SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
School Profile
In the Classroom: A solid foundation in humanities and social sciences gives students training in critical thinking and analysis that will serve them well throughout their careers and their lives. The school emphasizes the academic importance of cultural diversity and globalization and is deeply committed to offering students a variety of international experience options during their academic careers, including an interdisciplinary minor in international studies and a study abroad program in collaboration with University College in Northampton, England.
An interdisciplinary minor is also taught in women's studies. The program draws from courses in a variety of fields, including communication, economics, history, literature, psychology, and science.
Faculty: There is a tradition of close working relationships and shared interests between students and faculty in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Students get to know their professors well because class sizes are small. Students learn about and participate in faculty research and are encouraged to develop research interests of their own. Our faculty are recognized for their published work and teaching excellence. Eight faculty have been awarded the college-wide excellence in teaching award, and seven have been honored for their excellence in research. Recently, one faculty member won the prestigious Penn State Alumni Teaching Fellow Award.
Research Opportunities: The college is committed to making research a major component of the undergraduate experience. Opportunities include a research grant program, student research award, research and creative accomplishment conference, summer research fellowship program, and travel stipends to attend professional meetings. Penn State Erie invests more than $100,000 in undergraduate research each year.
Students collaborate with professors on research projects that make a difference. One example is the Center for Organizational Research and Evaluation (CORE), which provides assessment services to improve community agencies, including a study of the Long-Distance Dads program in state prisons. History students helped a professor research his book on entrepreneurship and automobile insurance, and political science students collaborated with a faculty member to create an extensive database of international treaties.
Often, these collaborative research efforts result in publications in professional and scholarly journals. Psychology majors also have the opportunity to publish their research in the Penn State Behrend Psychology Journal, a publication that features undergraduate research work.
Facilities: The Irvin Kochel Center, opened in 1994, houses the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Students attend classes here and profit from technology enhanced classrooms. A new, state-of-the art digital editing lab provides powerful tools for students in communication and media studies. At nearby Turnbull Hall, the psychology program maintains an eleven-room laboratory, which can record brain waves and functions in audiometric chambers. The Center for Organizational Research and Evaluation operates in a separate building near the John M. Lilley Library.
Elementary and Secondary Education Certification: Students may enroll in a 4+1 certification program for elementary and secondary education in collaboration with Mercyhurst College in Erie. For elementary certification, students may complete any Penn State major and then continue for a fifth year of study at Mercyhurst to obtain Pennsylvania certification. For secondary certification, students can major in English, history, biology, chemistry, or mathematics and then complete their teaching certification at Mercyhurst.
After Graduation: Penn State Erie graduates are well-equipped for successful careers in the private or public sectors or to pursue graduate studies. Students benefit from personal career counseling provided by the Career Development Center. They participate in career fairs coordinated by the center, and many companies recruit our graduates for permanent jobs. Our graduates have gone on to prestigious graduate and law schools, or to successful careers in business, government, human services, the media, and education.