As some of you may know, Social Sciences is the largest academic division at UCSD in numbers of faculty and undergraduate students. We encompass nine academic departments, a wide range of interdisciplinary programs and research units, and nationally and internationally recognized faculty.
Today, nearly 50 percent of all undergraduate students at UCSD earn degrees majoring in one of the social sciences disciplines. We are very pleased to have such strong undergraduate interest in our programs. Teaching is central to the work we do.
Research and graduate education are also core to our mission, and we are particularly happy to report that many of our graduate programs have risen to be considered by peers as among the best in the nation, with the Department of Economics ranked second among public universities and the Department of Political Science listed third in a recent study. Psychology, Anthropology, Linguistics, Sociology, and other specialties are among the most highly regarded departments in their fields nationwide. The division also includes three superb interdisciplinary departments, and several outstanding programs, including Communication, Ethnic Studies, and Cognitive Science (the first of its kind in the world), Critical Gender Studies, Education Studies, Human Development, Urban Studies and Planning, and International Studies. And we're home to three Nobel Laureates and four MacArthur "genius" Grant recipients.
The Division of Social Sciences was created in 1986 with the goal of increasing opportunities for interdisciplinary study and research. A stellar example of cross-collaboration is the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind at UCSD. Many of our division's units have joined with Biology, Health Sciences and others, both within the university and in La Jolla more broadly, to create a world-class research entity that transcends the possibilities of any single discipline.
In 2006-07, we completed work on a three-year plan for academic growth. Our division received the largest number of new faculty positions. In addition to strengthening existing offerings, we will also be launching several new exciting interdisciplinary programs. These include Native American/Indigenous Studies, African Diaspora Studies and the Environment/Sustainability Initiative.
The campus has recently completed a $1 billion capital campaign, and our division surpassed its own goal. With crucial support from the community, we will be embarking on even more research ventures and will continue growing the numbers of student scholarships and endowed chairs.
With all of this excellence in research and teaching, I am also delighted that, in recent years, we have given more and more attention to public and community service. This takes many forms, but perhaps most significant is the work our social scientists do in the community. Increasingly, the cutting-edge research conducted in the social sciences at UCSD is focused on addressing real-life issues and problems, from the challenge of increased immigration flows at the U.S.-Mexican border and the implementation of strategies to increase the level of UC-eligible minority students to many other topics that affect our region, nation and the globe. Much of this research is directly applicable to business, government and community groups in San Diego and beyond.
We will be working hard over the next several years to build bridges with different segments of the community that could benefit from important findings and other significant social sciences activities. You can hear about our latest research by attending the Social Sciences Supper Club and the Economics Roundtable. To receive information about these events, please contact cwojdak@ucsd.edu.
If you don't already read and subscribe to our electronic newsletter, Social Sciences e-Connection, we invite you to do so.
We are also re-emphasizing participation in our work by inviting those interested to become involved with the division. We value your ideas and would like to hear from you. If you have further questions, please contact my office, at ssdean@ucsd.edu or (858) 534-6073. Thank you for visiting the Social Sciences web site.
Sincerely,
Jeff Elman, Interim Dean
Dear Friends,
