Mission

The overall mission of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences is to offer high-quality degree programs to our students. We seek to make educational opportunities available to a diverse student population by offering content-rich and pedagogically solid courses. The department is also dedicated to offering out-of-classroom learning opportunities by encouraging participation in discipline-specific clubs, interdisciplinary programs, meetings of professional organizations, field trips, seminars, and conferences/workshops. We promote academic excellence by encouraging qualified students to take advantage of opportunities afforded by the IU Kokomo Honors Program and by offering opportunities to engage in independent study, research projects, internships, and practicum. The department helps students to prepare for careers and post-graduate education.

The Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences offers course work in anthropology, history, political science, psychology, sociology, and social work, with bachelors degrees offered in History/Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology.

History/Political Science Mission Statement

This program offers undergraduates the opportunity to earn a baccalaureate degree (B.A.) in History/Political Science. By fusing the complementary disciplines of History and Political Science, this degree program seeks to foster an understanding and appreciation of local, national and international events and issues of the past and present.  The dual degree gives the student breadth and depth in both areas, History and Political Science.  Majors explore both disciplines, with one track emphasizing History, and another emphasizing Political Science.

Psychology Mission Statement

The mission of the psychology program is to provide students with a bachelor’s degree in psychology within a liberal arts tradition. Thus, our program contributes to IU Kokomo’s mission of providing undergraduate programs leading to the baccalaureate degree for residents of North Central Indiana. The psychology program strives to help its’ majors understand the major theoretical approaches to human behavior and cognition; develop abilities to gather, analyze, synthesize, and apply psychology information; develop a healthy skepticism about conclusions presented without supporting data; and communicate more effectively. The psychology degree program seeks to provide students the opportunity to develop and achieve their personal and career aspirations, including opportunities for engaging in research with faculty, independent research, and practicum experiences within the community. Thus, our program contributes to IU Kokomo’s mission to enhance research and develop partnerships between our degree and various community programs.

Sociology Mission Statement

The program mission is to provide students with a broad exposure to the theories, methods, and substantive areas of the discipline through a combination of required and elective courses that encourage and reward academic excellence. Second, and more specifically, the program mission includes providing rigorous, challenging courses in social theory, research skills, and specialized course work that will prepare students for a variety of careers in diverse areas such as social services, government agencies and business. The third dimension of the program mission is that the B.A. in sociology will serve as a strong foundation for graduate work in sociology as well as in other professional fields such as social work, public administration, law, and business.