What to Expect from High School Social Studies

Most high schools will kick off with a year of US history and a year of world history. Then, your student is likely to have the option to take courses about more narrow historical periods—like, say, US history from WWII to the present—or about other regions of the world, like African or European history. They might also be offered courses on civics or government.

Some schools will offer courses in the social sciences, too. Those might include, for example, sociology, anthropology, psychology, economics, or human geography. If your high schooler is interested in pursuing a social science in college, they might want to get a taste of it now if they can. But many high schools won’t offer these courses, so don’t worry if your student doesn’t have choices like those! If your child is interested in a course that isn’t offered at their school, they should check with their guidance counselor about doing coursework at a local community college, which is often an option.

Reading and writing about complex topics is the top goal. Your high schooler should get plenty of practice using primary and secondary sources, citing evidence to construct an argument, and analyzing events from multiple points of view and in historical context.