Ducks Give is May 14. And We Need Your Help!
Ducks Give is the University of Oregon’s annual 24-hour fundraiser. On Thursday, May 14, your gifts — no matter how small — can support programs that benefit undergraduate and graduate students, including experiential learning and scholarships that are making a real impact to prepare them for careers after college.
Join Ducks from around the world to support current and future students. Let’s rise together on May 14!
Congratulations, Graduating Ducks!
You’ve put in the work and earned the diploma. Now let’s celebrate! On June 15, join your fellow CAS Ducks for this year’s CAS commencement ceremony. Head over to the 2026 CAS Commencement website where you can find ceremony details for each CAS ceremony, logistics and any other answers to all your questions about the big day.
Social sciences provide an analytical approach to society’s problems. As a result, faculty and students in the social sciences often focus on complex and intersectional issues such as racism, international conflict and war, climate change, and poverty. Through an objective and empirical approach to these issues, the goal is to generate genuine passion and equip future leaders with the skills they need to address the world’s challenges. Explore majors, minors, concentrations, and academic programs in the social sciences.
African Studies
Anthropology
Asian Studies
Black Studies
Climate Studies
Commerce and Society
Criminology
Economics
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
News from Social Sciences
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We Love Our Supporters
Gifts to the College of Arts and Sciences can help our students make the most of their college careers. To do this, CAS needs your support. Your contributions help us ensure that teaching, research, advising, mentoring, and support services are fully available to every student. Thank you!
World-Class Faculty in the Social Sciences
Ashley Cordes
Assistant Professor of Indigenous Media in Environmental Studies and Data Science
Ashely Cordes is an academic expert in Indigenous data sovereignty, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. Her research explores how Indigenous communities can leverage technological utilities—such as cryptocurrency and AI—for Tribal economic independence, representational and data sovereignty, and preservation of knowledge systems.
Neil O'Brian
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Neil O’Brian is an academic expert in U.S. politics focusing on public opinion, political parties, and polarization. His recent work has focused on how people’s perceptions of politics and current events affect their political attitudes. He’s recently published the book The Roots of Polarization: From the Racial Realignment to the Culture Wars (University of Chicago Press).
O’Brian is the second UO researcher to receive an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship. O’Brian is using the fellowship to further explore what he calls the “doctor’s project.” The start of this research began when he identified a partisan divide in the trust people have in their physicians; those on the political right expressed less trust in their doctors than those on the left. This is a recent phenomenon, as data showed no difference in trust in one’s doctor until a shift in 2020-21, during the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. O’Brian argues the partisan divide over public health measures—such as masking and vaccines—led to less trust in the medicine industry.
Melissa Graboyes
Associate Professor of History, Global Health Program
Melissa Graboyes is a historian of modern Africa and a global health specialist whose research focuses primarily on medicine and science in the East African region.
Graboyes’ current research projects have been supported by major research funds. Her work on the history of malaria elimination on the African continent is funded by a five-year National Science Foundation CAREER award. A three-year collaborative research project on returning research results from social science disciplines to African participants—removing costly barriers to make findings more accessible—is funded with a three-year NSF award. She is also working on global health research at the local Eugene level through her project on aspects of care for people who inject drugs.
As a mentor, Graboyes works with undergraduate students in research groups. She leads the Global Health Research Group, which helps students gain skills and tools for conducting undergraduate research. The group consists of students interested in global health-related topics, as well as students majoring in a STEM field who are interested in ethics, history and the processes of science.
Schnitzer School of Global Studies and Languages
At the Schnitzer School of Global Studies and Languages, UO students engage with diverse cultures, languages, histories, and lifeways across the world. Students of the social sciences, from Anthropology to Sociology, will broaden and deepen their education in their field by viewing it—and experiencing it—through a global lens. GSL prepares our graduates for life after college with an interdisciplinary curriculum, innovative language teaching, abundant learning opportunities outside the classroom, and paths of study that lead to many options for real-world careers.
Research in the Social Sciences
Research in the social sciences investigates human behavior and the motivations that influence it. Although some of our research occurs in the lab, much of it is conducted out in the field using a variety of methodological approaches, from exploratory to experimental. The results of our research often carry societal-level implications and may point to solutions for addressing local, national, or global challenges.
2024-2025 Sponsored Research in Social Sciences
Between July 2024 and June 2025, researchers in CAS received $83 million to fund 199 research projects, including approximately $6 million for Social Sciences. The research projects, which span divisions and fields of study, represent CAS's commitment to curiosity, discovery, and innovation.
Explore Other Majors and Minors in the College of Arts and Sciences
Meet Our Dean
Welcome to the social sciences division of the College of Arts and Sciences. Within our community, we address some of the world’s problems—big or small—through interdisciplinary research and critical thinking. What drives us is a passion for exploring human behavior and society.
The social sciences provide the necessary foundation for any academic inquiry, from the creative arts to the natural sciences. Inside the classroom, we lead courses that are engaging and thought-provoking, inspiring students to become better citizens of our world and work toward a more inclusive future.
We also believe real-world experience offers some of the most impactful learning opportunities. From internships to study abroad trips that offer new cultural experiences, our students regularly engage in hands-on learning work that reaches across social, disciplinary, and geographic boundaries, allowing them to forge new connections and spark new ideas.
We look forward to changing the world with you.
Bruce McGough
Divisional Associate Dean, Social Sciences
Happening at CAS
Nomad undergraduate journal authors will briefly present their work.
Refreshments will be served.
3:30–5:30 a.m.
Nomad undergraduate journal authors will briefly present their work.
Refreshments will be served.
3:30–4:30 p.m.
The Northwest Native American Language Resource Center's Community Project Planning and Development (CPPD) workshops are designed to help guide you through the process of creating a community-based project: from coming up with the idea, to building a solid organizational and logistical foundation, and all of the other necessary steps to get your project proposal completed. Overall, there are 15 CPPD workshops in this series.
Each workshop also has an associated next-day drop-in assistance hour. This workshop series is meant to take participants with little to no experience in community project planning and development and help them complete their first project proposal. While we are focused on assisting with project planning and development of Alaskan Native/Native American Language projects, much of the content that you will be learning in these workshops is readily transferrable to other types of projects.
Registrants will have access to all workshops in this April offering. Attendance at all workshops in the offering is recommended but not required.
All instruction is provided online and instructors will join online. Participants will join remotely via zoom (please see technology section below.)
Workshops in this Offering
The CPPD workshops are offered in smaller, five workshop offerings. The first five workshops were offered in November and December of 2025. The workshops that are available in the April offering are:
Workshop 6: Identifying Long-Range Goals
- Topic: Supports facilitation of community discussions to identify vision-aligned, long-term goals that drive project outcomes.
- Date: 4/1
- Drop-In Assistance: 4/2
Workshop 7: Defining Barriers to Long-Range Goals
- Topic: Identifies internal and external barriers, explores strategies to surface challenges, and begin problem-solving approaches.
- Date: 4/8
- Drop-In Assistance: 4/9
Workshop 8: Creating Project Goals & Objectives
- Topic: Translates community vision into specific, measurable project goals and objectives using clear, structured frameworks.
- Date: 4/15
- Drop-In Assistance: 4/16
Workshop 9: Outcomes, Outputs, & Activities
- Topic: Distinguishes outcomes, outputs, and activities, aligns them within a project framework/logic model.
- Date: 4/22
- Drop-In Assistance: 4/23
Workshop 10: Building a Project Work Plan
- Topic: Hands-on strategies to create a work plan with timelines, milestones, responsibilities, and deliverables.
- Date: 4/29
- Drop-In Assistance: 4/30
Technology
The CPPD workshops will be held via Zoom and will use Canvas, a course management system, for materials and activities. Participants must have an email address. It will be best to join on a computer that has a stable internet connection, a webcam, and headphones (depending on your work environment). Using a computer rather than a mobile device will improve your experience - you will be able to better interact with others, participate in hands-on activities, and see presented materials.
3:30–4:30 p.m.
The NW-NALRC's Community Project Planning and Development (CPPD) workshops are designed to help guide you through the process of creating a community-based project: from coming up with the idea, to building a solid organizational and logistical foundation, and all of the other necessary steps to get your project proposal completed. Overall, there are 15 CPPD workshops in this series.
Each workshop also has an associated Next-Day Drop-In Assistance Hour. This workshop series is meant to take participants with little to no experience in Community Project Planning and Development and help them complete their first project proposal. While we are focused on assisting with project planning and development of Alaskan Native / Native American Language projects, much of the content that you will be learning in these workshops is readily transferrable to other types of projects.
Registrants will have access to all workshops in this April 2026 offering. Attendance at all workshops in the offering is recommended but not required.
The CPPD Workshops are offered in smaller, five workshop offerings. The first five workshops were offered in November and December of 2025. The workshops that are available in the April 2026 offering are:
Workshop 6: Identifying Long-Range Goals
- Topic: Supports facilitation of community discussions to identify vision-aligned, long-term goals that drive project outcomes.
- Date: 4/1
- Drop-In Assistance: 4/2
Workshop 7: Defining Barriers to Long-Range Goals
- Topic: Identifies internal and external barriers, explores strategies to surface challenges, and begin problem-solving approaches.
- Date: 4/8
- Drop-In Assistance: 4/9
Workshop 8: Creating Project Goals & Objectives
- Topic: Translates community vision into specific, measurable project goals and objectives using clear, structured frameworks.
- Date: 4/15
- Drop-In Assistance: 4/16
Workshop 9: Outcomes, Outputs, & Activities
- Topic: Distinguishes outcomes, outputs, and activities, aligns them within a project framework/logic model.
- Date: 4/22
- Drop-In Assistance: 4/23
Workshop 10: Building a Project Work Plan
- Topic: Hands-on strategies to create a work plan with timelines, milestones, responsibilities, and deliverables.
- Date: 4/29
- Drop-In Assistance: 4/30
Technology
The CPPD workshops will be held via Zoom and will use Canvas, a course management system, for materials and activities. Participants must have an email address. It will be best to join on a computer that has a stable internet connection, a webcam, and headphones (depending on your work environment). Using a computer rather than a mobile device will improve your experience - you will be able to better interact with others, participate in hands-on activities, and see presented materials.
4:00 p.m.
The Department of Geography Colloquium Series presents a talk by Michelle Mack on “Changing Disturbances, Ecological Legacies, and the Future of the Alaskan Boreal Forest.”
Mack is a Regents’ Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society at Northern Arizona University, and the lead PI of the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research Program located in the Alaskan boreal forest. She is an ecosystem ecologist who studies the impacts of climate and disturbances, such as wildfire and abrupt permafrost thaw, on the dynamics of Arctic and boreal ecosystems. She is a fellow of the Ecological Society of America and the American Geophysical Union.
“Climate warming is intensifying wildfires in Alaska’s boreal forests, fundamentally altering how these ecosystems recover. Forest resilience often depends on “ecological memory,” including legacies such as seed banks and permafrost that support regeneration and stabilize ecosystem processes. However, increasingly severe fires are degrading or eliminating these legacies, making recovery more difficult, and altering ecosystem dynamics. In this talk, I will present research from the Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research program that examines how the loss of ecological memory is reshaping boreal forests, as well as the implications for the people and systems that depend on them. I will also discuss how this work can inform strategies for adapting to climate-driven environmental change.”