The Division of Social Sciences at UC Santa Barbara has four guiding principles:
- to generate new knowledge about society, both locally and globally, with an emphasis on issues of pressing contemporary importance;
- to make this knowledge accessible to diverse publics, with practical contributions to social justice and the common good;
- to provide undergraduates with first rate Social Science education, which consolidates their critical analytical skills, provides experience-based learning opportunities, and leaves them well-prepared for the job market;
- to train the next generation of Social Science scholars, to serve as researchers, professors, and purveyors of specialized knowledge in diverse settings.
The Division of Social Sciences consists of twelve departments, and numerous thematic clusters, programs and centers, with a mandate for world-class research from a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives.
