Posts under the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ category

Yes, we highly encourage our majors to consider study abroad and/or arrange to do an internship in a field of interest to them.   Our university offers a wide variety of study abroad options through the International Programs and Services office.  Students receive credit for courses taken abroad and work with their advisors before leaving overseas to consider how courses will transfer back to Michigan Tech.  Students often receive financial aid for studying abroad, but should check with the Financial Aid office on their particular circumstances.  Recently, our students have gone to France, the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, and Ghana on study abroad.

Students who do internships may sign up for and receive academic credit.  Advisors can help a student think about internship options that would be good stepping stones to the type of career that the student desires.

Students may schedule an appointment with an undergraduate advisor for help with any questions about registration, course selection, major requirements, admission to the department, or transferring.

All anthropology majors are required to write a senior thesis as part of their degree program.  Sometimes social science and history majors also choose to write a thesis.  Students who do a thesis conduct original research.  They design a research project, collect the data, analyze the data, and write a thesis on the findings of this research.  This process is typically spread out over the course of the fall and spring semesters of their final year.  Students doing a thesis work closely with a faculty advisor, but the project is the student’s own personal project that s/he takes responsibility for.  Completing a senior thesis demonstrates to graduate schools that you are capable of conducting original research and demonstrates to potential employers that you are able to carry out a project on your own from start to finish.

This varies widely. Many of our graduates have gone on to graduate or professional schools in law, business, or one of the social science disciplines. The reason is simple–many professional careers tend to require an advanced degree. Recent students have gone on to graduate programs at Yale, Johns Hopkins, and University of Michigan, for example.  Michigan Tech Social Sciences graduates include attorneys, judges, pastors, museum curators, business managers and owners, city planners, museum curators, journalists, librarians, archivists, social workers, and research analysts. Teaching also is a very popular career option, and this career can begin with a bachelor’s degree and the teaching certificate.

Switching majors at Michigan Tech: If you switch majors in the first year or two, it is not difficult at all.  Because the Department believes that its students should have the opportunity to explore other areas, many of our degree options have a relatively large number of electives. Course work taken for other majors can often be used as electives and to meet general education requirements, making the loss of credits in the transfer process minimum.

Transferring from another school: Every year we have a number of students who transfer into our majors from other schools.  Michigan Tech and the Social Sciences department make every effort to count appropriate courses taken at other institutions towards our major requirements.  Potential transfer students are advised to contact the advisor for the major they are interested in at Michigan Tech as soon as possible to discuss how their courses will transfer into Michigan Tech.

No. Law schools admit students from a wide variety of disciplines, including the Department’s other degree options. The Department’s program is, however, an option specifically designed to prepare students with the skills they will need in law school and law practice.

The Department offers a concentration in secondary education available with the Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences. The degree course work prepares you for secondary education teacher certification in social studies. With certification in the state of Michigan, you will be qualified to teach history, government, geography, and economics.

We offer a BA in History, a BS in Anthropology, and a BS in Social Sciences.  The Social Sciences BS has two concentrations: law and society and secondary education.