Political Science

Mergenthaler 338

Students can: Major

Degrees Offered: BA, PhD

The Department of Political Science provides undergraduate and graduate training in American politics and law, comparative politics, international relations, and political theory. It offers a rich and diverse understanding of the theoretical and practical aspects of politics, including the processes through which policies, rules, institutions, and political cultures are established, contested, and changed.

The programs of the political science department are designed to help students attain a deeper understanding of politics in its various dimensions. The department encourages students to become analytically sophisticated, to study politics in global and comparative perspectives, and to appreciate how citizens can be responsibly assertive in the community.

A broad and diverse faculty offers a range of courses about politics and government at local, state, national, and international levels. The university's proximity to Washington, D.C., provides a wide variety of internship opportunities.

What can you do with your degree?

Political science majors pursue a diverse range of careers in law, public service, finance, policy research, media, international development, and academia.

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Sociology

Sociology Website

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Mergenthaler 533

Students can: Major

Degrees Offered: BA, PhD

The Department of Sociology concentrates its teaching and research on two broad areas: global social change, which focuses on cross-national, comparative research; and social inequality, which primarily focuses on family, education, work, race, gender, policy, and immigration.

These concentrations trace back to the department’s founding in 1959 by renowned sociologist James Coleman. The department has since earned a reputation as one of most selective, personalized sociology departments in the U.S. Its small size creates an intimate scholarly atmosphere, in which faculty and students interact and collaborate frequently. Through the department’s two areas of concentration and its honors program, highly motivated students can customize a program of study and engage in self-initiated, original research.

What can you do with your degree?

A major in sociology offers undergraduates a variety of post-graduation opportunities. Graduates from the department have found positions in financial institutions, education, non-governmental organizations focusing on international development, research departments of major corporations, and local government social service agencies. Others continue to graduate school in sociology, public health, law, urban planning, or education.

A major in sociology can also be combined with the pre-medical course sequence, resulting in a medical school candidate who is well versed in the hard science of the human body and the social science of the human experience.

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English

English Website

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Gilman 14

Students can: Major Minor

Degrees Offered: BA, PhD

The Department of English at Johns Hopkins is an intimate, highly selective department with a long history of innovative scholarship, research opportunities, and superior teaching.

The department’s distinction begins with its renowned faculty. Every professor teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses, and they all teach primarily in small seminars, so undergraduates get the best of what a research university has to offer while getting the kind of personal attention ordinarily only possible at a small liberal arts college. Courses provide both the core of a liberal arts education and the basis for the advanced study of literature.

Faculty members’ specialties range from early modern to contemporary, with particular strengths in critical theory and interdisciplinary approaches to literature.

Courses provide the core of a liberal education in the humanities and, for those who intend to pursue careers in teaching and scholarship, the basis for advanced study of literature. These range from historical surveys of English and American literature and introductory courses in critical methods to advanced courses and seminars in particular periods, authors, genres, and literary questions.

What can you do with your degree?

Earning a degree in English at Johns Hopkins will enhance your appreciation of some of the world’s finest literature and help you develop a variety of skills. Through reading and writing about literature in classes led by distinguished scholars, you will learn to think critically and argue persuasively about complex issues, while also having the opportunity to pursue independent research. Many of our undergraduates go on to pursue graduate studies in English or in fields such as history, philosophy, psychology, and education. Others choose to pursue professional careers in medicine, government, law, business, publishing, and media.

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Earth and Planetary Sciences

Earth and Planetary Sciences Website

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Olin 301

Students can: Major Minor

Degrees Offered: BA, PhD

The Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences offers programs of study and research in the basic earth sciences, including: geology, the science of the solid earth; geochemistry, devoted to understanding the chemistry of the solid earth and natural waters; geophysics, concerned with a quantitative description of physical processes in the earth and planetary sciences; physical oceanography, the study of ocean currents and waves, and their role in climate; atmospheric sciences, particularly the dynamics of atmospheric circulation both on Earth and other planets and their satellites; and ecology and paleoecology, the study of the relationships between organisms and their environment today and in the geologic past.

The department offers two majors: students can choose to major in earth and planetary sciences (EPS) or in environmental science and studies (ENVS).

The EPS major is for undergraduates interested in the study of the physical, chemical, and biological processes that shape the Earth and the other planets, drawing on the disciplines of geology, geochemistry, hydrology, ecology, geobiology, oceanography, and atmospheric science.

The ENVS major is an interdepartmental program introducing students to the science of the Earth and its living and nonliving systems, as well as how humans interact with Earth and its natural systems and how humans can use powerful tools, such as policy and communication, to harm or help those systems. The goals are to advance awareness of the magnitude and consequences of these issues and to train the next generation of problem-solvers who will address the effects of global environmental change.

What can you do with your degree?

Graduates of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences use their skills and knowledge in fields such as environmental consulting, government agencies, and natural resources industries. Students are also well prepared for professional school.

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Biology

Biology Website

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Mudd 144

Students can: Major

Degrees Offered: BA, BS, MS, PhD

The Johns Hopkins Biology Department is home to 25 research laboratories investigating a wide range of biological problems, with the unifying goal of obtaining explanations or models in quantitative and molecular detail. As one of the first biology departments in the United States, it has a long history dating back to the inception of Johns Hopkins University in 1876.

Biology faculty train students and researchers pursuing bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, as well as postdoctorals and visiting scientists. In addition to the BA in biology, the department offers a BS in molecular and cellular biology, a five-year combined BA or BS/MS program, and a PhD program.

The department emphasizes molecular, cellular, and developmental biology, biochemistry, and biophysics. Department members use the Integrated Imaging Center, the BioNMR center, the X-ray crystallography facility, and many other university resources to pursue their research and teaching objectives.

The Department of Biology plays a prominent role in training and educating undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral trainees, and visiting scientists to prepare them for the next steps in their careers.

What can you do with your degree?

The requirements of the biology major satisfy all the requirements for admission to medical school.

In addition to medical school, graduates of the program are prepared for graduate school and a variety of professions.

Related Programs and Centers

The Program in Cell, Molecular, Developmental Biology, and Biophysics (CMDB)

History

History Website

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Gilman 301

Students can: Major Minor

Degrees Offered: BA, BA/MA, PhD

The Department of History offers students the opportunity to work intensively in the classroom and with individual faculty to discover the richness and complexity of history. The department emphasizes European history, United States history, and the histories of Africa, Latin America, and China.

Undergraduates begin with general courses, but progress quickly to courses that explore topics in depth and provide experience in researching, analyzing, and writing about the past. Graduate students work independently and with faculty advisers on reading and research in their fields of interest, while departmental seminars bring them together to discuss their research, forging a collegial intellectual culture.

History at Hopkins is both a social scientific and humanistic discipline, and for this reason history courses are coded both "H" (for humanities credit) and "S" (for credit in the social sciences). In practice, students will find that the "hard" side of history (demographic and economic history, and certain aspects of social history as well) mixes quite well with the "soft" side, with its emphasis on cultural and intellectual history.

What can you do with your degree?

The history major offers strong preparation in writing, reading, and the critical analysis of inconsistent information and data. Our graduates find these skills valuable for a variety of careers, including business, law, public service, and teaching.

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Economics

Economics Website

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Wyman Park Building 544E

Students can: Major Minor

Degrees Offered: BA, MA, PhD

The Department of Economics at Johns Hopkins University is one of the leading departments of economics in the U.S., with outstanding strength in its research faculty, graduate program, and undergraduate program.

The department offers a focused approach that sets it apart from other economics programs around the world. Faculty and graduate students engage in the exploration of five economic disciplines: applied microeconomics, economic theory, macroeconomics, econometrics, and finance.

Economics students at Johns Hopkins receive the kind of unique, intensive, and mutually respectful education that routinely places the department among the highest ranked economics programs in the United States.

The opportunity to learn directly from innovative thinkers draws students to the department. Faculty at the forefront of their fields incorporate the results of recent research into courses in microeconomics, econometrics, monetary economics, investments, managerial economics, mathematical economics, uncertainty, forecasting, and game theory.

The university’s proximity to Washington, D.C., draws to campus experts from institutions such as the Federal Reserve Bank and think tanks such as The Brookings Institution. The location also provides exceptional opportunities for internships and independent study. The Center for Financial Economics offers a rich array of courses in finance that are designed for students who have the mathematical and statistical background to pursue the field at a rigorous level.

What can you do with your degree?

Department of Economics alumni are leaders in their fields. Graduates are frequently appointed to esteemed academic institutions, think tanks, government research positions, and investment banks around the world.

Undergraduate students in economics gain critical thinking skills, enabling them to understand and analyze important trends in the field and pursue their own research. Many graduates go on to law school, medical school, or graduate school in economics, while others enter the workforce, usually in the fields of banking or finance, and still others are employed in the public sector.

Related Programs and Centers

Center for Financial Economics

History of Science and Technology

History of Science and Technology Website

[email protected]

Gilman 301

Students can: Major Minor

Degrees Offered: BA, PhD

The Department of the History of Science and Technology in collaboration with the Department of History of Medicine offers an undergraduate major and minor in the history of science, medicine, and technology. Courses combine an appreciation of the developments in science, medicine, and technology with an awareness of their cultural impact. Requirements include courses in natural science, engineering, or mathematics. The program is well suited to double majors in the sciences and to premedical students. Courses offered by scholars from the Smithsonian Institution are a regular feature of the program. An optional senior thesis allows students to get practical experience and explore topics in depth.

Faculty interests extend from the Renaissance to the present. In addition to research on the main disciplines within science and medicine, faculty interests include science and exploration, science and religion, history of environmentalism and public health, East Asian history of science and technology, and science in Latin America.

What can you do with your degree?

An education in the history of science, medicine, and technology prepares students for the growing number of careers—medicine, teaching, journalism, law, public policy, business—in which an understanding of the impact of science is important.

The program offers a liberal arts education that meets all the requirements for premedical students. Graduates of the department have been accepted to some of the top medical schools in the country. Some students pursue graduate work in the public health disciplines. Others go on to law school or to graduate school in the natural sciences. Some graduates have become science writers, historians, teachers, or have gone into business or museum work.

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Anthropology

Anthropology Website

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Macaulay 404

Students can: Major Minor

Degrees Offered: BA, PhD

The Department of Anthropology at Johns Hopkins is one of the few in the country that focuses exclusively on socio-cultural anthropology, one of the four traditional subfields of the discipline.

The anthropology major combines the study of social and cultural theory with the empirical study of everyday life, social organization, cultural and political expression, and forms of imagination across the diversity of human cultures past and present, including those of the students themselves.

The department’s faculty has field research experience in the Americas, South Asia, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa. Students and faculty explore themes such as the everyday, the state, religion, media, and health, building on interdisciplinary dialogues across the humanities, social sciences, and health sciences, focusing particularly on the challenges of our own moment in history.

What can you do with your degree?

With a degree in anthropology, you can work with government agencies or NGOs. You can pursue careers in medicine, international relations, politics, education, or community building.