Program Overview

Africana studies explores, researches, interprets, and disseminates theoretical, historical, literary, and artistic developments on the African continent and in the African diaspora, past and present. With an interdisciplinary approach, students use critical thinking skills to explore, apply, and disseminate both established and fresh scholarship in pursuit of academic excellence and social responsibility.

Anthropology is devoted to understanding what it means to be human. This knowledge is valuable, not only for itself, but also for how it can be applied to a variety of professional settings. This major focuses on the power of the integrated, multidisciplinary nature of anthropological theory and methods to analyze and interpret human cultural and biological variation in a historic, prehistoric, and global context. 

The Department of World Languages and Cultures offers courses in Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish, building proficient listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills while exploring the target language's literature and culture. Students may choose to major or minor in Asian Studies, selecting from a wide variety of courses in Asian history and cultures, and combined with Japanese and/or Chinese language courses. All three languages are also offered as minors.

UNC’s Chicana/o and Latinx studies program works to achieve a strong, culturallybased education for students to thrive in. The fundamental objective of the bachelor's in Mexican American studies is to provide the student with knowledge and understanding of the historical development and cultural experience of the largest Latino community in the United States: Mexican Americans. Emphasis is placed on its contemporary reality by various theoretical perspectives and areas of academic inquiry through the arts and sciences.

A major in the discipline of communication studies allows students to examine closely the many ways in which message exchange is the foundation of human societies and cultures. At UNC, communication coursework focuses on theoretical, analytic, and practical aspects of human interaction. Students may elect to emphasize the study of communication in interpersonal, small group, organizational, and intercultural contexts. Practical skills may be obtained in professional presentation, persuasion, leadership, and communication consulting.

The Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice relies on an interdisciplinary approach to the study of crime, the criminal justice system, and society. Grounded in the liberal arts tradition, the program curriculum encourages students to articulate in writing and in presentations how criminological theories inform policy, how research guides system review and decision-making, and how ethics and cultural awareness promote visionary leadership in the criminal justice system.  

With a major in economics, you will study how markets work and how government policy influences the economy while developing valuable analytical and problem-solving skills you can apply to diverse careers. The economics bachelor’s degree program at UNC focuses on practical applications of economics theory, offering a variety of enriching opportunities to participate in internships, research projects, and service-learning activities with businesses, government, and other organizations in the community.

The Department of English offers students the opportunity to follow their passion for reading and writing. Our English programs ground students in the knowledge and practice of cultural, literary, and rhetorical interpretation and history, and offer them the platforms to develop into highly proficient academic, creative, and professional writers. Students can also pursue the Writing, Editing and Publishing emphasis to develop their skills and understanding within the publishing industry. The English education (EED) major prepares its graduates to serve as secondary English/language arts teachers (grades 7-12). 

Students in the geography program study the environmental, cultural, political, and economic processes that produce distinctive local, regional, and global patterns across the Earth’s surface. Geography is one of the few academic disciplines that bridges the gap between the natural and social sciences. Geographers analyze how complex interactions among these spatial processes create constantly changing human and natural landscapes across the world.Students interested in environmental and sustainability studies will learn to understand and address the significant challenges facing a growing human community dependent on finite resources. Environmental and sustainability studies uses a dynamic approach that requires the study of multiple disciplines and perspectives to address human problems which require a sophisticated understanding of interacting systems: natural, economic, historical, aesthetic, socio-cultural, spatial, and political.

Historical study is concerned with the record of the human past and forms the indispensable background for all other areas of knowledge in the humanities, the social sciences, and the physical sciences. A well-rounded curriculum of American and world history courses is provided in which students are encouraged to be critical and analytical in thought as well as to be incisive and cogent in their writing. A graduate who receives endorsement in the grades 7-12 social studies licensure area is qualified to teach social studies in middle and high schools.

International affairs is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states

A degree in journalism and media studies is designed to providea professional learning experience in reporting, writing, editing, and producing news for print, broadcast, and the Web. Under the guidance of experienced news professionals, students perform news-oriented tasks of progressively greater complexity and scope. 

With a degree in philosophy, you will cultivate critical thinking and problem-solving skills while exploring big questions about reality, knowledge, and value.It is an excellent major not only for students interested in philosophy itself but also for pre-professional students–especiallyfor those who intend to study the law.

Political science emphasizes the development of the analytical, research, and writing skills that are necessary to think critically and reflect upon political values and public policy. 

Sociology offers a broad scope and relevance for research, theory, and the application of knowledge to address social problems in virtually any work environment. Sociology prepares students with marketable skills for a variety of job sectors including education, health, government, social advocacy, and research. Students will gain skills to seek positive social change and innovative solutions through an analysis of societal structures, the dynamics of culture and interaction, and the causes and consequences of human behavior.

The Department of World Languages and Cultures offers courses in Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish, building proficient listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills while exploring the target language's literature and culture. Students may pursue a B.A. in Spanish with either a liberal arts emphasis or a K-12 teaching emphasis.