General Catalog 2015 > School of Social Sciences

School of Social Sciences

Halfway through 1983, the School of Arts and Sciences, was constituted by the departments of Anthropology, Biological Sciences and Chemistry, Political Science, Education, Modern Languages, Mathematics, Psychology and Physics. The School of Philosophy and Letters was constituted by the departments of History, Humanities and Philosophy and Letters. In 1984, these two previous ones were reorganized and the School of Sciences was created with the departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics; and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences with the departments of Anthropology, Political Science, Philosophy and Letters, History, Modern Languages and Psychology. Subsequently, the Department of Music was created. In 1997, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Arts Program are divided and the School of Social Sciences and the School of Arts and Humanities are created. The work of the School of Social Sciences focuses towards the education of critical and responsible citizens, who become proficient in the basic skills offered by the School at undergraduate levels, and in the specialized skills offered at graduate levels. Additionally, it contributes to the general education of the students from the University through a supply of service options and courses.

Resources

The Center for Social-Cultural and International Studies-Ceso-, consolidates the research efforts of different departments. Its objective is to foster the research activity of the School, consolidate management criteria, and project quality as well as faciliate the diffusion of its results, through the publication of books, printing of work documents and organization of forums.

The Department of Languages and Social-Cultural Studies has a sophisticated language laboratory, in which students improve their phonetic control of the languages they study. To back up social-cultural and learning studies of foreign languages, the University´s library offers a remarkable collection of books, movies and original version videos that are available for students. The Department also has a Corpus Linguistics data base available, which facilitates the creation of research projects related to oral and written language, its uses, grammar and phonetics.

The laboratory of the Psychology Department, aims at supporting the academic work of various courses, by facilitating project research design and execution, and encouraging research activity among students. The laboratory offers exams and pychological tests, specialized software for data processing and experimental activity design, teaching materials, and equipment for specialized works in the areas of pychobiology, basic processes and pychometry. Besides all of these, the laboratory offers practical work spaces, a Gesell camera, a computer room exclusively for laboratory activities and research development. The most recent acquisition, is a fully equipped and designed area to perform practices related to neurosciences, which is capable to accomodate 38 students in 6 working tables, and has diverse types of human models, microscopes, human and bovine organic specimens, laboratory instruments and specialized teaching materials to carry out learning and resarch sessions.

The Anthropology Department has two laboratories: In the first, which is the Biologic Anthropology and Zooarchaeology laboratory, on field research and teaching duties are carried out, particularly in all that is related to the analysis of human bone remains of archaeological contexts and also in the Zooarcheology field or the analysis of archaeological fauna. This laboratory contains bone colections of reference (archaelogical and modern), used for research and teaching in these fields. Research carried out in the laboratory involves from the preparation of reference collections up to the analysis and interpretation of human and animal bone remains and has an active undergrad and master´s students participation, which are articulated through guided practices, graduation monographs and volunteer work. The second laboratory, Archaeology, is located in an adjacent house to the University which has rooms to analyze archaelogical materials as ceramics, lithics and shell. It has an area to wash, dry, and classify archaelogical materials and objects besides having an adequate center to store reference collections of seeds and woods used by current and past traditional communities, which make part of the Archaeobotanic study. Likewise, an adjacent space to the laboratory was adapted to recover botanical remains in samples of archaelogical soils through flotation. These areas are used by Archaelogy professors to develop research projects and teach practical courses to students from the Department.

Structure

The School of Social Sciences is an academic unit composed of six departments: Anthropology, Political Science, Philosophy, History, Languages and Social-Cultural and Psychology studies-and an investigation center Ceso (Center for Social-Cultural and International Studies).

Undergraduate

Programs offered at an undergraduate level are:

1. Anthropology
2. Political Science
3. Philosophy
4. History
5. Languages and Social-cultural Studies
6. Psychology

For all of the above programs there exists a Basic Year in Social Sciences, which seeks to integrate departaments, so that in a balanced way, it serves as a basis for its undergraduate courses. As a result, students from the School have, in the first two semesters, a wide vision of social sciences that enables them to appreciate their own career from different perspectives. The Basic Year allows students to learn about theoretical and methodological problems and core topics within the society studies and open their perspectives to recognize how to better develop their interests and skills. Also, students have better data facts to define their profession and once they have chosen an specific career--or two in the case of double programs-they have a wider and more critical vision of their own discipline.

Additionally, this first year is an stimuli for students so they choose to do a double program in the undegraduate level.

A total of twenty seven credits are covered during the first two semesters: four courses during First Semester and five courses during Second Semester, including disciplinary introductions. Besides the disciplinary introductions, the Basic Year consists of five areas that aim to cover basic problems and tools for the study of society. The view of the areas within the Basic Year, involves interdisciplinary considerations about required aspects for the study of society and individuals, from the standpoints of Anthropology, Psychology, History, Political Science, Philosophy and Languages and Social-Cultural Studies.

Masters Degree Programs

1. Masters Degree Program in Anthropology (social anthropology and archeology program)
2. Masters Degree Program in Political Science
3. Masters Degree Program in Cultural Studies
4. Masters Degree Program in Philosophy
5. Masters Degree Program in History
6. Masters Degree Program in Geography
7. Masters Degree Program in Psychology
8. Masters Degree Program in Clinical Psychology and Health

Doctoral Programs

1. Doctorate in Anthropology
2. Doctorate in Political Science
3. Doctorate in History
4. Doctorate in Psychology