Understanding social behavior can improve one’s personal and professional life

Scholarships and Professional Opportunities

Social Sciences Endowed Scholarship
The department awards an endowed scholarship to an outstanding junior majoring in one of our programs.  The scholarship applies to tuition in their senior year.

• Internships at The Washington Center
• Collegiate Social Sciences Review
• Practicum Locations
  Students fulfill their practicum requirements at locations that are relevant to their career goals.  Prior placements have included:
  • Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office
  • Allegheny County Police Department
  • Alliance for Police Accountability
  • Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall (Civil War Room/ESPY Post)
  • Beaver County Historical Research and Landmarks Foundation
  • Congressional Office of Representative Guy Reschenthaler
  • Coraopolis Community Development Corporation
  • Dauphin County Criminal Investigation Division
  • Focus on Renewal
  • Homeland Security Investigations
  • National Air and Space Museum-Garger Facility
  • Office of the Honorable Judge Daniel D. Regan, Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas
  • Office of PA Senator Pam Iovino
  • Old Economy Village
  • Peace Corps in Washington, DC
  • Pittsburgh Bureau of Police
  • Republican Committee of Allegheny County
  • Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum
  • Winklosky Law
• RMU Scholarship Information

Student Organizations

• Economics Club at RMU
  The Economics Club provides opportunities for students to interact with economists, business leaders, policy makers and alumni through networking events and career development activities.

• History Club at RMU
  The History Club offers RMU students fun and educational opportunities to experience history beyond the classroom. Each spring the club sponsors its annual trip, allowing members to gain a first person perspective into history by walking the ground where key events occurred, viewing and interpreting historical artifacts, and interacting with public history professionals at historical sites, museums, battlefields, and other organizations. The History Club meets monthly and is open to any Robert Morris University student interested in history. All majors are welcome. In addition to the annual spring trip, club activities include discussion and debate of historic topics, day trips to local historic sites, social functions, fundraisers, and sponsorship of historic activities on campus, including the History Film Series.

• Pi Gamma Mu
  Pi Gamma Mu is the oldest and preeminent interdisciplinary social science honor society.  Its mission is to encourage and promote excellence in the Social Sciences and to uphold and nurture scholarship, leadership, and service.

• Political Science Club
  The political science club invites students of all backgrounds and majors. The club focuses on intelligent conversations around contemporary politics. The club often sponsors speakers and campus wide debates.

Meet the Faculty

• Meet the Faculty
  The School of Education and Social Sciences faculty is a team of dedicated teacher-scholars, award-winning artists, practitioners, and academics who are committed to your long-term success.

Annual Teaching Economics Conference

• Annual Teaching Economics Conference

Our Graduates Work at

• Jaclyn Aldworth, Director of Recruitment at Drexel University School of Education

• Brian Ashton, Interface Analyst at UPMC

• Josh Caskey, Operations Manager, Delivery Operations at Amazon Logistics

• Julie Miller, FBI Agent

• Jessica Olin, Instructional Designer at Wiley Education Services

• Ashleigh Presnar, District Director for a US Congressman

• Alison Ruckert, Information Resources and Services Supervisor at the Penn State Law Library

Meet Our Alumni

• “Definitely the professors, Dr. O'Roark, Dr. Lu, and Dr. Yang exuded passion for the subject and helped me grow as a student. I also thought the variety of courses was great. Public policy, Behavioral Econ and free market were my favorites.”

  Katherine Martin, B.A. in Economics, Class of 2021

• “By learning and being able to analyze and identify the problems of the past, you are able to identify and analyze problems of the present. This ability leads to success in everyday life and work. “

  Gabe Dachille, Project Manager for Fiserv, B.A. in History, Class of 2015

• “Diversity of topics. Neutral presentation of all facets of political science. Friendly and engaging professors.”

  Jarrett Brown, B.A. in Political Science, Class of 2021

Advisory Board

 

• David Abbate, Homeland Security Investigations, Assistant Special Agent in Charge

• Brian Ashton, UPMC, Interface Analyst-Senior, CRENER and EPIC Interfaces

• Lawrence Barger, CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), Principal, Manufacturing and Distribution

• Thomas Boss, Webco International, Senior Commercial Analyst

• Joshua Caskey, Amazon Logistics, Operations Manager, Delivery Operations

• Dennis Logan, Allegheny County District Attorney, Chief of Investigation

• Aaron Lotis, Social Security Administration, District Manager

• Shawn P. Reed, Coraopolis, Mayor

• Devlin Robinson, Pennsylvania Senate, Senator

• Soo Song, United States Attorney’s Office/Western District of Pennsylvania, Head of 

  National Security, Assistant U.S. Attorney

• Benjamin Stahl, Veteran’s Leadership Program, Chief Executive Officer

• Daniel Taylor, African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania, 

  Executive Vice President

Contact

Heather Pinson, Ph.D.
Interim Department Head of Social Sciences
pinson@rmu.edu
412-397-6463 phone
412-397-6468 fax
Wheatley Center 215

Minor

• Political Science
  A minor in political science introduces students to the political world, government, global affairs, current events and the ongoings of political behavior.