College of Humanities and Social Sciences

This is an archived copy of the 2019-2020 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit catalog.shsu.edu.

Administrative Officers

Title/Department Officer
Dean Abbey Zink, Ph.D.
alz007@shsu.edu; (936) 294-2200
Associate Dean Rhonda Callaway, Ph.D.
rlc005@shsu.edu; (936) 294-4108
Associate Dean Carroll Nardone, Ph.D.
cfnardone@shsu.edu; (936) 294-2203
Associate Dean Glenn M. Sanford, Ph.D.
sanford@shsu.edu; (936) 294-2455
Department of Communication Studies Terry Thibodeaux, Ph.D., Chair
scm_tmt@shsu.edu; (936) 294-1356
Department of English Jacob Blevins, Ph.D., Chair
jblevins@shsu.edu; (936) 294-1402
Department of History Pinar Emiralioglu, Ph.D., Chair
mpe005@shsu.edu; (936) 294-1474
Department of Political Science Tamara Waggener, Ph.D., Chair
pol_taw@shsu.edu; (936) 294-1466
Department of Psychology and Philosophy Yuma Tomes, Ph.D., Chair
yit002@shsu.edu; (936) 294- 3052
Department of Sociology Jason Konefal, Ph.D., Chair
jtk007@shsu.edu; (936) 294-1514
Department of World Languages and Cultures Leif French Ph.D., Chair
dda@shsu.edu; (936) 294-1442

About the College

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences consists of seven academic units, the Departments of :

  • Communication Studies
  • English
  • History
  • Political Science
  • Psychology and Philosophy
  • Sociology
  • World Languages and Cultures

Mission

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences provides an essential component to a liberal arts education: understanding human beings in their diversity as expressed in their literatures, histories, ideas, values, oral and written expressions, and behavior. By promoting analytic, interpretive, interpersonal, research and communication skills, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences facilitates personal growth, competent professionals, and responsible citizens.

Contact Information
(936) 294-2200
Fax: (936) 294-2207
CHSS Building 290
chss@shsu.edu

Website
College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Highlights

  • Faculty in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) are committed to teaching excellence, curriculum innovation, research/scholarship, and community and university service.
  • Faculty in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences have been recognized for their teaching excellence with national and local awards.  CHSS is home to five Minnie Stevens Piper Professors.  Only 10 Piper Professors are identified each year across Texas.  
  • Courses in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences are rated well above the national norms in teacher effectiveness and course excellence.
  • Faculty in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences have been recognized for their research and scholarship with national awards.  Among these awards is a finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in History, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow in Literature, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow in Creative Writing. 
  • A student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program received the David Pilon Scholarship for Training in Professional Psychology from the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students.  This national award is made to one graduate student in psychology each year.
  • A national survey ranked the Psychology Program at Sam Houston State in the top ten of emerging Clinical Psychology Doctoral Programs.
  • The Association of Psychological Science recently named one of the SHSU psychology assistant professors as a Rising Star in Psychology.

Master's Degrees

Departments Programs
Major, Degree Department
Communication Studies, MA Communication Studies
Creative Writing, Editing, and Publishing, MFA English
English, MA English
History, MA History
Political Science, MA Political Science
Psychology, MA Psychology and Philosophy
Psychology - Clinical Psychology, MA Psychology and Philosophy
Psychology - School Psychology, SSP Psychology and Philosophy
Public Administration, MPA Political Science
Sociology, MA Sociology
Spanish, MA World Languages and Cultures
Technical Communication, MA English

Doctoral Degrees

Departments Programs
Major, Degree Department
Clinical Psychology, PhD Psychology and Philosophy

Certificates

Departments Programs
Graduate Certificate Department
American History History
Community Development Sociology
English English
General Psychology Psychology and Philosophy
Political Science Political Science
Sociology Sociology

CHSS Graduate Scholarship

This scholarship is a one-year award of $1000 divided between Fall and Spring semesters and is disbursed on the basis of financial need and academic performance. An application is available on the CHSS website.

Other

The departments within the college have numerous scholarships which can be accessed through the Scholarships4kats application process.

Several of the department graduate programs have academic clubs that support students' integration into graduate studies and provide networking for students and faculty.

Departments provide internship/practicum experience in the application of academic work to world of practice.