UT Dallas 2014 Undergraduate Catalog

School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences

As a collective of several disciplines, social science is the study of institutions, organizations and behavior. Social scientists ask such questions as: What roles do government, law and politics play in our society? How can public and nonprofit organizations be effectively managed? How are groups formed? How do people produce and distribute goods? Why do cities grow, and why do some cities decay? What are the causes of war, racial discrimination, and revolutions? How can we improve organizational capability in leadership and ethical decision making? Social science uses rigorous methodologies to apply ideas and theories to the real world. Degrees in the social sciences provide students with the tools of critical thinking that allow them to work and succeed in business, government, and not-for-profit organizations.

The School of Economic, Politics and Policy Sciences offers undergraduate degrees in Criminology, Economics, Geospatial Information Sciences, International Political Economy, Political Science, Public Affairs, and Sociology. Each degree offers a large number of elective semester credit hours that allow students to direct their educational focus. Careers building on social science degrees include law, public service, nonprofit management, finance, banking, criminal justice, human resource management, teaching, market research and analysis, urban planning, and counseling to name a few.

Faculty

Professors: Daniel G. Arce M., Kurt J. Beron, Brian J. L. Berry, Thomas L. Brunell, Anthony M. Champagne, Harold D. Clarke, Denis J. Dean, Lloyd J. Dumas, Euel W. Elliott, Daniel A. Griffith, Edward J. Harpham, Ernan E. Haruvy, Donald A. Hicks, Jennifer S. Holmes, Bruce A. Jacobs, L. Douglas Kiel, Murray J. Leaf, Dong Li, Robert C. Lowry, James W. Marquart, James Murdoch, Alex R. Piquero, Nicole Leeper Piquero, Fang Qiu, Lawrence J. Redlinger, Todd Sandler, Richard K. Scotch, Marianne C. Stewart, Donggyu Sul, Robert W. Taylor, John L. Worrall

Professor Emeritus: Ronald Briggs, Royce Hanson

Clinical Professors: Donald R. Arbuckle, John R. McCaskill, Elmer Polk

Associate Professors: Bobby C. Alexander, R. Paul Battaglio Jr., Denise Paquette Boots, Patrick T. Brandt, Simon M. Fass, Doug Goodman, Linda Camp Keith, Dohyeong Kim, Tomislav Kovandzic, Xin (Sherry) Li, Sarah Maxwell, Susan Williams McElroy, Robert G. Morris II, Clint W. Peinhardt, Kevin Siqueira, Sheryl L. Skaggs, Gregory S. Thielemann, Michael Tiefelsdorf, Lynne M. Vieraitis

Clinical Associate Professors: Brian Bearry, Douglas Dow, Karl K. Ho

Assistant Professors: Rodney Andrews, Jonas Bunte, Yongwan Chun, Nadine Connell, Anthony R. Cummings, Monica Deza, Evgenia Gorina, James R. Harrington, Asli Leblebicioglu, Young-joo Lee, Banks P. Miller, Meghna Sabharwal, Nicholas Vargas

Clinical Assistant Professors: Timothy M. Bray, Rodolfo Hernandez-Guerrero

Senior Lecturers: Teodoro Benavides, Bryan Chastain, Galia Cohen, Luba Ketsler, Carol Cirulli Lanham, Irina Vakulenko, Yuki Watanabe

Programs and General Courses

The School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences has seven degree granting programs: Criminology, Economics, Geospatial Information Sciences, International Political Economy, Political Science, Public Affairs, and Sociology. Within each of these programs, students may specialize in areas that complement their interests and career plans, such as, political economy, law and society, and comparative studies. Students should also note that many courses listed under Interdisciplinary Studies (ISSS) and Social Sciences (SOCS) apply within their major.

Minor Areas of Study

The School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences offers minors in Criminology, Economics, Geography, Geospatial Information Sciences, International Political Economy, Political Science, Public Affairs, Public Health, and Sociology. Students must take a minimum of 18 semester credit hours for the minor, 12 of which must be upper-division semester credit hours. Students who take a minor will be expected to meet the normal prerequisites in courses making up the minor, and should maintain a minimum GPA of 2.000 on a 4.00 scale (C average). The School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences requires that a minimum of 12 of the 18 semester credit hours for a minor be taken at UT Dallas.

Students may choose to minor in any of the following fields of study:

See catalog.utdallas.edu/2014/undergraduate/programs/epps/minors.

Social Studies Teacher Certification

Teacher certification is offered in Composite Social Studies, Economics, Geography, Government, and History. Specific course requirements are available in the Teacher Development Center.

Economic, Political and Policy Sciences Core Requirements

All undergraduates receiving degrees in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences must have taken and passed a core of courses designed to provide breadth and an interdisciplinary perspective beyond any individual social science discipline. These courses include:

Three semester credit hours in economics (normally ECON 2301 or ECON 2302)

Three semester credit hours in sociology (normally SOC 1301)

Three semester credit hours in statistics (normally EPPS 2302 or EPPS 2303)

Three semester credit hours in research design (normally EPPS 2301)

Three semester credit hours in an approved course satisfying the writing requirement (normally COMM 1311)

Internship and Independent Study Policy

The total number of independent study and internship hours are limited to nine total semester credit hours with the exception of extenuating circumstances to be approved by the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education.

Fast Track Baccalaureate/Master's Degrees

Undergraduate EPPS majors with a strong academic record (3.500 or above, overall and in their major) at UT Dallas are encouraged to enter the Fast Track program, which allows qualified seniors to take up to 15 semester credit hours of graduate courses during their senior year.

Students who successfully complete the Fast Track requirements do NOT need to complete the graduate application, letters of recommendation, the GRE, or the personal narrative to apply to a School of EPPS master's program. Degree requirements and semester credit hours vary by programs. Students must earn grades of B or better in ALL graduate courses taken.

Students who are interested in taking graduate courses should speak with an undergraduate academic advisor and complete an application form with their undergraduate academic advisor prior to the final 30 semester credit hours of work for the BA or BS degree.

Requirements to take graduate courses:

1. Have and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.500 (overall and in their major) at UT Dallas.

2. Be within 30 semester credit hours of graduating with the Bachelor's degree.

3. Must have earned a grade of B or better in ALL graduate level classes to continue to take graduate classes AND to be considered for Fast Track admission into a Master's program in EPPS.

4. Have permission from the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and the respective Graduate Program Head or Faculty Advisor.

If a student fails to maintain EPPS Fast Track requirements, the student will be required to fulfill ALL the admissions requirements, should the student decide to apply to a master's program at UT Dallas.

Students need to complete a minimum of 6 semester credit hours (maximum of 15 semester credit hours) of graduate course work approved by the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and the respective Graduate Program Head/Faculty Advisor to qualify for Fast Track admission into an EPPS master's program.

Economic, Political and Policy Sciences Honors Program

The School Honors Program in the School of EPPS provides eligible students with the opportunity for recognition at the Program level for scholarly performance in degree programs within the School. In order to earn EPPS honors, a student must:

  • graduate with an overall GPA of 3.400 or higher
  • graduate with a GPA of 3.400 or higher in their major program of study
  • complete any two of the following requirements:

1. Complete 9 semester credit hours of honors designated courses as determined by the program, with no less than a "B" in each course. Honors designated courses are often graduate courses taken in one of the School's fast track programs. Exceptions may be made by the Associate Dean upon recommendation of the Program Head.

2. Complete an internship by completing three semester credit hours of internship. The internship must be approved by the Program Head, and have a significant research component.

3. Register for Senior Honors semester credit hours with a faculty supervisor or mentor and complete an Honors paper.

The Honors paper must be submitted to your faculty mentor or supervisor at least three weeks prior to the last day of classes for the term. It is then critiqued by your mentor and returned to the student for revisions and resubmitted by the last day of classes of the term. At that point, a second reader is asked to evaluate the paper.

School Honors with Distinction will be awarded to those students who complete a Senior Honors thesis, and whose paper is judged by a faculty committee to be of exemplary quality and provided the students meet the other requirements stated above.

Students must apply for admission to the Program Head of the academic program in which they expect to receive their degree. Students must apply no later than 30 semester credit hours prior to graduation and no earlier than 60 semester credit hours prior to graduation.

Students should contact an academic advisor for an application.

Updated: 2015-03-26 17:35:43 v1.78ca6f