Interpreting, Understanding, and Improving the Human Condition

Welcome to the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work. Our three programs prepare students to be responsible citizens and effective communicators in a global society, armed with the knowledge and skills to interpret, understand, and improve the human condition. Sociology includes all aspects of people's social behavior in many different types of settings. Its goal is to advance our understanding of the interrelations of culture, community, organizational and socioeconomic structures, personal relations, and individual identities in our rapidly changing and increasingly globalized social world. Anthropology studies all aspects of culture across time and space, taking an integrated view of humanity from its deep past to diverse modernity. It is committed to investigating and explaining the diversity of ancient and modern human cultures and societies. Social Work is dedicated to partnering with people to create change. It trains its students to use self-awareness and sensitivity to the plight of humankind to promote social justice within our interdependent global community.

Our Programs

Our department offers Master of Arts (MA) degrees in sociology and anthropology and a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. At the undergraduate level, we offer Bachelor of Arts (BA) degrees in all three programs. Sociology BA students have the option of concentrating in criminology, and anthropology BA students can choose a concentration in forensic anthropology. We also have minors in all three programs.

We invite you to explore our website and learn more about our degree programs, our faculty, our research, and the opportunities we offer students at home and abroad.

How You Can Help

Did you know that you can support SASW's programs and mission with a tax-deductible contribution to one of our scholarship funds? And, did you know that the College of Arts and Sciences is Unmasking Innovation with its first ever fund raising campaign? 

Other Information

Download the SASW Strategic Plan.

Download the SASW Tenure and Promotion Guidelines.

 

SASW News

SASW Archaeologist Brett A. Houk was awarded a President's Excellence in Research Professorship for 2020–2022.

SASW Bioarchaeologist Anna Novotny's recent research described in article in Latin American Antiquity is featured on Forbes.com.

On Tuesday, April 9th, 9 PM the third National Geographic documentary with SASW Sociologist Andreas Schneider aired: The Story of God with Morgan Freeman Season 3 episode "Holy Laws." National Geographic Channel. This will be an investigation of Shamans of the Hmong, a North Vietnamese minority group.

SASW Sociologist Nadia Y. Flores-Yeffal's was interviewed by the Independent based on her research on social networks and immigration. You can read the article here. Dr. Flores-Yeffal's life story and research on social networks and migration were also recently featured in this article by Nexus Media.

Click here to see a list of SASW faculty and students who presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America in April.

Read an op-ed about military contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan co-authored by SASW Criminologist Dr. Ori Swed, published in The Conversation in March 2019. Dr. Swed will also be presented a paper with a Ph.D. student from political science on AI and security titled "Between Scylla and Charybdis: The Threat of Democratized Artificial Intelligence" at a conference at Shanghai University.

Contact Us

If you have a question and aren't sure whom to ask for the answer, please see this list of contacts!

Location

Our main office is in Holden Hall 158.

Our USPS mailing address is:

SASW Department
Texas Tech University
Box 41012
Lubbock, TX 79409-1012

Our UPS or Fedex address is:

SASW Department
Texas Tech University
Holden Hall 158
1011 Boston Ave.
Lubbock, TX 79409 

Administration

Chair
Cristina Bradatan

Associate Chair
Brett A. Houk

Unit Coordinator
Athena Baumann

Senior Advisor for Anthropology and Sociology
Brenda Amin

Senior Advisor for Social Work
Adrienne Scales

Administrative Assistant for Social Work
Valorie Duvall