Undergraduate

Social Science and Humanities Theme Requirements

All McCormick degrees require seven courses in the Social Sciences and Humanities. Because some of these courses must be thematically related, this requirement is often called the Theme.

View Theme Frequently Asked Questions

How to Fulfill the Requirements

• Fill out the online theme form that is available in the McCormick Advising System (MAS)
• Choose seven courses total from two categories - Social & Behavioral Sciences and Humanities (see table below). Nearly all courses from the departments and programs listed in each category will count, but there are a list of disallowed courses from those departments and a list of allowed course from other departments (see tables below).
• A maximum of five courses may be chosen from a single category
• Indicate courses that are thematically related (minimum of three, up to all seven)
• Create a title for their theme and describe it in a brief narrative
• No more than three 100-level courses
  • Exception: up to four 100-level courses if three are foreign language
• Additional Allowances
  • Weinberg first-year seminar courses (via petition; primarily for students who transfer in from Weinberg)
  • Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses are allowed. See theAP/IB table.
  • Half-unit (1/2) and one-third (1/3) unit courses are automatically combined
  • Courses used to fulfill other McCormick requirements may not also be used to fulfill this requirement (for example, COMM_ST 102 if it is being used for the Communications/Speech requirement)

(You may need to scroll down and look for the down arrow to see the table.)

TABLE 1: Approved Departments and Programs by Category

Social & Behavioral Sciences

Humanities

ANTHRO – Anthropology CFS  - Chicago Field Studies COG_SCI – Cognitive Science COMM_ST – Communication Studies CSD – Communication Sciences & Disorders ECON - Economics ENVR_POL – Environmental Policy & Culture GBL_HLTH – Global Health GNDR_ST – Gender Studies HDC – Human Development in Context IMC – Integrated Marketing Communications INTL_ST – International Studies LEGAL_ST – Center for Legal Studies LING - Linguistics LRDSHP - Leadership LOC – Learning & Organizational Change POLI_SCI – Political Science PSYCH - Psychology SESP – School of Education & Social Policy SOC_POL – Social Policy SOCIOL - Sociology

AF_AM_ST – African American Studies AFST – African Studies AMER_ST – American Studies ARABIC – Arabic ART – Art Theory & Practice ART_HIST – Art History ASIAN_AM – Asian American Studies ASIAN_LC – Asian Languages & Cultures BLK_ST - Black Studies CHINESE - Chinese CLASSICS - Classics - Readings in English COMP_LIT – Comparative Literary Studies CONDUCT - Conducting DANCE - Theatre ENGLISH - English FRENCH – French & Italian GEN_MUS – General Music  GERMAN - German GREEK - Greek HEBREW - Hebrew HIND_URD - Hindi and Urdu HISTORY - History HUM – Humanities ITALIAN - Italian JAPANESE - Japanese JOUR - Journalism JWSH_ST – Jewish Studies JAZZ_ST - Jazz Studies KOREAN - Korean LATIN - Latin LATIN_AM - Latin American and Caribbean Studies LATINO – Latina & Latino Studies MENA - Middle East & North African Studies MUS_COMP – Music Studies MUS_TECH - Music Technology MUS_THRY - Music Theory MUSIC – Music MUSIC_ED - Music Education MUSICOL - Musicology PERF_ST – Performance Studies PERSIAN - Persian PHIL - Philosophy PIANO - Piano POLISH - Polish PORT – Portuguese RELIGION – Religious Studies RTVF – Radio/Television/Film RUSSIAN - Rusian SLAVIC – Slavic Languages & Literatures SPANISH - Spanish  STRINGS - String Instruments SWAHILI – Swahili THEATRE - Theatre TURKISH - Turkish VOICE - Voice and Opera WIND_PER - Wind & Percussion YIDDISH – Jewish Studies

TABLE 2: Specific courses allowed and NOT allowed to be used for the Theme

Courses Allowed

Courses NOT Allowed

BUS_INST 303 - Social Sciences GEOG 1xx - Social Sciences GEOG 240 - Social Sciences GEOG 312 - Social Sciences GEOG 313 - Social Sciences GEOG 328 - Social Sciences MMSS 211-1 – Social Sciences MMSS 211-3 – Social Sciences MMSS 311-2 – Social Sciences NAV_SCI 120 – Social Sciences NAV_SCI 230 – Social Sciences NAV_SCI 341 – Social Sciences PRDV 325 – Petition category via MAS Theme submission portal PRDV 335-1 – Petition category via MAS Theme submission portal PRDV 335-2 – Petition category via MAS Theme submission portal PRDV 345 – Petition category via MAS Theme submission portal TEACH_ED 329 – Social Sciences TRANS 310 – Social Sciences

BUS_INST – Business Institutions Program (except BUS_INST 303 Leadership in Orgs.) COG_SCI 210 COMM_ST 350 COMM_ST 351 COMM_ST 352 CSD 202 CSD 303 ECON 281 ECON 380-1 ECON 380-2 ECON 381-1 ECON 381-2 ENGLISH 106-1, 2 GEOG 211 GEOG 235 GEOG 341 GEOG 343 GEOG 399 Kellogg Courses LING 334 PSYCH 201 PSYCH 212 PSYCH 221 PSYCH 327

How to Choose Your Theme

As you consider picking a focus for your theme, think about which subjects interest you beyond engineering:

• Do you enjoy reading literature, pondering philosophy, painting, or playing a musical instrument?
• Do you like learning about other religions or studying psychology?
• Are there ways that speaking a foreign language or developing your knowledge of economics could further your professional or personal goals?

These are just a few potential starting points for your theme. Each department listed in the table has a website with descriptions of courses. Explore departments that sound interesting to find specific courses.

If you're still unsure if your theme might be approved, follow the acronym “S.T.A.R.”:

• Succinct Title: You have a concise focus to your theme, as indicated in the title.
• Thematically Related: The focus courses clearly and directly connect in this area of concentration.
• Approved Courses: All of your courses listed are from approved departments.
• Remaining Courses: You fulfill the rest of the categorical requirements.

When to Declare Your Theme

By the end of your sophomore year, complete the Social Science/ Humanities using the online portal in MAS. Look for a the option on your dashboard in MAS. 

You will receive an email indicating whether their theme has been approved.

• If it is approved, this will be indicated in MAS and the courses will appear in your audit.
• If it is denied, you will receive an email with suggestions for revisions.