Online grad students might learn about government relations, media communications, emergency management, corporate and social responsibility, information dissemination and strategic communications. Public Affairs professionals aim to influence public policy, create and sustain a strong reputation and find common ground with members of their community.
Social Science is defined as the scientific study of human society and social relationships. Essentially, the social sciences and humanities range from economics to political science and sociology. There is some overlap with the behavioral sciences that analyze and investigate human and animal behavior through controlled and natural observation methods. Psychology, social neuroscience and cognitive science are considered behavioral sciences.
Distance-learning might appeal to you if you have to balance a current job with earning advanced qualifications, or live too far geographically from an accredited graduate school. While not all Online Public Affairs and
Social Sciences Graduate Programs are the same, some of the features might include:
Asynchronous learning: This means that the courses are pre-recorded (MP3 or video) and you can access them remotely at your convenience.
Synchronous learning: This involves watching live webinars for instance, where you can ask questions in real-time even though you are not in the physical classroom.
Virtual libraries: Research online. Many publications and books are available as e-books so you are able to study on your computer and through the use of web-based publications and resources.
Communicate: This is done through email, web chat, computer camera, texts, online group discussion boards.
100% online: Means your courses are delivered via course management system and may be interactive but you don’t have any campus requirements
Partially Online: May mean you have some onsite requirements, whether as campus courses, intensives, fieldwork, team-building, or other not-fully-in-front-of –the-computer protocol.
What Should I look for in an Online Program?
Apart from knowing the vocabulary, what you want to look for in an Online Public Affairs and Social Sciences grad program is not so different from a campus program. In other words, keep your standards. Your transcript may not show how you earned your degree, but it should still be from a reputed source. Consider:
Accreditation: Still important. Especially when it comes to licensure for some of the Behavioral Sciences disciplines (Social work and psychology for instance). Check with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in general, but also, get specific. The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) for instance or NASPAA for public service, public affairs, public administration programs
Support: E learners are students too, and you may need tech support, career counseling or other services that your friends on campus have access to, so try to get a picture of what this could look like by doing your own homework.
Types of Online Grad Degrees in Public Affairs and Social Sciences
Public Affairs and Social Sciences include the Behavioral Sciences such as Psychology and Social Work. Each of these fields offers ample choice for students to consider for their graduate education, whether they are interested in understanding a culture, a person, or a community.
Looking for a specific level of online degree programs available in public affairs & social sciences? Click your subject from the extensive directory, then look for the ‘online’ setting to review listings in Masters, Doctorates or Graduate Certificates.
Some of your choices? Listings for online masters programs in Public Affairs and Social Sciences might include Online Master of Science in Mediation & Applied Conflict Studies, Online M.Ed. in Autism with Applied Behavior Analysis, Online Master of Arts –Leadership, Public Policy and Social Issues.
At the online doctorate level, review choices such s PsyD/Doctor of Psychology, PhD in Social Work-Disaster Crisis and Intervention, and Doctor of Psychology-Non-Profit Management to list a few.
To potentially boost your credentials and job prospects in a given industry, check out online graduate certificates such as Online Graduate Certificate in Advanced International Affairs-Defense Policy and Military Affairs or Online Behavioral Intervention Specialist (LBS11) and many others.
Take the Next Step
If all that is preventing you from exploring graduate degrees in social sciences and public affairs is that you cannot commit to the campus schedule, spend some time looking into online programs. Online Public Affairs and Social Sciences Graduate Programs may provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to take your career to the next level but without the commute time. Sound perfect? Initiate a search today!
Sources: accreditation.naspaa.org | chea.org/public_info/index.asp | cswe.org en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_science | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioural_sciences
