Career Opportunities

Social and behavioral science majors bring to the job market strong critical thinking, analytic, and problem-solving abilities; good human relations skills; and confidence in their ability to learn and grow in new work situations. These are the very competencies most organizations say they seek in graduates. Graduates enter careers in a wide variety of fields, including law, social work, economics and financial analysis, urban and regional planning, public policy, landscape architecture, sustainable community development, marketing, education, nonprofit administration, international relations, public relations, television and radio broadcasting, journalism, and advertising. Our biggest destination, currently, is the tech sector where we have graduates working in various capacities for tech giants like Amazon, Facebook, Dell, and IBM, just to name a few.

Career and Professional Development Advising

As part of SBS Pathways, students begin their career and professional development early in their undergraduate experience in order to ensure the integration of their total university experience and a successful transition from school to work or to further study. The SBS Center for Career & Professional Development (part of the SBS Pathways Center) provides programs and assistance to College of Social and Behavioral Sciences students for career and professional development.

Staff are available to help students make intelligent, well-informed professional development and career choices, and to provide undergraduates with opportunities to obtain experience through shadowing alumni in their jobs, internships, cooperative education, and service-learning programs. We have strong and dedicated alumni in SBS who make a variety of opportunities available to SBS majors, and they are an integral part of our programming.

For further information on SBS Pathways career and professional development services, please consult the college's website at sbspathways.umass.edu/channels/career/.