Social science

[starlemon]

Just a brief understanding regarding social science.
Is social science link to humanity and literature?
Let say i study literature and humanity ,will i considered as doing social science.

i do come across the job prospect for studying social science.It is indeed many.
share ur view here.

[Sox4Dobby]

My perception is that the social sciences include subjects such as economics, politics, sociology, anthropology... those that are directly related to the workings of the society la.

Whereas humanities are about literature, philosophy, religion, languages etc, more artsy and more abstract than the social sciences.

I'm not sure about history though, to me it seems to be both a social science and a humanities subject.

[matchgirl]

My perception is that the social sciences include subjects such as economics, politics, sociology, anthropology... those that are directly related to the workings of the society la.

Whereas humanities are about literature, philosophy, religion, languages etc, more artsy and more abstract than the social sciences.

I'm not sure about history though, to me it seems to be both a social science and a humanities subject.

yes you are right...basically you study about everything related to "society" in social science...
for a clearer explanation, why dont you go to wikipedia and check yourself?

[Jeryliza]

Are there many prospects for social science graduates? My impression is that generally there aren't many job vacancies in Malaysia, with the exception of economics. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[matchgirl]

Are there many prospects for social science graduates? My impression is that generally there aren't many job vacancies in Malaysia, with the exception of economics. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

maybe...you can wor as administrators etc...

[ngai]

In overseas, a social science qualification from a good university has pretty good prospects. The important thing to note is that the career you may embark on may not be directly related to your degree. Eg, Economics for Economists, History for Lecturer, Political Science for Politician etc. Those are the typical stereotype mentality you get in Malaysia. If you can demonstrate that you are a top brain (even though you may be a geography graduate from Oxford), there will be plenty of investment banks who are eager to recruit you.

[starlemon]

Wat is the job prospect of a graduater of social science?
I heard that it is a very 'cold'profession. is that true?

[Leen]

^

Economics is a type of social science.
Sociology is a type of social science.
Philosophy is a type of social science.

Those majors are not terribly cold at all actually. Anything other than physical science are mostly social sciences. Anthropologists might not be needed so much in Malaysia but in other countries, they might be highly demanded. The thing is, Malaysia is concentrating too much on the science and math department right now that it sort of neglects the whole social science department. Until we are done with our physical sciences, we will have more rooms for social scientist to move about. It is totally understandable how Malaysia is more concerned about math and science while Italy and France might still want to add more historian and thinkers or even artists to their countries. =D They already have the science and math. So they do social sciences.

The prospect is not terrible at all. Once we are done with the technological stuff (which we will, I guess), we will have more rooms for social science.

[starlemon]

^

It is totally understandable how Malaysia is more concerned about math and science while Italy and France might still want to add more historian and thinkers or even artists to their countries. =D They already have the science and math. So they do social sciences.



so basically, social science deal with thinkers and historians?
I wonder In wat ways they contribute to our countries?

[Sillyboy]

so basically, social science deal with thinkers and historians?
I wonder In wat ways they contribute to our countries?

Oh! You will be surprised!! Nevertheless, I will not dwell further due to my limited knowledge. :)

[vseehua]

A lot...

Politics, arts, economics (this is the most important part i think). Without them, our country won't even run properly, let alone survive...so basically, social science deal with thinkers and historians?
I wonder In wat ways they contribute to our countries?

[JiaZheng]

I doubt philosophy is a social science. The social and natural sciences rely on empirical methods. The humanities are mostly abstract and notional. I believe the humanities are called so because they look at the human experience, and are derived from analyses and conjectures that come from within ourselves.

[starlemon]

just get a thorough info on social science...:P

Social Science / Humanities

INTRODUCTION
School leavers who are about to embark on a university degree in Social Science or Humanities more often than not, faced the dilemma of not knowing what job prospects they have on completion of the course. There are in fact, many doors open to them.

JOB DESCRIPTION
The following are some of the many career opportunities awaiting them.

(a) Economist
- Studies the efficient use of resources such as land, labour, raw materials and natural resources.
- Helps to formulate government policies.
- Finds ways to improve efficiency.
- Studies the effects of government spending and budget.
- Researches into issues e.g. types of goods produced and consumed and the effects of government policies on the country's economy.
- Forecasts economic trends and provides advice where needed.
- Advises on investments.
- Studies impact of projects on the environment.
- Studies labour movements and their effect on government policies.

(b) Psychologist
- Studies human behaviour and mental processes.
- Administers tests to identify and remedy problems.
- Counsels individuals with emotional problems.
- Studies psychological aspects of working conditions, study conditions and organisational structures.
- Evaluates intellectual and emotional states of individuals.
- Implements programmes to improve personal and organisational well-being.
- Can specialise as clinical psychologist, counselling psychologist, research psychologist, industrial psychologist, educational psychologist, development psychologist or experimental psychologist.

(c) Environmental Scientist
- Researches on the biological and physical nature of the environment.
- Finds ways to reduce negative effects of development and production processes on the environment.
- Helps to formulate policies on environment protection.
- Advises on waste management, waste treatment, recycling and disposal of radioactive or hazardous wastes.

(d) Social Scientist
- Studies all aspects of human society and behaviour e.g. beliefs of religious groups, distribution of goods and services, effectiveness of mass transport system etc.
- Does research to help business leaders, educationists and government officials in dealing with economic, social and environmental problems.

Can specialise in one of the following:
(i) Anthropologist
- Studies the origins and physical, social and cultural development and behaviour of human beings.
- Makes comparison of customs, values and social patterns of different people and different cultures.

(ii) Sociologist
- Analyses the structure, behaviour and development of groups such as families, neighbourhoods and organisations.

(iii) Political Scientist
- Studies how political systems work.

(iv) Archaeologist
- Studies evidences of past human life to determine the history, culture and living habits of earlier/pre-historic people.

(v) Urban Planner
- Suggests and develops plans on how to use land for industrial, commercial, residential or other purposes.

(e) Counsellor
- May work in different settings.
- Helps students choose their careers, write resumes and prepare for interviews.
- Works with individuals to improve or promote mental health.
- Helps individuals with problems like drug abuse, stress, job or career concerns, marital problems and other issues affecting mental and emotional health.
- Helps individuals adjust to their disabilities (rehabilitation counsellor).

(f) Curator
- Works in the museum, arranging, cataloguing and exhibiting items of value for educational purposes.
- Co-ordinates classes, lectures, tours and workshops for the public.
- Gives lectures and supplies information about exhibits.
- Conducts researches to prove authenticity of items collected.
- May also work in aquariums, botanical gardens, historical sites and zoos.

(g) Librarian
- Oversees collection and catalogues library materials.
- Develops information programmes for the public.
- Helps users find information, books, journals, magazines, maps, CD-ROMs and computerised on-line materials.
- Designs and implements reader education courses.
- Reads book reviews, catalogues etc. to keep up with current literature.
- Compiles lists of materials and recommends them to be acquired


hmm...seem that social science is great...:)

[alepbing]

well, from my understanding, the subjects mentioned can be considered as social science subjects.

but you should also know that for some (in this example economics), it is better to actually complete your degree in overseas. because universities in UK have taught different things than the economics in our local Us. you will also see that UK Us give their degree as "bachelor of science in econs" and malaysian Us give "bachelor of arts in econs" instead.

it is very common that big companies or conglomerates that are prestigious enough will hire people with Bachelor of science (BSc) because you will have more scientific lessons. not to bring down malaysian Us but since they give you bachelor of arts, it means you do not actually learn on the calculation methods and stuff unlike BSc. so if you take econs in local Us, usually you might end up being a teacher.

that is why you hear a lot of people graduated in political science and such from overseas.

do not get the wrong concept, social science subjects are not easier than applied science and medicine. for example economics (again!), in overseas, you will learn how to calculate the data/graph/table/blah blah, make predictions based on calculations and it is more to practical and theoretical rather than general.

starlemon, there are many contributions from people with social science graduates. they are not just limited to a total thinkers and historians. there are economists, lecturers and teachers (on certain subjects), consultants, administrator etc.

my conclusion is that do not look down to social science. it does not mean that if you do social science, you will not end up as good as people doing applied science. it is as prestigious. im a pure science students, and about more than half of my classmates want to social science subjects.

peace;)

[starlemon]

well, from my understanding, the subjects mentioned can be considered as social science subjects.

but you should also know that for some (in this example economics), it is better to actually complete your degree in overseas. because universities in UK have taught different things than the economics in our local Us. you will also see that UK Us give their degree as "bachelor of science in econs" and malaysian Us give "bachelor of arts in econs" instead.

it is very common that big companies or conglomerates that are prestigious enough will hire people with Bachelor of science (BSc) because you will have more scientific lessons. not to bring down malaysian Us but since they give you bachelor of arts, it means you do not actually learn on the calculation methods and stuff unlike BSc. so if you take econs in local Us, usually you might end up being a teacher.

that is why you hear a lot of people graduated in political science and such from overseas.

do not get the wrong concept, social science subjects are not easier than applied science and medicine. for example economics (again!), in overseas, you will learn how to calculate the data/graph/table/blah blah, make predictions based on calculations and it is more to practical and theoretical rather than general.

starlemon, there are many contributions from people with social science graduates. they are not just limited to a total thinkers and historians. there are economists, lecturers and teachers (on certain subjects), consultants, administrator etc.

my conclusion is that do not look down to social science. it does not mean that if you do social science, you will not end up as good as people doing applied science. it is as prestigious. im a pure science students, and about more than half of my classmates want to social science subjects.

peace;)

ok..i am not mean to look down on social science ,just that i feel that social science is indeed very contributable to our country(after reading ur post )..so btw, hmm...hw can one apply to study social science?
i am now torn down between the choices of either choosing bio or phy so that we can pursue social science in public uni ?u n ur fren who are studying pure science take bio?
wat did pure science means?

[alepbing]

ok..i am not mean to look down on social science ,just that i feel that social science is indeed very contributable to our country(after reading ur post )..so btw, hmm...hw can one apply to study social science?
i am now torn down between the choices of either choosing bio or phy so that we can pursue social science in public uni ?u n ur fren who are studying pure science take bio?
wat did pure science means?

no no, dont get me wrong. I wanst saying that you doubt and look down on social science. I'm just saying that social science is not something to regret about.

well, to apply for social science, usually for enterance into universities abroad require qualifications like A-lvl and australian matricualtion. like i said earlier, if you want to pursue tertiary education in malaysian universities, social science is not a good option. because malaysian universities give degrees in Bachelor of Arts.

to study bio or physics again must meet the requirements of the overseas Us that you want to get into. sometimes prestigious universities in UK like london school of economics and UCL require these kind of a-lvl subjects:
1. maths (it's kinda compulsory)
2. economics
3. further maths
4. subjects that can show your writing ability (this you have to refer to the colleges)
5. subjects that can show your calculating ability

yup, my class is pure science. we take all 3 science subjects. pure science is a term in school refering to people who take all 3 science subjects.

[wawa]

Physical sciences primarily deal with laws of nature and in understanding the world nature gave us. Social sciences try to make sense of the human society that is present this day (or in the past, if you're doing anthropology) and is equally important in making sense of the world. In a sense, they are complementary. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

[kintaro_kun]

whether you get BA or BSc doesnt really matter? its just the naming of the degree, whats important is the major you partake in. some unis call their psychology degree as "bachelor of psychology", some BSc (psychology), while some BA (psychology), the materials taken and classes attended are all the same, despite the difference in the name of the degree. many ppl have little understanding as to what the difference accounts for. some folks might think that a bachelor of psychology is "more psychology" than a BSc(psychology), and the BSc (psychology) is "more psychology" than a BA (psychology), which is....unwarranted. the difference in naming...is just a marketing ploy.

in fact, undergrad degrees in harvard only come at the forms of AB and SB (artium baccalaureus, and scientiae baccalaureus, respectively, the inverse pattern is tradition). what is solely science, will get the SB, and the arts and humanities, will be AB. there is no such thing as a BSc social science to be "better" than a BA social science.

[JiaZheng]

kintaro_kun, that depends on where you study. In the US, BA doesn't necessarily mean you majored in the arts. It most probably means you have a liberal arts degree, regardless of your major. Unless, of course, you do not attend a school with a liberal arts curriculum. In most European systems, BA really does mean you majored in an arts subject, and BSc a science subject. I do not know about other countries.

But IMO, you shouldn't be worried about the name of the degree.

[alepbing]

whether you get BA or BSc doesnt really matter? its just the naming of the degree, whats important is the major you partake in. some unis call their psychology degree as "bachelor of psychology", some BSc (psychology), while some BA (psychology), the materials taken and classes attended are all the same, despite the difference in the name of the degree. many ppl have little understanding as to what the difference accounts for. some folks might think that a bachelor of psychology is "more psychology" than a BSc(psychology), and the BSc (psychology) is "more psychology" than a BA (psychology), which is....unwarranted. the difference in naming...is just a marketing ploy.

in fact, undergrad degrees in harvard only come at the forms of AB and SB (artium baccalaureus, and scientiae baccalaureus, respectively, the inverse pattern is tradition). what is solely science, will get the SB, and the arts and humanities, will be AB. there is no such thing as a BSc social science to be "better" than a BA social science.

yes, the importance of BA or BSc does not imply in all type of degrees. However, some social science subjects, like economics, there are huge difference between BA and BSc in it. For instance, in Malaysian universities, they offer students studies on economics as quite general. It is some sort of economics you learn at school. But if it is BSc in Economics, you will learn things different from its BA counterpart. BSc in economics provide learning that relates mathematics/statistics more, and that is where the difference comes about. BSc graduates are literally analyse economics in more specific. BA grads however learn economics in general.

Companies prefer grads with BSc since they are more practical in the sense that their tertiary studies are more specific and not general. There are even different types of economics degree in BSc like:
Applied economics
economics
financial economics

In terms of work, the companies prefer BSc grads since they learnt about doing analysis by calculation (that is more scientific way), rather than general assumptions/predictions.

I do not know about other social science degrees, since I only did the research on economics.

The difference in psychology as you stated earlier, IMO, is due to the different education system. Malaysian edu is generally similar to the UK's. US has a total different education system. JiaZheng is right.