Six departments from the College of Social Sciences and two from the College of Arts and Sciences make up the program. The departments of Anthropology and History are from the College of Arts and Sciences. Economics, Geography, Political Science, Public Administration, Sociology, and Urban and Regional Planning, are from the College of Social Sciences.

The Interdisciplinary Program in Social Science is designed to provide a broad background for understanding public affairs and an education for useful citizenship in the American democracy. It is flexible so that students may pursue their own individual specialized and pre-professional interests.