About Us

Outside the Classroom

Community-Engaged Learning
Our students engage with our community in many ways, such as observing juvenile and adult court, meeting with urban planners to explore environmentally sustainable city projects, volunteering at homeless shelters, interviewing and writing life histories to create an online archive of cancer survivors' stories, learning about religion in diverse communities, interviewing people experiencing housing insecurity and service providers and creating an oral history archive of the Drake Neighborhood.

Global Citizenship
Anthropology and Sociology majors have worked with local refugee and immigrant communities, engaged in short-term programs or semesters abroad in countries such as Spain and Thailand, and have earned prestigious Fulbright scholarships.

Homeward Iowa
Sociology students and faculty have collaborated with this nonprofit organization to compile a comprehensive study on homelessness in the Des Moines metro area.

Internships
Internship opportunities include placements at law offices, social service agencies, probation offices, mental health treatment centers, homeless shelters, domestic violence centers, and human resources offices. ANSO and SOC students have completed internships at organizations such as the Iowa Archeological Society, Orchard Place, Creative Visions, The Harkin Center, Lutheran Social Services, and the Salvation Army.

Publications and Honors
Your work will stand out: our students have published in the Drake University Social Science Journal, won national recognition from the American Sociological Association’s Honors Program, awarded Presidents’ Student Leadership Award for community engagement, and earned other distinctions.

Student Organizations
Our majors attend and present in state, regional, and national academic associations Qualified students can join Lambda Alpha, a national collegiate anthropology honors society and m Alpha Kappa Delta, a national collegiate sociology honors society.