Welcome to the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (CBSS) at Georgia Southern University, one of 12 colleges across our institution. CBSS comprises six departments and schools: Criminal Justice and Criminology, Sociology and Anthropology, Public and Nonprofit Studies, Psychology, the School of Human Ecology and Political Science and International Studies. Together, these units offer 11 undergraduate degrees and five graduate degrees, including the Doctor of Psychology, with executive-track options in criminal justice and public administration for working professionals.
A list of departments does not capture what makes CBSS distinctive. Our award-winning teachers deliver many of the Core IMPACTS courses most Georgia Southern students complete early in their academic careers, including American Government, Introduction to Psychology and Recreation and Leisure in Society, making CBSS the entry point through which nearly every Eagle first encounters the study of human behavior, society and civic life.
CBSS is also a vibrant research college, home to internationally renowned scholars. Faculty pursue applied, high-impact scholarship across clinical and cognitive psychology, criminal justice policy, sociology and anthropology, nonprofit and public leadership, international affairs and human ecology fields such as human development, interior architecture, and fashion merchandising. Much of this work is supported by extramural, grant-funded research, with growing opportunities for students to work alongside faculty as genuine research partners. This cross-disciplinary strength positions CBSS as a natural leader among Georgia Southern’s Interdisciplinary Clusters of University Excellence (ICUEs).
That scholarship does not stay in the classroom. Georgia Southern holds the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, awarded in recognition of the university’s commitment to civic engagement and real-world learning, and CBSS carries much of that commitment forward. Our Institute for Vibrant and Engaged Communities (IVEC) partners with government and nonprofit organizations across the region through applied, community-based research that builds more resilient, vibrant places to live. Alongside IVEC, our Psychology Clinic, Child Development Center, and Regents Center for Learning Disorders extend that commitment to families through low-cost mental health services, a lab school for young children and learning-disorder evaluations across the University System of Georgia.
I am honored to lead CBSS at a moment when our teaching distinction, high-producing research, and commitment to community all point in the same direction. As Georgia Southern soars toward Carnegie R1 research status, CBSS embodies the university’s Access-Excellence Mission: access through teaching, excellence through research. I invite you to learn more about our programs, our scholarship and the many ways CBSS leads across our campuses and region.
Trent J. Davis, Ph.D.
Interim Dean and Professor of Public Administration
College of Behavioral and Social Sciences
tjdavis@georgiasouthern.edu
Administrative Team
Dr. Brenda Sims Blackwell, Senior Associate Dean
bblackwell@georgiasouthern.edu
912-478-0202
Dr. John R. Kraft, Associate Dean
jkraft@georgiasouthern.edu
912-344-3100
Dr. Dina Walker-DeVose, Assistant Dean
dwalkerdevose@georgiasouthern.edu
912-478-5088
Dr. Courtney Joiner, Assistant Dean
cjoiner@georgiasouthern.edu
912-478-8641
Kasey Berecz, Executive Assistant II
kberecz@georgiasouthern.edu
912-478-8641
Stacey Holloway, Administrative Assistant III
sholloway@georgiasouthern.edu
912-478-8641
Tina Parker, Administrative Assistant II
tparker@georgiasouthern.edu
912-478-8641
Tajae Francis, Director of Development
tfrancis@georgiasouthern.edu
912-344-2870