College of Behavioral and Social Sciences

2141 Tydings Hall
Phone: 301-405-1679
bsos@umd.edu
http://bsos.umd.edu

Dean: Susan Rivera, Ph.D.
Associate Deans: Isabella Alcañiz, Ph.D., Meredith Kleykamp, Ph.D., Patricio Korzeniewicz, Ph.D., Katherine Russell, Ph.D.
Assistant Deans: Jacinta Kelly, Kim Nickerson, Ph.D.

The College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland (BSOS) increases understanding of and pursues innovative solutions to the challenges facing our global community. BSOS draws on its Washington, D.C., and worldwide connections to enrich its teaching, research and service. The BSOS community works to enhance international relations, advance global sustainability, understand societies and cultures and improve the human condition.

In all that we do, BSOS aims to Be the Solution to the world’s great challenges.

The College of Behavioral and Social Sciences actively practices TerrapinSTRONG values that affirm our mission, culture, and values as a diverse, unified, proud, respectful, inclusive, accountable, and empowered community of people from every background that works to impact positively our globally-connected society.

Students interested in human behavior and in solving human and social problems will find many exciting opportunities through the programs and courses offered by the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences.

Departments and Units

Majors

Minors

Certificate

Undergraduate Degree Requirements/Degree Options

  • Each student must complete a minimum of 120 hours of credit with at least a 2.0 cumulative grade point average. Courses must include the credits required in the university's general education requirements and the specific major and supporting course and grade requirements of the programs in the academic departments offering bachelor's degrees.
  • Students must have a minimum “C” (2.00) cumulative grade point average across all courses used to satisfy major degree requirements.
  • Upon entering BSOS as a freshman, transfer, or by major change, students must complete and submit a graduation plan to the college advising office for review and approval.
  • In accordance with university policy, fundamental English and Math requirements must be attempted by 30 credits and successfully completed by 60 credits.
  • Students must complete 15 upper level credits in the student's final 30 credits.
  • All students are responsible for carefully tracking completion of degree requirements using UAchieve. Students are urged to meet with an academic advisor in their major or college if they have any questions. Advising is especially important two semesters before graduation to discuss final graduation requirements.

Feller Center
2118 and 2148 Tydings Hall
Phone: 301-405-1697

The Feller Center in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences is your co-located hub for academic advising and career planning.

Academic advising: http://fellercenter.umd.edu/academic-advising/ or bsosadvising@umd.edu

Career planning: http://fellercenter.umd.edu/career-planning/ or bsoscareers@umd.edu

The Feller Center - Advising and Career Planning 

The Feller Center in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences is your co-located hub for academic advising and career planning.

The Feller Center Academic Advisors educate, support, and empower students while setting and communicating academic support and benchmarks for a successful and timely academic journey.

The Feller Center Career Planning Team works closely with the BSOS Advising team, faculty and instructors in BSOS, and the BSOS Departments to integrate career exploration and professional development into each student's academic experience. Additionally we complement the services offered by the University Career Center to deliver enhanced services for BSOS majors.

Departments and Centers

Departments and Research Centers are linked from the College website homepage at http://bsos.umd.edu.

In addition, the college co-sponsors interdisciplinary majors in Environmental Science and Policy, Neuroscience, and Social Data Science.

Living-Learning Programs

Participating in one of Maryland’s living-learning communities is one great way for BSOS students to share their common interests with each other and with faculty in a small, academic, residential community.

The BSOS College is the academic home for four of these living-learning programs.

College Honors Program

Departmental Honors Programs are offered in each of the departments within the college. Students in a Departmental Honors Program are also members of the campus Honors College. 

Dean's List. Any student who has passed at least 12 hours of academic work under the regular grading method in the preceding semester, without failure of any course, and with an overall average grade of at least 3.5, will be placed on the Dean's List. The Distinguished Dean's List consists of students who have completed successfully a minimum of 12 credit hours in a semester with a 4.0.

Honor Societies. Students who excel in their academic discipline may be selected for membership in an honorary society. Examples include:

  • Alpha Kappa Delta -- Sociology
  • Alpha Phi Sigma -- Criminal Justice
  • Gamma Theta Upsilon -- Geography
  • Pi Sigma Alpha -- The National Political Science Honor Society
  • Psi Chi -- Psychology

Student Societies and Professional Organizations

Students who are interested in organizations and honor societies related to their fields of study should consult with departmental websites.

For more information about these student organizations or starting a new student group, please contact the Office of Campus Programs, Adele H. Stamp Student Union, 301-314-7174 or http://terplink.umd.edu.

Financial Assistance

The college offers scholarship opportunities to current students on a competitive basis. Each scholarship has eligibility criteria. Scholarship information and applications are available on the scholarships page on the BSOS website: https://bsos.umd.edu/undergraduate/undergraduate-scholarships/.  

The college also offers student experience funds to help support research, internship, and other extracurricular activities. For more information, please visit: https://bsos.umd.edu/undergraduate/bsos-undergraduate-experience-funds/.

The National Scholarships Office at the University of Maryland provides information on nationally competitive scholarships at the undergraduate (and graduate) level. For more information, please visit: http://scholarships.umd.edu.

The Office of Student Financial Aid (OFSA) administers all types of federal, state, and institutional financial assistance programs and, in cooperation with other university offices, participates in the awarding of scholarships to deserving students. For more information, visit: http://financialaid.umd.edu.

Research Units

Undergraduate research is valuable whether or not you plan to be a researcher in the future. BSOS is home to 10 diverse, interdisciplinary departments and many centers and programs, all committed to investigating and improving the human condition. In addition to the opportunities available within the college, BSOS students have access to over 200 research centers on or just off campus at the University of Maryland. If you are interested in exploring an undergraduate research experience, visit the Feller Center website for more details. 

Student Engagement and Service Units

For more information regarding engagement and service opportunities, please visit our website.