Minors

The social science minors below are supported by the Division of the Social Sciences and the Social Sciences Collegiate Division:

Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies

Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies offers an interdisciplinary curriculum through which students can examine the histories, languages, and cultures of the racial and ethnic groups in and of themselves, in relationship to each other, and, particularly, in structural contexts of power. Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies examines the material, artistic, and literary expressions of peoples who originated in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe, who moved voluntarily or were forcefully bound over to the Americas.

Computational Social Science

The minor in Computational Social Science enables College students in the social sciences to build fundamental computational skills with the purpose of enriching existing approaches to social scientific inquiry. For College students outside of the social sciences (e.g., in the physical and biological sciences), the minor provides an opportunity to consolidate their computational, mathematical, and statistical skills, as well as apply these skills to questions about social and cultural life. Over the course of the program, students will learn how computational approaches complement and expand upon traditional research designs in the social sciences, as well as gain the hands-on computer programming and data analysis skills necessary to implement these computationally-enhanced research designs.

Education and Society 

At the heart of the Education and Society curriculum is a concern with how individuals and institutions reconcile the tasks of child and youth cognitive development, identity formation, and socialization with the changing role of schooling in society and widespread concerns about social inequality and mobility. Students can take courses from faculty across the university, including courses by instructors from the Urban Education Institute (UEI) and the UChicago Consortium on School Research.

Environment, Geography, and Urbanization

The minor program in Environment, Geography and Urbanization (CEGU) offers students the ability to explore a plurality of theoretical approaches to the histories and geographies of socio-environmental transformation through just six classes: three foundational courses in addition to three electives. Similarly to the undergraduate major, the CEGU minor prepares students to understand and confront the wide-ranging societal, historical, and spatial dimensions of contemporary planetary environmental crises, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and other forms of large-scale socio-environmental transformation. 

Health and Society

Health and Society courses explore the processes that shape individual and population health in their social, material and physical contexts. Disability, psychiatric disorders, ideals of well-being, and models of medical intervention vary between cultural settings and across history. To understand health in its broader contexts, the minor encompasses a range of disciplines and methods, and differential emphases on theory, practice and policy implications.

History

Studying history sheds light on human experience and thought in different times and places. Fields of study may be defined by nations (e.g., Chinese, Roman, U.S., international history) or by genres (e.g., legal, cultural, gender history). Topics include the history of revolution, slavery, sexuality, colonialism, ethnicity, war, and work. History is excellent preparation for a wide field of endeavors from law, government, and public policy to the arts and business.

History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine

History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine (HIPS) covers a wide range of social, historical, and conceptual issues relating to science. The goal of the program is to provide students with a sound basis on which to interpret and evaluate science and science policy. Students in the program must do sufficient work in one or more sciences to acquire a sound foundation for studying the nature of science.

Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Students who minor in Latin American Studies gain a thorough grounding in selected aspects of Latin American history, politics, economics, or related subjects; knowledge of one or more of the social sciences as they deal with Latin American materials; and competence in Spanish or Portuguese as a tool for further work. The BA program in Latin American Studies can provide an appropriate background for careers in business, journalism, government, teaching, or the nonprofit sector, or for graduate studies in one of the social sciences disciplines.

Quantitative Social Analysis

The minor in Quantitative Social Analysis delves into statistics and mathematics to comprehend the behavior and experiences of individuals, groups, and organizations. It develops strong statistical foundations for the purpose of learning how to draw valid inferences from quantifiable data and critically evaluate empirical evidence in social, behavioral, and health sciences. A minor in Quantitative Social Analysis provides an excellent foundation for application to graduate study at various levels and in many disciplines. Its interdisciplinary nature offers students a breadth of knowledge across social sciences, public policy, and public health, providing a unique perspective not typically found in traditional departmental programs.