Dean’s Letter
Faculty of Social & Community Sciences
Welcome to the website of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Community at the Ruppin Academic Center. The faculty focuses on knowledge: through teaching, research and development, evaluation, and application to serving the community. We are interested in the human and his family, the society in which we live, the community, and mutual relations between people. I invite you to enter the pages of the faculty’s different units and learn about our academic programs, faculty members and their research and teaching, and activities to benefit our society and community that our students and faculty are involved in. The faculty puts the Ruppin Academic Center’s goals into practice regarding involvement in and contribution to Ruppin’s geographic and social community as well as society in general.
The faculty devotes much attention to teaching and feels a strong sense of obligation to students. It is not by chance that the Ruppin Academic Center ranks first with regard to student satisfaction among the public colleges in Israel. Our lecturers are aware of the many rapid changes occurring in the world of knowledge and try, via the different academic programs, to equip students with a set of tools to cope with these changes and relate to existing knowledge with a critical, creative approach, while constantly probing opportunities to apply it in the society in which we live.
The academic faculty is very active in research, that is, creating and evaluating knowledge in different fields of human behavior as well as in physical and mental health and social services. The research fields touch on psychology, sociology, and anthropology, health and nursing services, social services, social policy, and different social trends related to immigration and social integration.
The faculty’s population – students, researchers, lecturers, and administrative staff members of the various departments – includes over 1,000 individuals. All of us are active, in our own field and in accordance with our own position and goals, in creating and maintaining a place where it is pleasant to study, learn, research, and work.
The faculty has seven academic programs, three for undergraduate degrees and four for master’s degrees. Some programs touch on scientific disciplines and others focus on academic-professional training.
The Department of Behavioral Sciences offers the most veteran undergraduate program. This program has two tracks, one in psychology and one in sociology and anthropology. The department’s Alonim Honors Program is designed for outstanding students. The faculty’s two newer undergraduate programs are taught in the Department of Nursing Sciences and the Department of Social Work.
The master’s degree programs include those in Clinical Psychology, Immigration and Social Integration, Organizational Psychology, and Clinical Psychology of Adulthood and Aging, which is the first and only program in Israel in this critical and developing field.
Whether you are considering pursuing academic studies at an institution of higher education, a student, a researcher, a lecturer, or simply interested in our activities, I invite you to browse our faculty’s website and learn more about us and the topics that appeal to you. I wish you a pleasant and interesting experience as you surf the faculty’s website.
Sincerely,
Prof. Eyal Gamliel
Dean
