The department contributes to the achievement of the University’s mission as a flagship institution. Specifically, the mission of the unit is summarized in six components:

1. Provide undergraduate majors with a high quality, comprehensive curriculum with concentrations consistent with student interests and career market demands;
2. Provide undergraduates with the knowledge and skills that will enable them to pursue graduate and professional degrees;
3. Provide quality elective and general education courses for non-major undergraduates;
4. Provide high-quality graduate education that will equip graduate students with the substantive, theoretical, and methodological foundations to enter and succeed in teaching and/or research positions in both academic and non-academic settings;
5. Conduct research that contributes to the knowledge base of the discipline and that is conducive to the unit’s national and international recognition as a research department;
6. Provide expertise and research relevant to solving social and economic issues and challenges of the state and nation.