The NSU social science education B.S.Ed. integrates the study of history and social sciences with the practical and theoretical knowledge required for teaching.
    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.

     

    Careers

    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.

    Contact Information

    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.

    Ph.D Claremont Graduate School
    B.A. University of Arizona
     

    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.  

    Resume/CV

    Research Interests/Expertise
    His research field includes classical and modern political philosophy and especially biopolitics: the study of the biological foundations of political and moral behavior. Dr. Blanchard is the editor of and contributor to Darwinian Conservatism: A Disputed Question…

     

    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.

     

    Courses Taught
    SOC 100  Introduction to Sociology
    OC 281  Socio-Cultural Theory
    CJUS/SOC 485  Capstone
    Other courses offered on a rotational basis

     

    Research Interests/Areas of Expertise

    Popular culture

    New media research methods

    Online phenomena

    Race/class/gender

    Social psychology, identity, narrative, and deviance

    Ph.D. History, University of California, Riverside, 1995
    M.A. History, University of California, Riverside, 1990
    B.A. Sonoma State University, 1983
     
    Dr. Ric Dias is a specialist in 20th-century U.S. history, concentrating on the American west. His primary interests…
    B.A. Pennsylvania State University
    M.A. University of Delaware
    Ph.D. University of Delaware
     
     
    Courses Taught
    HIST 151  US History I
    GEOG 210  World Regional Geography
    HIST 240  Introduction to Public History
    HIST 481  Material Culture Studies
    HIST 483  Museums and Archives
    HIST 480  Historical Methods and Historiography
     

    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…

    B.A. St. John's University
    M.A. University of Wyoming
    Ph.D Loyola University Chicago
     
    Professor Schaff specializes in the study of American political thought and institutions. He has published on the presidency and political thought of Abraham Lincoln, politics and literature, and politics and popular culture. He has been a department Chair, faculty athletic representitive, and Chair of the NSU Promotion and Tenure committee. In 2005 he received the Outstanding Faculty Award from NSU.
     
    Courses Taught
    POLS 100 American Government
    POLS 250 Introduction to International Relations
    POLS 432 The Presidency
    POLS 361 American Political Thought I
    POLS 362 American Political Thought II
    PHIL 270 Philosophy of Religion
     
    Select…

    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…