In the complex and rapidly changing world of the 21st century, the social, behavioral, and economic sciences are critical to understanding and enhancing the world around us. Scholars in the College of Social Science are diverse and dynamic intellectual leaders who seek to understand and address the myriad challenges facing our world at local and global scales through collaborative learning and responsive engagement with people and communities. Using measurement and analysis in addition to observation and definition, we conduct and apply research to address the diverse problems confronting citizens of our highly technical and increasingly globalized world.

The College of Social Science offers graduate and undergraduate courses and degree programs, research initiatives, minors, and specializations through the following units: Departments of Anthropology, Economics, Geography, History, Human Development and Family Studies, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology; Schools of Criminal Justice, Human Resources and Labor Relations, Planning, Design and Construction, and Social Work; Programs in Chicano/Latino Studies and Urban and Regional Planning. Other units include Women, Gender, and Social Justice (administered jointly with College of Arts and Letters); Center for Integrative Studies in Social Science; Center for Advanced Study of International Development; Center for Global Change and Earth Observations; Center for the Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Online (MATRIX); Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Science Research and Outreach Services; Julian Samora Research Institute; Institute for Public Policy and Social Research; and the Institute of Public Utilities. The college also sponsors or co-sponsors several undergraduate minors and graduate specializations.

In cooperation with other areas of the university, the College of Social Science engages in the pursuit and application of knowledge from emerging interdisciplinary perspectives. The College collaborates with the colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Arts and Letters, Business (Eli Broad), Communication Arts and Sciences, Education, Engineering, Human Medicine, and Natural Science; University Outreach and Engagement; International Studies and Programs; Michigan State Extension, Division of Children, Youth and Families; Institute for International Health; the Centers for African Studies, Asian Studies, Canadian Studies, and Latin American and Caribbean Studies; and the Center for Gender in Global Context.