College of Social Sciences and Public Policy
Our world is highly complex. An interdisciplinary orientation to the social sciences allows students to pursue a holistic study of the complex issues and problems facing the social world. Our students are encouraged to apply a spectrum of perspectives to specific public policies and social issues. They are guided to identify an interdisciplinary “discipline” that draws on various fields of research and scholarship as they choose from several flexible options to pursue their individual interests.
About Our Program
Student Spotlights
Kayla Mathai
Majoring in Interdisciplinary Social Science with a concentration in Law and Society, Mathai is also receiving her public policy and US Intelligence Certificate; she was initially a political science major.
“I wanted to learn more about the social sciences instead of focusing on just one aspect. So, I decided to change my major in a way that would allow me to gain knowledge on the social sciences but also prepare me with an interdisciplinary skill set for the real world. In this major, I am also able to choose a primary and secondary concentration.”
Rodney Wells
Majoring in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Wells is a part of a cohort of eight scholars selected from colleges across the country for the John Robert Lewis Scholars & Fellows Program. The Program was founded by the Faith and Politics Institute in honor of former congressman, civil rights and voting rights icon John Lewis.
“In studying the principles that guided John Lewis, these principles of nonviolence serve as the north star in the pursuit of civil rights and social justice. I’m not only grateful, but very hopeful that this makes me a better leader at FSU and in my home community in Jacksonville.”
The Interdisciplinary Social Science program engenders individualized scholarly goals that guide students’ learning paths and learning attainment. We do this by promoting academic dexterity through teaching intellectual capacities that support innovation and collaboration through interdisciplinary curriculum, methodology, and experiential engagement. We focus our efforts on providing an environment that promotes holistic understandings of complex social dynamics through the integration of disciplinary perspectives across the social sciences and beyond. Through student-centered teaching and purpose-driven advising, we cultivate conscious multidisciplinary collaboration and an integrative vision of complex social phenomena.