curriculum offers excellent preparation for law school. 

Fast-track Your Master's Degree

Earn an Accelerated MS degree in Industrial Heritage and Archaeology. You can do it in just one additional year at Michigan Tech with your BS in Social Sciences.

  • 4+
    faculty-led study away programs
  • 90%
    undergraduates involved in research
  • No. 3
    Best Public College in the US for High Salaries (The Wall Street Journal, 2025)

Tomorrow Needs Social Science Experts

Social scientists are essential to shaping a better tomorrow by understanding the intricacies of human decision-making and behavior. Their insights into consumer behavior and public opinion assist in creating better products and services, laws, government programs, and public policy. They are well-prepared to help overcome the societal challenges posed by economic disparity, social injustice, political unrest, and affordable healthcare, to name a few.

Be Career Ready

Career Opportunities for Social Science Majors

Today, more than ever, companies and organizations seek to employ well-rounded individuals with a broad array of skills. Appropriately equipped, you'll succeed in graduate school, law school, management, social work, the ministry, non-profits, government administration, and a myriad of professions—so you can set your sights high and follow your passions. Career opportunities include, but are not limited to:

  • Attorney
  • Business Owner
  • Campaign Manager
  • Clergy or Chaplain
  • Compliance Manager
  • Government Relations
  • Hazard Communications Specialist
  • Human Resources Specialist/Manager
  • Intelligence Analyst
  • Market Researcher
  • Military Officer
  • Police Officer
  • Political Consultant
  • Student Affairs Coordinator
  • Social Worker
  • Teacher
  • Writer

Companies Hiring Social Science Majors Majors

These are just some of the organizations hiring social science majors:

  • ACCEL Schools
  • Civis Analytics
  • Dow Chemical
  • Easter Seals
  • EPIC Health Systems
  • Environmental Protection Agency
  • Food and Drug Administration
  • Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan
  • Internal Revenue Service
  • Northwestern Mutual
  • Pinkerton
  • State of Michigan

Ready to take the next step?

Learn more about studying social science at Michigan's flagship technological university

"It’s really what I am passionate about. A lot of professors here have worked in different jobs that most of us undergrads are actually interested in. So being able to take the opportunities that I have here and correlate those to things I can do in the future are really important"
Ethan Gerdes '22, BS Social Science

College of Sciences and Arts

The College of Sciences and Arts is a community of faculty, staff, and students committed to excellence and driven by our passion for education, outreach, research, and creativity across the social and natural sciences, humanities, and the arts. Uniquely situated in the heart of Michigan's R1 flagship technological university, we specialize in human-centered potential and discovery-based learning designed to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. Knowing that every student at Michigan Tech will pass through our doors, our college strives to be at the forefront of interdisciplinary collaborations that lead to breakthrough solutions.

Our students gain a profound understanding of social and cultural contexts through experiential learning and innovative research. We welcome you to be part of our caring, expansive college community, with 32 undergraduate and 24 graduate degrees to choose from.

The opportunities in Michigan Tech's College of Sciences and Arts are limitless. Transform into a civic leader ready to contribute to a sustainable future. Lead and participate in action-based experiences that are critical to the start of a fulfilling career. Job-shadow at a local hospital or veterinary clinic while preparing for a career in health. Design sound and lighting for a regional production. Conduct community forums on the implications of artificial intelligence. Work to purify vaccines. Study the impact of social media on society. Research the mysteries of space and galaxies beyond our universe. Explore transforming abandoned iron and copper mines into giant batteries. Understand freshwater ecosystem health. Document the nature of changes in cognitive function and motor behavior in aging and dementia.

At Michigan Tech, your academic growth is supported by a variety of learning centers, along with our Humanities Digital Media Zone and Writing Center. Model climate in the only cloud chamber of its kind. Take part in interdisciplinary health research in our state-of-the-art H-STEM Complex. Create amazing sights and sounds in our visual art, sound, and theatre performance spaces

Undergraduate Majors in Social Sciences

Not sure which major is the right fit? No problem. Browse the entire list of College of Sciences and Arts majors. Or, give yourself time and declare the General Sciences and Arts major, which lets you decide when you arrive on campus. To learn more, speak to an academic advisor.

Tomorrow Needs You

Combine your creativity and curiosity to meet pressing societal challenges with innovative solutions. Graduate with the technical skills, critical thinking and tenacity to inspire, design and implement a sustainable future across social and natural sciences, humanities, and arts.

"I enjoy the variety of classes in this major that are available. There's so many things you can do. I really like studying social science here. I think it’s fantastic."Erin Doran ‘22, BS Social Science