Social Sciences

Minor Overview

The National Security Studies (NSS) minor at IWU serves the needs of students with interests in government, military, law enforcement, intelligence services, business, academia, missions, or the private sector, as well as those seeking tracks in law, NGO, and other public service sectors.

The NSS minor is an interdisciplinary program, including departments from the Divisions of Behavioral Science, Social Sciences, and Modern Languages, Literature and Communication.

Students in the Minor of National Security Studies program will identify the primary theoretical, political, and organizational structures that compose the national security landscape; and analyze the effects of globalization upon the world political system, identifying the roles and interactions of both state and non-state actors. Students will evaluate the global security landscape relating to transnational safety and security issues, integrating legal, ethical, and biblical frameworks with the analysis of global affairs and conflict. Students will also demonstrate communication skills in a diverse, globalized, and changing technological context and conduct research and analysis based on their chosen major course of study. It is anticipated that students from majors such as Criminal Justice, Political Science, Psychology, and Communication would be attracted to the NSS minor.

Credit total: 24

Required Courses (3 credits each)

The Model United Nations Club provides members the opportunity to learn to integrate faith in the involvement of international affairs, to generate awareness of and foster active participation in issues of international affairs, and to compete in Model UN events.

General delegates can be IWU students who are interested in participating in the club through attending meetings. Official delegates must desire to become senior delegates and have expressed interest in attending a conference.

Official delegates must undergo an interview process in order to become senior delegates.

Pi Gamma Mu is the oldest and preeminent honor society in the social sciences. Their mission is to encourage and recognize superior scholarship in social science disciplines and to foster cooperation and social service among its members.

Pi Gamma Mu serves the various social science disciplines, which seek to understand and explain human behavior and social relationships as well as their related problems and issues.

The following professional organizations are associated with our majors. Division faculty members belong to several of these associations:

AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION (APSA)

The APSA, founded in 1903, is the leading professional organization for the study of political science and serves more than 15,000 members in over 80 countries. With a range of programs and services for individuals, departments and institutions, APSA brings together political scientists from all fields of inquiry, regions and occupational endeavors within and outside academe in order to expand awareness and understanding of politics.

INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY (IHS)

A private, nonprofit membership organization, IHS maintains the nation's premier research library and archives on the history of Indiana and the Old Northwest and presents a unique set of visitor experiences called the Indiana Experience. IHS also provides support and assistance to local museums and historical groups; publishes books and periodicals; sponsors teacher workshops; and provides youth, adult and family programs.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCHOLARS (NAS)

The NAS is an independent membership association of academics working to foster intellectual freedom and to sustain the tradition of reasoned scholarship and civil debate in America's colleges and universities. The NAS stands for intellectual integrity in the curriculum, in the classroom and across the campus, upholding the principle of individual merit and opposing racial, gender and other group preferences.