Mission Statement
The mission of the Department of the Behavioral and Social Sciences is to contribute to the University’s mission of promoting students’ intellectual growth, individual enrichment, skill development, and career preparations in the areas of criminal justice, cyber criminology, social work, and psychology.
The Department
The Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences offers degrees in criminal justice, cyber criminology, psychology, and social work.
Criminal Justice
The criminal justice major is designed to prepare students for entry-level positions in a variety of careers as well as to enable experienced persons to expand their knowledge and improve their skills. A degree in criminal justice prepares students to work in law enforcement, private investigations, corrections, and the juvenile justice system.
Cyber Criminology
The Bachelor of Science in Cyber Criminology will produce highly skilled graduates who possess a holistic understanding of cybercrimes. This program not only emphasizes using computer science skills to investigate and study crime, but underscores theoretical human behaviors and victimization patterns that relate to cybercrimes.
A multidisciplinary field, cyber criminology includes research from social sciences areas including criminology, victimology, and skills and abilities from computer science. Cyber criminology utilizes computer sciences to study and understand cybercrime from the perspective of the social sciences.
Psychology
A psychology degree qualifies a person to work in mental health care centers, child and family welfare agencies, law enforcement offices, industries (personnel work), various social work agencies, churches, and private consulting firms.
Social Work
The mission of the social work program at Southern Arkansas University is to graduate students from diverse backgrounds who will be well prepared to launch their careers as competent generalist practitioners as well as continue their education at the graduate level. The program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
