Division of Social Sciences, Religious Studies and the Arts

A candidate for the Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, Sociology, Sociology with a concentration in Criminal Justice, Psychology, Religion and Philosophy or Visual and Performing Arts with a concentration in Music must complete a minimum of 120 credit hours. Total credits include between 34-54 credit hours of General Education courses. Additional courses may be required to build fundamental concepts. A candidate must earn the grade of “C” or better in all major courses. The Division of Social Sciences, Religious Studies and the Arts offers minors in Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religion and Sociology. The course requirement for each social science minor is 15 hours (five courses) as determined by area advisors. The requirements for the Philosophy, Religion and Music minors are listed below. As a contribution to the General Education core curriculum, the division offers the Social Science course requirements and also offers the ETH-215 course; Cross-Cultural Ethics of Responsibility and the elective in Religion. ART-190, MUS-225, MUS-227 and THR-102 will meet the Humanities/Fine Arts general education requirement.

Division Purpose:

1. Provide students with a liberal arts education that enables them to initiate employment or to pursue their education in graduate or professional schools.
2. Provide students from different disciplines with liberal arts foundations, by strengthening their communication skills, enhancing their aesthetic and artistic awareness, providing research methods and developing their critical thinking and problem solving abilities;
3. Contribute to the humanistic/ethical growth of students by providing them the cultural and historical backgrounds necessary for studying and appreciating the arts and diverse human values;
4. Prepare students for graduate and professional studies by developing their written communication skills, sharpening their analytical and research skills, and fostering an understanding of diverse human constructs;
5. Foster an understanding of self so that students can learn to function as literate members of society and as productive professionals;
6. The Division aims to educate women and men for future graduate studies or professional careers in, or related to, the academic study of the social sciences, music, religion and philosophy or careers in ministry. Its programs of study focus on historical, theoretical, and practical issues, in these areas of thought and praxis. These studies are structured by a balanced curriculum that are normative yet open to the particular academic interests of students.
7. Prepare students to participate more fully in the global community.

Social Sciences, Religious Studies and the Arts Mission Statement

As a significant contributor to Shaw University’s liberal arts program, the mission of Shaw University’s baccalaureate social sciences, religious study and music programs is to educate, facilitate, and graduate majors who are competent in the field for entry level vocations and/or graduate school, to enhance their understanding of the spiritual, philosophical and ethical values of our diverse world and with regard to Shaw’s own distinct heritage within the Christian and African-American tradition, and to promote the discipline of healthy social science, religious, arts and philosophical discourse through the commitment to scholarly inquiry, research, and discussion.

Programs

• Political Science, BA
• Political Science: Concentration International Relations, BA
• Psychology, BA
• Religion and Philosophy, BA
• Sociology, BA
• Sociology: Concentration Criminal Justice, BA
• Visual and Performing Arts Concentration Music, BA

• Music Minor
• Philosophy Minor
• Religion Minor

Courses

• POL 205 Multiculturalism and Globalization (3)
• POL 210 Comparative Politics (3)
• POL 220 Introduction to Public Policy (3)
• POL 305 Constitutional Law (3)
• POL 320 African Americans in American Politics (3)
• POL 325 American Congress and the Presidency (3)
• POL 330 American State and Local Government (3)
• POL 340 Mass Media, Public Opinion and Politics (3)
• POL 350 American Political Parties (3)
• POL 360 Introduction to Political Sociology (3)
• POL 365 International Organizations and Global Issues (3)
• POL 420 Urban Politics (3)
• POL 430 Modern Political Thought (3)
• POL 480 Internship (3 - 12)
• POL 492 Seminar (3)

• PSY 150 General Psychology (3)
• PSY 204 Psychology of Personality (3)
• PSY 205 Health Psychology (3)
• PSY 206 Psychology of Women (3)
• PSY 304 Abnormal Psychology (3)
• PSY 305 Educational Psychology (3)
• PSY 312 Cross Cultural Psychology (3)
• PSY 313 Psychology of Aging (3)
• PSY 315 Psychology of the African American Experience (3)
• PSY 320 Industrial and Organizational Psychology (3)
• PSY 324 Cognitive Psychology (3)
• PSY 325 Introduction to Forensic Psychology (3)
• PSY 330 Physiological Psychology (3)
• PSY 350 Psychology of Learning (3)
• PSY 400 Psychological Tests and Measurements (3)
• PSY 465 Experimental Psychology (3)
• PSY 466 Experimental Psychology Laboratory (1)
• PSY 472 Internship (3)
• PSY 492 Seminar in Psychology (3)

• REL 224 Christian Education (3)
• REL 225 Introduction to Religion (3)
• REL 234 World Religions (3)
• REL 235 Bible (3)
• REL 238 Survey of Old Testament (3)
• REL 239 Survey of New Testament (3)
• REL 240 Homiletics/Proclamation (3)
• REL 242 Forms of Worship (3)
• REL 244 Faith and Vocation (3)
• REL 250 Denominational Matters (3)
• REL 252 Church and Community Empowerment (3)
• REL 265 Christianity and the Family (3)
• REL 295 African American Religion (3)
• REL 300 History of Christianity (3)
• REL 304 African Religions and Philosophies (3)
• REL 305 Reformation (3)
• REL 306 Religion in America (3)
• REL 325 Introduction to Theology (3)
• REL 337 Christian Ethics (3)
• REL 350 Contemporary Religious Thought (3)
• REL 355 Philosophy and Religion (3)
• REL 362 Sociology of Religion (3)
• REL 390 Pastoral Care (3)
• REL 392 Church Administration (3)
• REL 481 Independent Study (3)
• REL 498 Research Methods (3)
• REL 499 Senior Project (3)

• SOC 150 Fundamentals of Sociology (3)
• SOC 202 Introduction to Gerontology (3)
• SOC 211 Introduction to Sociology (3)
• SOC 215 Marriage and Family (3)
• SOC 220 Sociology of Sport (3)
• SOC 230 Sociology of Women (3)
• SOC 300 Social Problems (3)
• SOC 308 Social Change (3)
• SOC 310 Medical Sociology (3)
• SOC 312 Social Stratification (3)
• SOC 315 Race and Ethnic Relations (3)
• SOC 325 Sociology of Law (3)
• SOC 335 The Sociology of African-Americans (3)
• SOC 341 Social Psychology (3)
• SOC 344 History of Sociology (3)
• SOC 360 Introduction to Political Sociology (Elective) (3)
• SOC 362 Sociology of Religion (3)
• SOC 450 Sociological Theory (3)
• SOC 472 Internship (3)
• SOC 485 Death and Dying (3)
• SOC 491 Seminar in Sociology (3)

• SPA 151 Spanish I (3)
• SPA 152 Spanish II (3)
• SPA 253 Spanish III Conversation and Grammar (3)
• SPA 254 Spanish IV Composition and Grammar (3)
• SPA 322 Latin American Civilization (3)
• SPA 323 Spanish Civilization (3)
• SPA 330 Survey of Latin American Literature (3)
• SPA 331 Survey of Spanish Literature (3)
• SPA 332 Hispanic Literature of the United States (3)
• SPA 350 Spanish for Careers (3)
• SPA 400 Advanced Grammar and Composition (3)
• SPA 420 Special Topics Courses in Spanish (3)
• SPA 421 Special Topics Courses in Spanish (3)
• SPA 422 Special Topics Courses in Spanish (3)
• SPA 423 Special Topics Courses in Spanish (3)
• SPA 430 Special Topics Courses in Spanish (3)
• SPA 431 Special Topics Courses in Spanish (3)
• SPA 432 Special Topics Courses in Spanish (3)
• SPA 433 Special Topics Courses in Spanish (3)