The Department of Social Sciences at Michigan Technological University differs in important ways from the departments that offer social sciences courses in many other universities. The most obvious difference is the grouping of scholars from anthropology, archaeology, history, sociology, geography, political science, and science and technology studies within a single department. The other basic difference has been the efforts over the past twenty years to develop a faculty with a research orientation toward science and technology within society. Both of these patterns are a reflection of the engineering and science bent of Michigan Tech, a situation that also has helped shape the various missions to which this department is committed. First, faculty in this Department seek to broaden and enhance the education of undergraduate science and engineering students, whatever their major. The Department plays a central role in all facets of the General Education curriculum, from required first-year courses to upper-division classes that satisfy distribution requirements. Second, the Social Sciences Department offers several quality undergraduate, degree-granting programs in history and the social sciences, including social studies education and pre-law. Third, the Department sponsors two small but high-quality graduate programs in the fields of industrial history and archaeology and in environmental policy, with a focus upon land-use questions. In both programs, activities are guided by groups of faculty with national and international visibility. Finally, Social Sciences faculty are committed to high-standards of performance in teaching and in research. Individual members of the department are highly visible in national and international organizations in their fields as editors, elected officers, and board members, and play parts in various research organizations. Faculty here are involved in demonstrating how social science scholarship provides value and enhancements for scholarly projects pursued by colleagues in the sciences and engineering with related interests. A number of collaborative research projects are underway that involve close working relationships with technical and scientific faculty across the campus.