---
title: "Social studies"
chunk: 1/3
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_studies"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:58:44.656804+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

In many countries' curricula, social studies is the combined study of humanities, the arts, and social sciences, mainly including history, economics, and civics. The term was coined by American educators around the turn of the twentieth century as a catch-all for these subjects, as well as others which did not fit into the models of lower education in the United States such as philosophy and psychology. One of the purposes of social studies, particularly at the level of higher education, is to integrate several disciplines, with their unique methodologies and special focuses of concentration, into a coherent field of subject areas that communicate with each other by sharing different academic "tools" and perspectives for deeper analysis of social problems and issues. Social studies aims to train students for informed, responsible participation in a diverse democratic society. It provides the necessary background knowledge in order to develop values and reasoned opinions, and the objective of the field is civic competence. A related term is humanities, arts, and social sciences, abbreviated HASS.

== Branches of social studies ==
Social studies is not a subject unto itself; instead, it functions as a field of study that incorporates many different subjects. It primarily includes the subjects of history, economics, and civics. Through all of that, the elements of geography, sociology, ethics, psychology, philosophy, anthropology, art and literature are incorporated into the subject field itself. The field of study itself focuses on human beings and their respective relationships. With that, many of these subjects include some form of social utility that is beneficial to the subject field itself. The whole field is rarely taught; typically, a few subjects combined are taught. Recognition of the field has, arguably, lessened the significance of history, with the exception of U.S. History. Initially, only History and Civics were significant parts of the high school curriculum; eventually, Economics became a significant part of the high school curriculum, as well. While History and Civics were already established, the significance of Economics in the high school curriculum is more recent. History and Civics are similar in many ways, though they differ in class activity. There was some division between scholars on the topic of merging the subjects, though it was agreed that presenting a full picture of the world to students was extremely important.

=== College level ===
Social studies as a college major or concentration remains uncommon, although such a degree is offered at Harvard University. Harvard first introduced social studies as a formal field of study in 1960, through the work of a committee led by Stanley Hoffman, and today known as the Committee on Degrees in Social Studies. Those that concentrated in social studies during their time at Harvard include Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello (1986), hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and theater director Diana Paulus (both in 1988), as well as journalist Sewell Chan (1998).  

== Australia ==
Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) is taught in Australian schools and divided into 4 categories: history, civics and citizenship, economics and geography. Human Society and Its Environment (HSIE) is a similar term  used in the education system of the Australian state of New South Wales.