About Us
Faculty of Social & Community Sciences
The Faculty of Social & Community Sciences aims to help its students realize their intellectual potential, provide them with a wide-ranging and inspiring learning experience, and equip them with professional and academic tools that will serve them well in the job market or in their subsequent studies to earn graduate degrees. All the faculty's programs strive to advance and develop four main aspects:
Multidisciplinary Approach
The Faculty of Social & Community Sciences and its programs introduce students to a variety of academic and professional areas, presenting both a broad view and focused majors. For example, the nursing program endows nurses with a broad vision and multidisciplinary knowledge in life sciences, medicine, behavioral sciences, social sciences, and management. The master’s degree program in immigration and social integration also is multidisciplinary in that it grants students knowledge drawn from economics, sociology, psychology, demography, and criminology that is relevant to immigration in Israel and around the globe. The social work program incorporates knowledge from psychology, law, ethics, and public policy. The undergraduate program in behavioral sciences is built on psychology, sociology, and anthropology studies; this department’s alumni enter the job market prepared to immediately take on a variety of positions in business organizations and nonprofits or to continue onward to master’s degree studies in psychology, sociology, anthropology, labor studies, criminology, art therapy, social work, and other areas without needing to complete any preparatory courses to specialize in these academic fields.
Sensitivity and Social Involvement
Students at the Faculty of Social & Community Sciences are actively involved in the community, with academic guidance, on a much wider scale than students at other Israeli academic institutions. For example, the students of the Department of Behavioral Sciences volunteer in a community framework for about two hours a week as part of the requirements for the Field Experience course taken during the second year of studies, and perform about four hours of volunteer work a week to fulfill the requirements for their practicum in the third year. In addition to the academic credits they receive from these courses, students also enjoy the opportunity to gain direct, unmediated experience addressing complex social issues in Israeli society. This experience enables them to develop their social insight and sensitivity. It also familiarizes students with what work in various positions actually entails and helps them develop contacts that will be important to their career in the future.
Every year, the Ruppin Academic Center recognizes selected students who demonstrate excellence in the social arena, alongside academic excellence, awarding them certificates of commendation and scholarships in appreciation of their activities. These students reflect the values and vision of the Faculty of Social & Community Sciences: combining academic excellence with social involvement and sensitivity.
Academic Distinction
The high quality of the faculty recently received recognition from the Israeli Council for Higher Education, which approved its request to open two new master’s degree programs in clinical psychology and clinical gerontology psychology. These prestigious programs combine academic studies at an extremely high level with practical training. They are distinguished by the fact that they emphasize broad training alongside social sensitivity by introducing students to the cultural aspects of psychological diagnosis and treatment.
In addition, the Faculty of Social Sciences and Community’s conferences and seminars, which are open to students and the public, host lecturers on the cutting-edge of academic research and activity. For example, experts at the forefront of research on suicide and mental pain from Israel and abroad participate each year in the annual conference on “Understanding in order to Prevent”, which Prof. Yossi Levi-Belz leads.
Academic Research
The faculty’s faculty is composed of researchers who publish their findings in international academic journals and books published by academic presses. Upon the establishment of the Institute for Immigration and Social Integration at the Ruppin Academic Center in 2005, this topic became a focal point of research and teaching at Ruppin. The faculty members of the Faculty of Social & Community Sciences are performing fascinating research that touches on aliyah and immigration. As a result, the students are introduced to distinctive content and receive a genuine opportunity to gain research experience in the field.
The Study of Aging in Ruppin:
MA in Clinical Psychology of Adulthood and Aging
The program is designed to be completed in two academic years consisting of four semesters. This entails 4-5 days of studies each week: two days at the Ruppin Academic Center plus clinical work at a practicum center.
Goals of the program:
- To provide in-depth academic knowledge and a variety of innovative therapeutic tools to treat older adults.
- To make the study of old age and the treatment of the aged humane, professional, and broad-minded—to raise public awareness and decrease ageism.
Teaching a Practicum course for BA students – Clinical practicum for treatment of older adults. This course is aimed at widening the view and perceptions of students on aging.
Research:
We conduct ongoing research on psychological aspects of aging:
Dr. Sharon Avidor- trauma (holocaust trauma), subjective age and ageism.
Dr. Kfir Ifrah- psychological flexibility and meaning in life in minority populations (such as LGBT).
Dr. Daniela Aisenberg-Shafran- cognitive changes, healthy aging.
Our research also involved supervising MA students in their Master research work.
Practice:
Providing instruction for practitioners in Israel.
Managing and operating a Hackathon for the aged tracing and solving problems through an interdisciplinary approach.
Founding the first Israeli academic community-based counseling and treatment center for the aged and their families.
