The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is rooted in intellectual leadership tied to real-world outcomes on regional, national, and global levels. The college is a committed partner in innovative programs, service offerings, and strategic alliances that strengthen the public and private sectors of the community.
College faculty work directly with the community through its many research centers, such as the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy or the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy. These college centers provide rigorous scholarship to inform and improve real-world practices. Departments and programs serve the community through projects such as the Northern Virginia Writing Project, an initiative of the college’s English department that coordinates with area schools to help improve writing instruction in K-12 programs across the region, and The Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, a project of the college’s history department that delivers cutting-edge tools and sites for public humanities and academic research worldwide. Numerous faculty members provide lectures and classes to retirees in OLLI, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
Students in the college engage the community through internship programs that provide students with valuable work and learning experiences, and through community organizations in which students take part in service-based learning and advocacy. The college encourages students to engage in community service through the Dean’s Challenge Award and the Dean’s Distinction for Public Service, both of which require students to engage in notable community engagement.
