Department of Social Sciences

Mission

Our mission is to provide cutting edge academic programs that enable students to be successful in a rapidly changing and diverse society. We are focused on preparing students to become leaders in their field and in their communities through academics, internships and research opportunities that enhance their understanding of the social world.

Chair’s Welcome

Welcome to the Department of Social Sciences! Housed in the College of Arts and Sciences, our department is home to a diverse group of faculty, students, programs, and initiatives. We are led by 24 full-time faculty who excel in research and teaching across a broad range of topics: gender and sexuality, terrorism, political theory, biosocial criminology, offender decision-making, legal studies, Latinx studies Sociology, and much more.
We offer five undergraduate degrees across three disciplines: criminology and criminal justice, political science, and sociology. We also offer courses in support of a degree in Military Science, as well as academic minors focusing in Mexican American, Latinx, Borderland Studies and Legal Studies. Our faculty are committed to providing cutting-edge programs and high-quality learning experiences to over 750 undergraduate majors. This fall, we launched our new fully online Master of Criminology and Criminal Justice degree, with electives focusing on violence and victimization, cybercrime and immigration law.
Faculty are nationally recognized for their research and are engaged with a number of grant-funded projects this year. Dr. Delgado along with colleagues in the College of Education recently received an NSF award to study the social impact of a smart mobility network to improve transit service in San Antonio. With funding from the Meadows Foundation, Drs. Shen, Elias, and Lee are studying the impact of Covid-19 on food insecurity and the mental health of students. We are excited to announce the arrival of 3 outstanding new full-time faculty this fall. Dr. Caitlin Ducate joins us from Indiana University and Dr. Sung Lee comes to us from the University of Southern Indiana – both as assistant professors in our Criminology and Criminal Justice Program. Additionally, Dr. Michelle Ramirez has joined us a lecturer in our Political Science program.

Obtaining a degree from any of our programs will provide you with the intellectual and practical skills to be successful in a rapidly changing workforce, and many of our students pursue graduate or law school following graduation. We look forward to the opportunity to help you reach your professional goals and invite you to peruse our webpages to learn more about our programs. If you have any questions, please feel free to email or contact me by phone, or you may drop by my office in the Central Academic Building, room 348-A.

Contact Information

Dr. Durant Frantzen
Department Chair
Durant.Frantzen@tamusa.edu
Office: (210) 784-2205

Central Academic Building, Suite 348-A
1 University Way
San Antonio, TX 78224