Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology

Many students are heavily involved in service to our community, and several courses incorporate service-learning components. Our students are active in a wide variety of local nonprofit organizations that specialize in health care, refugee and immigration assistance, and services for children and teens, among others.

At Christopher Newport, there are nearly limitless opportunities to enrich your classroom learning through study abroad. We’ve teamed with the Department of Communication to offer an enriching experience in Belgium, with a focus on food and culture and intercultural communication.

Research is a cornerstone of the Christopher Newport experience. Faculty in the Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology are actively engaged in compelling research projects in many areas, and often involve students. Research is a way to enrich classroom learning and gain sought-after skills for after graduation.

Our faculty and students are currently involved in the following research activities:

• Large-scale study of the Antietam National Battlefield site
• Needs assessment of the local Bhutanese refugee community
• Cultural geography landscape mapping of the legacy of slavery in Virginia
• Study of college student use of social media
• Ecological assessment of the Chesapeake Bay seafood industries
• And many more!

Internships are required of our criminology and social work students, but opportunities for engaging work outside class abound for all students. Interning is an excellent way to get to know prospective careers from the inside and gives you important real-world experience that looks great on a resume.

Our students have done rewarding internships here and abroad, with such organizations as:

• Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
• The FBI and CIA
• Police departments and courts
• American Red Cross
• National Center for the Prevention of Community Violence
• Montpelier Archaeological Field School
• And many more!

Our students are active in several student groups on campus:

• Black Student Union
• Criminology Club
• Human Experience Club
• Social Work Association

These groups were all founded by our students, and welcome new members with open arms.

Christopher Newport houses chapters of several national honor societies open to sociology, anthropology and social work students who excel in scholarship and achievement in their field.

• Alpha Kappa Delta
• Alpha Phi Sigma
• Lambda Alpha
• Phi Alpha

Honor societies offer speakers and other programming as well as opportunities for networking and mentorship with other students and practitioners.