Division of Humanities and Social Sciences: Goals & Objectives
The Division of Humanities and Social Sciences provides introductory and advanced instruction in all areas of the human sciences, with undergraduate programs of distinction in English and New Media, Political Science & International Relations, and Psychology, minors in select fields, and special certificate programs in Hellenic Studies and in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Its goal is to provide a dynamic contemporary student-centered education and contribute meaningfully through academic instruction, research, and professional outreach in the relevant fields. The programs offered by the Division are particularly strong in communication practice, modern literature, and language teaching methodology, the main concepts, methods and debates in psychology, American and EU politics, history, international law and organizations, gender, globalization and cultural studies.
Our Mission
The principal mission of the Division is to assist students to master and integrate different modes of knowledge and experience in order to communicate, solve problems, resolve conflict, and express ideas creatively and professionally in a variety of settings. In addition, the Division aspires to challenge its youth to cultivate personal integrity and respect for diverse values.
Division alumni have been admitted for post-graduate studies, often as scholarship recipients, in the most prestigious universities in Europe and North America, including Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, St Andrew’s, King’s, HEI Geneva, the College of Europe, Johns Hopkins SAIS, Georgetown, the Fletcher School, Columbia, and the University of Texas at Austin, while some of our American alumni have gone on to law school after studying at ACT. Many have worked or are now working in ministries of foreign affairs and other public entities, in media companies and language schools, leading international NGOs, colleges and universities of repute, and MNCs worldwide.
The Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service
Launched in September 1999 as the Michael S. Dukakis Chair in Public Policy and Service, the Dukakis Center has the mission to expose youth to the pressing public affairs issues of our times, with a principal view toward inspiring young people to become involved in public service.
An integral function of the Dukakis Center is the Dukakis Seminar Series. Each semester ACT hosts prominent Greek and international public figures whose professional careers illustrate the Dukakis’ own commitment to public service. Dukakis lecturers have included Nicholas Burns, Monteagle Stearns, Mark Mazower, Thea Halo, Dušan Batakovic, Radmila Sekerenska, Edi Rama, Nadezhda Mihaylova, Alvaro de Soto, and Michael Dukakis himself.
The Center also hosts a series of larger events. In December 2012 the Center co-hosted the inaugural Business & Politics Forum on the theme “Business and Politics: Where do we Draw the Line?” featuring leading experts in the field of business, institutional economics, journalism, and public administration, while in July 2014 the Honorable Erhard Busek was the keynote speaker at a symposium dedicated to “The Future of Democracy in Europe and Beyond.”
Qualified students from all majors may have the opportunity to undertake a formal internship with the Dukakis Center.
Lucy Center for Balkan Studies
The Lucy Center for Balkan Studies was established in 2004 thanks to a generous donation from ACT friend and trustee, Elias Kulukundis, and named after his late wife Lucy. The Center was created to facilitate the formal study of Southeast European affairs, particularly for undergraduate study abroad students spending a semester or academic year at ACT. Students studying at the Center have the opportunity to do formal coursework in Balkan Studies, participate in study trips throughout the region, and, in select cases, undertake formal internships in regional organizations.
The Center for Balkan Studies also acts as a clearinghouse for information about the Balkans and the Aegean Basin, and as a forum for debate on regional issues. In particular, a lecture series has been established for discussion of such important topics as civil society, democratization, and European and transatlantic integration.
