About The Program
As a social science education major at NSU, you'll be prepared to teach a wide range of history and social science courses at the middle and high school levels. In many schools, the ability to teach multiple subjects is highly valued.
Your studies will include a solid core of courses in history, government and geography. You'll also have the option to take courses in economics, psychology and sociology. Rounding out this degree are required teaching courses.
Employment of high school teachers has been projected to grow 6 percent from 2014-2024, about as fast as the average for all occupations. School districts in our region have reported an ongoing shortage of qualified social science teachers.
For more information on careers in your major or help choosing a major, contact Career Services.
For more information about this degree, contact Academic Advisor Rhonda Carda at 605-626-2267 or 605-626-7900. Or, contact NSU Admissions at 605-626-2544 or admissions@northern.edu.
Our Faculty
Kenneth C. Blanchard, Jr. is a professor of government at Northern State University. He received his Ph.D. at Claremont Graduate School in Claremont, California, in 1989. He began teaching at Northern that same year.
Dr. Blanchard has taught at California State University, San Bernardino. He has also taught summer courses in American government at Boise State University.
Ph.D., Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
Dr. Brownfield joined the NSU faculty in 2015. Her current research looks at deviance and “bad behavior” in online forums devoted to support networks. She recently has published articles on depictions of prisons in film and rural policing on television.
Research Interests/Areas of Expertise
Popular culture
New media research methods
Online phenomena
Race/class/gender
Social psychology, identity, narrative, and deviance
Dr. David Grettler specializes in early American and environmental history. He is also a historical archaeologist interested in public history and teaches courses in museums, archives, and material culture studies. Dr.…
Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University, 2002
M.A., Idaho State University, 1993
B.A., University of Calgary, 1989
Dr. Pamela Monaghan-Geerneart has been a member of the faculty in the department of history and social sciences at Northern State University since the fall of 2019.
Courses Taught
SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology
Soc 261 Human Sexuality
Soc 423 Social Stratification
Soc 491 Medical Sociology
Soc 350 Race and Ethnic Relations
INDG 404 Contemporary Issues in Native and Indigenous Communities
INED 411/511 South Dakota Indian Studies
Research Interests
…
Ph.D., Sociology, University of Michigan, 2016
B.A., Sociology, Indiana University, 2010
Dr. Christopher Near joined Northern State University in 2020 as an assistant professor. He taught previously at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Courses Taught
CJUS 201 Introduction to Criminal Justice
CJUS 203 Policing in a Free Society (online)
CJUS 380 Research/Data Analysis in Criminal Justice
CJUS 433 Criminal Procedure (online)
SOC 455 Juvenile Delinquency (online)
Research Interests…
PH.D. McGill University, 2003
M.A. Carleton University, 1991
Master's Program/Certificate, University of Helsinki, 1990
B.A. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, 1988
Professor Steven Usitalo is a specialist in Russian and Soviet history, modern genocide studies, and the history of film. He is the recipient of several research grants. He co-edited an anthology on Russian history and published a monograph on the Russian polymath Mikhail Lomonosov. Dr. Usitalo is finishing a substantially revised Russian translation of his book on Mikhail Lomonosov. His research focuses on two areas: Russian/Soviet and Armenian film, and the history of the Roma in Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union. When time allows, he is at work on…
