School of Social Sciences

The School of Social Sciences at AUPP houses the General Education and International Relations and Diplomacy programs. The General Education program is the foundation of all the degrees offered at AUPP. The GE program enables students in all majors to experience interdisciplinary American style education by exposing them to a variety of subjects, and enabling them in their first years of study to acquire the necessary academic skills to succeed in their respective programs. The integration of the GE program into majors is achieved through a series of goals and learning objectives listed below:

Students will develop the ability to think critically and creatively.

  1. Clearly and accurately summarize and evaluate the facts, presumptions, viewpoints, values, and arguments presented in a text or creative work.
  2. Gather and assess relevant information and apply appropriate cognitive methods to solve problems or answer questions raised in a text or creative work.
  3. Construct well-reasoned solutions or conclusions; test and defend conclusions against relevant criteria and standards.
  4. Critically analyze one’s own thinking by identifying presumptions, values and viewpoints as well as problems, inconsistencies and unanswered questions.
  5. Conceive and defend alternative hypotheses and viewpoints; offer and explain reasons for provisionally rejecting or accepting them.

Students will acquire proficiency in written communication.

  1. Compose grammatical sentences.
  2. Use various sentence forms to effectively modulate style and tone.
  3. Compose a sequence of paragraphs that develop a point.
  4. Summarize, quote, and respond to reliable texts to support and develop claims; apply relevant standards for citation.
  5. Write an effective argumentative essay.
  6. Respond to writing assignments using appropriate style, structure, and voice.
  7. Apply editing, proofreading, and revising strategies.

Students will develop an awareness and understanding of global issues and ethical action in a global context.

  1. Provide and understand information on subjects in different disciplines in English.
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of the intellectual, social, political, economic, or cultural practices of several cultures other than their own.
  3. Demonstrate an understanding of the meaning of ethical conduct in a variety of global contexts, and exhibit a personal adherence to ethical comportment in academic and interpersonal relationships.

Students will develop an awareness of social responsibility in both global and domestic contexts.

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of social issues both locally and globally.
  2. Exhibit the capacity to analyze social issues and respond in a responsible and ethical manner through speaking, writing, or direct action.
  3. Develop an awareness of one’s social responsibilities locally and as a global citizen, and demonstrate the ability to think critically and creatively about how both individuals and institutions can address those responsibilities.

Students will apply qualitative, quantitative, and/or analytical reasoning.

  1. Read with comprehension and critically interpret written work in discipline-specific contexts.
  2. Critically interpret and analyze aesthetic qualities of works in literature and the fine or performing arts.
  3. Apply quantitative, inductive, and deductive reasoning.
  4. Apply abstract thinking and conceptual modeling.
  5. Apply scientific methods to investigate and analyze the natural world.
  6. Apply the methods of social science to ethically investigate and analyze human social behavior.
  7. Describe, comprehend, and analyze the role of philosophical ideas, historical movements, or ethical debates in the development of cultures and civilizations.
  8. Demonstrate an understanding of the concept of lifelong learning and its value to individuals and societies.

Students will acquire proficiency in oral communication.

  1. Demonstrate skill in oral communication for purposes such as informing, persuading, and/or defending.
  2. Compose and deliver effective, audience-appropriate oral presentations that develop and support a point; or participate in formal debates; or lead or participate in collaborative discussion of a question or a text.
  3. When appropriate, use visual, auditory, and/or technological aids. 

Students will develop skills essential to information literacy.

  1. Conduct research using the variety of information sources available to them.
  2. Demonstrate the ability to evaluate the relevance, reliability and utility of different sources.
  3. Integrate sources effectively and ethically through proper citation.

Students will develop the skills necessary to acquire technological competency.

  1. Demonstrate the ability to use general or discipline-specific technologies to identify, retrieve, analyze, and communicate ideas and information.
  2. Appreciate the rapidly evolving nature of technology and develop skills necessary to critically evaluate and use new and unfamiliar technologies.

Students will develop the ability to think critically and creatively.

  1. Clearly and accurately summarize and evaluate the facts, presumptions, viewpoints, values, and arguments presented in a text or creative work.
  2. Gather and assess relevant information and apply appropriate cognitive methods to solve problems or answer questions raised in a text or creative work.
  3. Construct well-reasoned solutions or conclusions; test and defend conclusions against relevant criteria and standards.
  4. Critically analyze one’s own thinking by identifying presumptions, values and viewpoints as well as problems, inconsistencies and unanswered questions.
  5. Conceive and defend alternative hypotheses and viewpoints; offer and explain reasons for provisionally rejecting or accepting them.

Students will apply qualitative, quantitative, and/or analytical reasoning.

  1. Read with comprehension and critically interpret written work in discipline-specific contexts.
  2. Critically interpret and analyze aesthetic qualities of works in literature and the fine or performing arts.
  3. Apply quantitative, inductive, and deductive reasoning.
  4. Apply abstract thinking and conceptual modeling.
  5. Apply scientific methods to investigate and analyze the natural world.
  6. Apply the methods of social science to ethically investigate and analyze human social behavior.
  7. Describe, comprehend, and analyze the role of philosophical ideas, historical movements, or ethical debates in the development of cultures and civilizations.
  8. Demonstrate an understanding of the concept of lifelong learning and its value to individuals and societies.

Students will acquire proficiency in written communication.

  1. Compose grammatical sentences.
  2. Use various sentence forms to effectively modulate style and tone.
  3. Compose a sequence of paragraphs that develop a point.
  4. Summarize, quote, and respond to reliable texts to support and develop claims; apply relevant standards for citation.
  5. Write an effective argumentative essay.
  6. Respond to writing assignments using appropriate style, structure, and voice.
  7. Apply editing, proofreading, and revising strategies.

Students will acquire proficiency in oral communication.

  1. Demonstrate skill in oral communication for purposes such as informing, persuading, and/or defending.
  2. Compose and deliver effective, audience-appropriate oral presentations that develop and support a point; or participate in formal debates; or lead or participate in collaborative discussion of a question or a text.
  3. When appropriate, use visual, auditory, and/or technological aids. 

Students will develop an awareness and understanding of global issues and ethical action in a global context.

  1. Provide and understand information on subjects in different disciplines in English.
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of the intellectual, social, political, economic, or cultural practices of several cultures other than their own.
  3. Demonstrate an understanding of the meaning of ethical conduct in a variety of global contexts, and exhibit a personal adherence to ethical comportment in academic and interpersonal relationships.

Students will develop skills essential to information literacy.

  1. Conduct research using the variety of information sources available to them.
  2. Demonstrate the ability to evaluate the relevance, reliability and utility of different sources.
  3. Integrate sources effectively and ethically through proper citation.

Students will develop an awareness of social responsibility in both global and domestic contexts.

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of social issues both locally and globally.
  2. Exhibit the capacity to analyze social issues and respond in a responsible and ethical manner through speaking, writing, or direct action.
  3. Develop an awareness of one’s social responsibilities locally and as a global citizen, and demonstrate the ability to think critically and creatively about how both individuals and institutions can address those responsibilities.

Students will develop the skills necessary to acquire technological competency.

  1. Demonstrate the ability to use general or discipline-specific technologies to identify, retrieve, analyze, and communicate ideas and information.
  2. Appreciate the rapidly evolving nature of technology and develop skills necessary to critically evaluate and use new and unfamiliar technologies.
General Education
International Relations and Diplomacy/Political Science

School of Social Sciences

Contact Us

April 3, 2024

Global Affairs Alumni Speaker series, Dr. Limeng Ong

March 21, 2024

AUPP Global Affairs Students on a Field Trip to Ho Chi Minh City

February 15, 2024

Foreign Policy Speakers Series with H.E. Liurka Rodríguez Barrios, Cuba’s Ambassador to Cambodia

February 15, 2024

AUPP Alumni Speaker Series – Seng Rothsethamony

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