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
- Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC)
- Criminology and Criminal Justice Concentration, Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences
- Criminology and Criminal Justice, Bachelor of Science
- Criminology and Criminal Justice, Minor
- Legal Studies, Minor
- Mexican American, Latinx, and Borderlands Studies, Minor
- Political Science, Bachelor of Arts
- Political Science, Minor
- Sociology, Bachelor of Arts
- Sociology, Bachelor of Science
- Sociology, Minor
Criminology and Criminal Justice
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CRIM 1301 | Intro to Criminal Justice | 3 |
| CRIM 2330 | Theories of Crime Causation | 3 |
| CRIM 3302 | Social Deviance | 3 |
| CRIM 3315 | Drugs and Crime | 3 |
| CRIM 3322 | Juvenile Delinquency | 3 |
| CRIM 3330 | Comm Perspective in Crime | 3 |
| CRIM 3341 | Comparative Sys of Justice | 3 |
| CRIM 3345 | Police in Society | 3 |
| CRIM 3350 | Crime & Justice Policy | 3 |
| CRIM 3355 | Criminal Justice Organizations | 3 |
| CRIM 3357 | Border Security Issues | 3 |
| CRIM 3358 | Intro to Intelligence Analysis | 3 |
| CRIM 3380 | Statistics for Criminology | 3 |
| CRIM 3385 | Criminal Law | 3 |
| CRIM 3388 | Courts & Criminal Procedure | 3 |
| CRIM 4184 | Directed Research in Crim | 1 |
| CRIM 4284 | Directed Research in Crim | 2 |
| CRIM 4320 | Law and Society | 3 |
| CRIM 4326 | Commun Resources in Correction | 3 |
| CRIM 4335 | Corrections | 3 |
| CRIM 4340 | Topics in Criminology | 3 |
| CRIM 4341 | Org and White Collar Crime | 3 |
| CRIM 4342 | White Collar Crime | 3 |
| CRIM 4343 | Organized Crime | 3 |
| CRIM 4345 | Victimology | 3 |
| CRIM 4346 | Gangs and Gang Behavior | 3 |
| CRIM 4348 | Violence | 3 |
| CRIM 4349 | Mental Illness and Violence | 3 |
| CRIM 4350 | Seminar in Criminology | 3 |
| CRIM 4360 | Criminology Internship | 3 |
| CRIM 4370 | Research Methods in Crim | 3 |
| CRIM 4384 | Directed Research in Crim | 3 |
Government
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GOVT 2305 | Federal Government | 3 |
| GOVT 2306 | Texas Government | 3 |
Military Science
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MSCI 1001 | Intro Army/Crit Think Lab I | 0 |
| MSCI 1002 | Adptv Ldrshp/Prof Cmpt Lab II | 0 |
| MSCI 1301 | Intro Army & Critical Thinking | 3 |
| MSCI 1302 | Adptv Ldrshp & Prof Cmptnc | 3 |
| MSCI 2001 | Leadership/Decision Making Lab | 0 |
| MSCI 2002 | Army Doctrine & Team Dev Lab | 0 |
| MSCI 2301 | Leadership & Decision Making | 3 |
| MSCI 2302 | Army Doctrine & Team Develpmnt | 3 |
| MSCI 3001 | Train Mgmt & Warfight Func Lab | 0 |
| MSCI 3002 | Appl Ldrshp Small Unit Ops Lab | 0 |
| MSCI 3301 | Train Mgmt & Warfight Funct | 3 |
| MSCI 3302 | Appl Leadershp Small Unit Ops | 3 |
| MSCI 3330 | American Military History | 3 |
| MSCI 4001 | The Army Officer Lab | 0 |
| MSCI 4002 | Company Grade Leadership Lab | 0 |
| MSCI 4003 | Practical Leadership Lab | 0 |
| MSCI 4301 | The Army Officer | 3 |
| MSCI 4302 | Company Grade Leadership | 3 |
| MSCI 4303 | Practical Leadership | 3 |
Political Science
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| POLS 3302 | Research and Analy in Pol Sci | 3 |
| POLS 3310 | American Political Institution | 3 |
| POLS 3311 | Congress | 3 |
| POLS 3312 | The Executive | 3 |
| POLS 3313 | The Judiciary | 3 |
| POLS 3315 | Water Laws, Rules and Policy | 3 |
| POLS 3321 | Pol Theory Ancient & Medieval | 3 |
| POLS 3322 | Polit Theory Early Mdrn &Mdrn | 3 |
| POLS 3323 | Conflict and Genocide | 3 |
| POLS 3324 | Politics of the European Union | 3 |
| POLS 3341 | International Relations | 3 |
| change POLS 3325 to read "Politics of Counterinsurgency" | ||
| POLS 3351 | Comparative Politics | 3 |
| Change POLS 3325 to read "Politics of Counterinsurgency" | ||
| POLS 4302 | Adv Res Mtds: Rgrssn & Analys | 3 |
| POLS 4311 | Voting Behavr and Pub Opinion | 3 |
| POLS 4312 | Interst Group and Pol Parties | 3 |
| POLS 4314 | State and Local Govt and Admin | 3 |
| POLS 4315 | Urban Politics | 3 |
| POLS 4316 | American Political Behavior | 3 |
| POLS 4317 | Nuclr Prolf/ US Non Prolf Pol | 3 |
| POLS 4320 | Terrorism & Political Violence | 3 |
| POLS 4325 | Technology & Politics | 3 |
| POLS 4331 | Constitutional Law | 3 |
| POLS 4332 | Constitutional Law II | 3 |
| POLS 4333 | American Judicial Process | 3 |
| POLS 4342 | International Organization | 3 |
| POLS 4343 | International Law | 3 |
| POLS 4354 | Govt & Politics of Latin Ameri | 3 |
| POLS 4355 | Govt and Politics of Mexico | 3 |
| POLS 4361 | Public Administration | 3 |
| POLS 4363 | Policy and Policy Making in US | 3 |
| POLS 4364 | Women and Politics | 3 |
| POLS 4366 | Mass Media & Politics | 3 |
| POLS 4370 | Spec Studies in Polit Sci | 3 |
| POLS 4371 | Political Science Internship | 3 |
Sociology
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| SOCI 1301 | Principles of Sociology | 3 |
| SOCI 1306 | Social Problems | 3 |
| SOCI 2330 | The Craft of Sociology | 3 |
| SOCI 2356 | Gender and Society | 3 |
| SOCI 2361 | Introduction to Mexican American, Latinx, and Borderlands Studies | 3 |
| SOCI 2386 | Intro to Borderlands Studies | 3 |
| SOCI 3302 | Social Deviance | 3 |
| SOCI 3310 | Sociological Theory | 3 |
| SOCI 3311 | Social Psychology | 3 |
| SOCI 3312 | Health and Society | 3 |
| SOCI 3313 | LGBTQ+ | 3 |
| SOCI 3320 | Research Methods in Sociology | 3 |
| SOCI 3322 | Juvenile Delinquency | 3 |
| SOCI 3330 | Statistics for Sociology | 3 |
| SOCI 3340 | Environmental Sociology | 3 |
| SOCI 3350 | Myths & Reality-Marrige/Family | 3 |
| SOCI 3360 | Inequality/Social Stratificatn | 3 |
| SOCI 3361 | Mexican Americans: Identity, Movements, and Social Justice | 3 |
| SOCI 3362 | Immigration, Racial Politics, and Nation | 3 |
| SOCI 3364 | Sociology of Religion | 3 |
| SOCI 3365 | Social Movements | 3 |
| SOCI 3370 | Introduction to Human Services | 3 |
| SOCI 4320 | Law and Society | 3 |
| SOCI 4331 | Demography & Populatn Problems | 3 |
| SOCI 4340 | Topics: Evironmental Sociology | 3 |
| SOCI 4341 | Water and Society | 3 |
| SOCI 4342 | Technology and Society | 3 |
| SOCI 4343 | Soci & Natural Sys US-Mex Brdr | 3 |
| SOCI 4344 | Urban Sociology | 3 |
| SOCI 4350 | Selected Topics in Family | 3 |
| SOCI 4351 | Families and Inequality | 3 |
| SOCI 4352 | Deconstructing Disney: Race, Gender, and Age | 3 |
| SOCI 4353 | Mexican American Families | 3 |
| SOCI 4354 | Sex, Sexuality, and Society | 3 |
| SOCI 4362 | Race and Ethnicity | 3 |
| SOCI 4363 | Afrx-Latinxs: Race, Culture, and Transnationalism | 3 |
| SOCI 4364 | Women of Color | 3 |
| SOCI 4366 | Regression & Data Analysis Soc | 3 |
| SOCI 4371 | Aging in America | 3 |
| SOCI 4372 | Death and Dying | 3 |
| SOCI 4380 | Selected Topics in Sociology | 3 |
| SOCI 4391 | Sociology Internship | 3 |
| SOCI 4392 | Sociology Capstone | 3 |
| SOCI 4393 | Directed Research in Sociology | 3 |