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Virtual and In-Person Opportunities for Prospective Students

In the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, we offer a range of opportunities for prospective students to engage with our students, faculty, and staff.

Are you interested in exploring what TCNJ has to offer?

The HSS Dean’s Office participates in the TCNJ Lions Days organized by the Office of Admissions. At these sessions, the Dean or Associate Dean provides an overview of our programs and signature experiences, which is followed by a Q&A with current students in our majors. The upcoming dates are as follows:

Saturday, March 26
Sunday, April 24

Lions Day Open Houses

If you wish to explore our programs now, below are the program brochures for all of our degree-granting programs:

African American Studies iconAfrican American Studies

Criminology iconCriminology

English iconEnglish

History iconHistory

History iconInternational Studies

Philosophy iconPhilosophy, Religion, and Classical Studies

Political Science iconPolitical Science

Psychology iconPsychology

Sociology iconSociology and Anthropology

WGS iconWomen’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

World Languages iconWorld Languages and Cultures

 

Office hours for Prospective Students

We have virtual office hours during the New Jersey school holidays and also during each week of the academic semester.

Register for one of our virtual office hours by searching for TCNJ School of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean’s Office Virtual Office Hours.  You can join the virtual Q&A to ask your questions to a member of the Dean’s Office.

Informational Sessions by the HSS Departments

Our Departments host virtual departmental sessions where you can hear from faculty and learn more about the opportunities that await you in HSS. Several of our sessions focus on broad areas that cross departmental boundaries, such as “Study Social Justice.” We also have an Undeclared designation in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences that supports the Social Justice minor and therefore prepares students to enter one of the related majors. For each of these presentations, you will hear from faculty members and have the ability to ask questions.

Here are samples of the departmental events that you can find on the registration page:

  • Feminist and Queer Studies at TCNJ School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Yes, you can study intersectional gender and sexuality studies in college–and gain the skills to lead and collaborate for social justice while deepening your understanding of self, others, and social systems. Learn about double majors in Education, Psychology, Public Health, and many other disciplines.
  • From Classes to Careers: The English Major at TCNJ. There has never been a better time to choose English as a major! In this presentation, we will answer “Why English?” and “Why now?” And we will leave plenty of time for you to ask your own questions. Zoom with Q&A.
  • Philosophy: The Most Practical Major of All. The practical nature of a degree in Philosophy can come as a surprise, given its reputation as abstract, detached from ordinary life, speculative, and just a little odd. The truth is that philosophy is the study of everything and anything–in a logical, critical, analytical way. The skills that are taught in a philosophy class transfer to any other class, any job, and any career. Your mind is a powerful tool, the one that goes with you no matter what you do–and philosophy can help to sharpen its competitive edge. Philosophy majors tend to land in careers like law, medicine, public policy, and applied ethics, where rational argument skills are developed and prized. It all starts with a major in Philosophy.
  • Political Science: Studying Politics at TCNJ. The Chair of the Department of Political Science will lead a discussion about the academic discipline of political science, what life is like for political science majors, career opportunities, and program distinctives. Q & A will follow.
  • Study Social Justice at TCNJ. Study how to identify and analyze injustice in all its dimensions, and gain the knowledge, courage, and skills you need to take effective action for social justice in your communities and careers.
  • The Criminology Major at TCNJ. Overview of the major, curriculum, research opportunities, internships, career paths, and a student panel.
  • The Psychology Major at TCNJ. Psychology Department faculty will describe the Psychology major and the many experiential learning opportunities such as mentored research and internships. They will then answer your questions.
  • The Undeclared Program in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. A brief overview of the Undeclared Program in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS). Our program prepares students to declare a minor in Social Justice and a major within the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (i.e., African American Studies, Anthropology, Criminology, English/English Secondary Education, History/History Secondary Education, International Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Spanish, Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies, World Languages and Linguistics).
  • Want to Make the World a Better Place? Major in Sociology or Anthropology at TCNJ. Find out how you can make the world a better place by studying the social world. Faculty and students from Sociology and Anthropology will describe the program and how these majors can prepare you for a wide variety of careers in areas such as non-profit, education, social services, law, government, and business. Questions welcome.
  • Why You Should Major in International Studies at TCNJ. Faculty from the International Studies program will discuss the IS major, including course requirements, the distinctiveness of the major, career and internship opportunities, and our successful alumni. Q&A will follow.

Register for an academic-focused virtual event »

Are you an accepted student who wishes to explore further?

The School of Humanities and Social Sciences offers classroom visits for accepted students in the spring semester.  Accepted students will have the opportunity to visit a class to experience our amazing faculty.  You will receive an email with a registration link once the class schedule has been set.  If you have any questions, please reach out to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at hss@tcnj.edu.

In past years, students have been able to visit classes such as:

  • African Literature: This course focuses on literature produced in Africa from the era of European imperialism through the present. It will focus on specific topics, regions, nations, or traditions within African literature. This course will survey African writings in English against a backdrop of colonialism, neocolonialism, and globalization.
  • Biological Anthropology. What makes us human?  Is it the use of language, the ability to manipulate material culture, or the fact that we are bipedal?  This course will focus on evolutionary theory and the theory of natural selection, the behavior and anatomy of non-human primates, and the evolution of modern humans.  Students will also learn how anthropology is directly related to other disciplines including sociology, biology, ecology, and geology.
  • Gendering European History: This course will examine Modern Europe through a gendered lens. Covering the period from the Enlightenment through World War I, we will investigate how norms for men and women evolved in a period that historians have looked at as the beginning of the ‘modern’ era. The course will use primary sources from the era, including novels, art, and political writings. An important focus will be the intersection of gender with race and social class.
  • Inequality, Pollution, and Environment. Environmental sociology applies the sociological imagination to human interactions with the non-human environment.  Topics addressed include social/environmental theory, the social origins of environmental problems (such as ozone depletion, deforestation, and water pollution), environmental inequality, environmental racism/environmental justice, and the social history of land use, both in New Jersey and around the world.
  • International Studies.  This course introduces students to the multi-disciplinary field of International Studies. Students learn to craft explanations of international phenomena by using an interaction of several disciplines, notably economics, history, modern languages, and political science. The course emphasizes historical patterns of interaction among peoples, groups, and states. In particular, this semester’s course considers four related themes: state formation, imperialism, nationalism and identity, imperialism, and global governance.
  • Judicial Politics and Process. This course explores developmental, cognitive, and social psychology perspectives on leadership emergence, development, and effectiveness. Diversity is an important theme in the course, which emphasizes the roles of individual differences such as gender, race, and nationality in leadership processes. Other topics include emotions in leadership, charisma, and abusive or toxic leadership.
  • Race, Crime, and Justice. This course is a critical examination of the linkage between race and crime in America.  The course will focus on four major areas: race and the law, race and criminological theory, race and violent crime, and myths and facts about race and crime.  Through critical examination of readings and official statistics, students will come to understand the complexity of the relationship between race and crime within the American Criminal Justice System and broader social context.

Contact

School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Social Sciences Building, Room 302
The College of New Jersey
P.O. Box 7718
2000 Pennington Rd.
Ewing, NJ 08628

609.771.3434
hss@tcnj.edu

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