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Branches of Social Science

 Anthropology - study of humans, past and present, that draws and builds upon knowledge from
the social sciences and biological sciences, as well as the humanities and the natural sciences.
 Anthropology of religion – study of religious institutions in relation to other social institutions,
and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across cultures
 Applied anthropology – application of the method and theory of anthropology to the analysis
and solution of practical problems.
 Archaeology – study of cultures via material remains and environmental data (Outline of
archaeology)
 Cultural anthropology – branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation
among humans, collecting data about the effect of global economic and political processes
on local cultural realities.
 Ethnobiology – scientific study of dynamic relationships between peoples, biota, and
environments, from the distant past to the immediate present.
 Ethnobotany – is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional
knowledge of a local culture and people.
 Ethnography – systematic study of people and cultures.
 Ethnology – branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution,
technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national
divisions of humanity.
 Ethnopoetics – method of recording text versions of oral poetry or narrative performances
(i.e., verbal lore) that uses poetic lines, verses, and stanzas (instead of prose paragraphs) to
capture the formal, poetic performance elements which would otherwise be lost in the
written texts.
 Evolutionary anthropology – interdisciplinary study of the evolution of human physiology and
human behaviour and the relation between hominids and non-hominid primates.
 Experimental archaeology – Experimental archaeology employs a number of different
methods, techniques, analyses, and approaches in order to generate and test hypotheses,
based upon archaeological source material, like ancient structures or artifacts.
 Historical archaeology – form of archaeology dealing with topics that are already attested in
written records.
 Linguistic anthropology – is the interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life.
 Medical anthropology – interdisciplinary field which studies "human health and disease, health
care systems, and biocultural adaptation".
 Physical anthropology – study of the physical development of the human species.
 Psychological anthropology – interdisciplinary subfield of anthropology that studies the
interaction of cultural and mental processes.
 Zooarchaeology – study of faunal remains.
 Anthrozoology – study of human-animal interaction.
 Business studies – academic area that consists of many sub-areas pertaining to the social
relationships that comprise the human economic systems.
 Accountancy – the measurement, processing and communication of financial information
about economic entities.
 Finance – a field dealing with the study of investments.
 Human resource management – a function in organizations designed to maximize employee
performance in service of an employer's strategic objectives.
 Management – the administration of an organization, whether it be a business, a not-for-profit
organization, or government body.
 Marketing – the study and management of exchange relationships.
 Organizational studies – the examination of how individuals construct organizational
structures, processes, and practices and how these, in turn, shape social relations and create
institutions that ultimately influence people.
 Economics – details of this area and its own sub-areas are provided in this taxonomy below.
 Civics – study of the theoretical and practical aspects of citizenship, its rights and duties; the
duties of citizens to each other as members of a political body and to the government.
 Cognitive Science – interdisciplinary scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines
what cognition is, what it does and how it works.
 Criminology – study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the
individual and in society.
 Cultural studies – academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism.
 Demography – statistical study of human populations and sub-populations.
 Development studies – multidisciplinary branch of social science which addresses issues of
concern to developing countries.
 Economics – analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. It aims
to explain how economies work and how economic agents interact. (The term 'economics' is
erroneously conflated with the current mainstream Neoclassical economics.)
 Macroeconomics – branch of economics dealing with the performance, structure, behavior,
and decision-making of the whole economy
 Microeconomics – branch of economics that studies the behavior of individual households and
firms in making decisions on the allocation of limited resources
 Behavioural economics – Behavioral economics and the related field, behavioral finance, study
the effects of social, cognitive and emotional factors on the economic decisions of individuals
and institutions and the consequences for market prices, returns and the resource allocation.
 Bioeconomics – applies the laws of thermodynamics to economic theory
 Comparative economics – comparative study of different systems of economic organization,
such as capitalism, socialism, feudalism and the mixed economy.
 Socialist economics – economic theories and practices of hypothetical and existing socialist
economic systems.
 Development economics – branch of economics which deals with economic aspects of the
development process in low-income countries.
 Ecological economics – an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary field that aims to address the
interdependence and coevolution of human economies and natural ecosystems.
 Economic geography – study of the location, distribution and spatial organization of economic
activities across the world.
 Economic history – study of economies or economic phenomena in the past.
 Economic sociology – studies both the social effects and the social causes of various economic
phenomena.
 Energy economics – broad scientific subject area which includes topics related to supply and
use of energy in societies
 Entrepreneurial Economics – study of the entrepreneur and entrepreneurship within the
economy.
 Environmental economics – subfield of economics concerned with environmental issues.
 Evolutionary economics – part of mainstream economics as well as heterodox school of
economic thought that is inspired by evolutionary biology.
 Financial economics – branch of economics concerned with "the allocation and deployment of
economic resources, both spatially and across time, in an uncertain environment".
 Heterodox economics – approaches or to schools of economic thought that are considered
outside of "mainstream economics" and sometimes contrasted by expositors with neoclassical
economics.
 Green economics – one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while
significantly reducing environmental risks
 Feminist economics – diverse area of economic inquiry that highlights the androcentric
biases of traditional economics through critical examinations of economic methodology,
epistemology, history and empirical study.
 Islamic economics – body of Islamic studies literature that "identifies and promotes an
economic order that conforms to Islamic scripture and traditions," and in the economic
world an interest-free Islamic banking system, grounded in Sharia's condemnation of
interest (riba).
 Industrial organization – field of economics that builds on the theory of the firm in examining
the structure of, and boundaries between, firms and markets.
 International economics – study of the effects upon economic activity of international
differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the institutions that affect
them.
 Institutional economics – study of the role of the evolutionary process and the role of
institutions in shaping economic behaviour.
 Labor economics – seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the markets for
labour.
 Law and Economics – application of economic methods to analysis of law.
 Managerial economics – "application of economic concepts and economic analysis to the
problems of formulating rational managerial decisions"
 Monetary economics – branch of economics that historically prefigured and remains integrally
linked to macroeconomics.
 Neoclassical economics – focuses on goods, outputs, and income distributions in markets
through supply and demand.
 Neuroeconomics – interdisciplinary field that seeks to explain human decision making, the
ability to process multiple alternatives and to choose an optimal course of action.
 Public finance – study of the role of the government in the economy.
 Public economics – study of government policy through the lens of economic efficiency and
equity.
 Real estate economics – application of economic techniques to real estate markets.
 Resource economics – study of supply, demand, and allocation of the Earth's natural
resources.
 Welfare economics – branch of economics that uses microeconomic techniques to evaluate
economic well-being, especially relative to competitive general equilibrium within an
economy as to economic efficiency and the resulting income distribution associated with it.
 Political economy – study of the production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law,
custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth,
including through the budget process.
 Socioeconomics – considers behavioral interactions of individuals and groups through social
capital and social "markets" (not excluding for example, sorting by marriage) and the
formation of social norms.
 Transport economics – branch of economics that deals with the allocation of resources within
the transport sector and has strong linkages with civil engineering.
 Economic methodology – study of methods, especially the scientific method, in relation to
economics, including principles underlying economic reasoning.
 Computational economics – research discipline at the interface between computer science
and economic and management science.
 Econometrics – application of mathematics and statistical methods to economic data
 Mathematical economics – application of mathematical methods to represent
economic theories and analyze problems posed in economics.
 Economic statistics – topic in applied statistics that concerns the collection,
processing, compilation, dissemination, and analysis of economic data.
 Time series – sequence of data points, measured typically at successive time
instants spaced at uniform time intervals.
 Experimental economics – application of experimental methods to study economic
questions.
 Education – in the general sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind,
character, or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the process by
which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, and values from one
generation to another.
 Environmental studies – interdisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human
interaction with the environment.
 Gender and sexuality studies – field of interdisciplinary study and academic field devoted to
gender identity and gendered representation as central categories of analysis.
 Geography – study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth.
 Cartography – study and practice of making maps or globes.
 Human geography – branch of the social sciences that studies the world, its people,
communities, and cultures with an emphasis on relations of and across space and place.
 Critical geography – takes a critical theory (Frankfurt School) approach to the study and
analysis of geography.
 Cultural geography – study of cultural products and norms and their variations across and
relations to spaces and places.
 Feminist geography – approach in human geography which applies the theories, methods
and critiques of feminism to the study of the human environment, society and geographical
space.
 Economic geography – study of the location, distribution and spatial organization of
economic activities across the world.
 Development geography – branch of geography with reference to the standard of living
and quality of life of its human inhabitants.
 Historical geography – study of the human, physical, fictional, theoretical, and "real"
geographies of the past.
 Time geography –
 Political geography & geopolitics – field of human geography that is concerned with the
study of both the spatially uneven outcomes of political processes and the ways in which
political processes are themselves affected by spatial structures.
 Marxist geography – strand of critical geography that uses the theories and philosophy of
Marxism to examine the spatial relations of human geography.
 Military geography – sub-field of geography that is used by, not only the military, but also
academics and politicians to understand the geopolitical sphere through the militaristic
lens.
 Strategic geography – concerned with the control of, or access to, spatial areas that affect
the security and prosperity of nations.
 Population geography – study of the ways in which spatial variations in the distribution,
composition, migration, and growth of populations are related to the nature of places.
 Social geography – branch of human geography that is most closely related to social theory
in general and sociology in particular, dealing with the relation of social phenomena and
its spatial components.
 Behavioral geography – approach to human geography that examines human behavior using
a disaggregate approach.
 Children's geographies – area of study within human geography and Childhood Studies
which involves researching the places and spaces of children's lives.
 Health geography – application of geographical information, perspectives, and methods to
the study of health, disease, and health care.
 Tourism geography – study of travel and tourism, as an industry and as a social and cultural
activity.
 Urban geography – study of areas which have a high concentration of buildings and
infrastructure.
 Environmental geography – branch of geography that describes the spatial aspects of
interactions between humans and the natural world.
 Physical geography – branch of natural science which deals with the study of processes and
patterns in the natural environment like the atmosphere, biosphere and geosphere, as
opposed to the cultural or built environment, the domain of human geography.
 Biogeography – study of the distribution of species (biology), organisms, and ecosystems
in geographic space and through geological time.
 Climatology – Atmospheric physics Atmospheric dynamics (category)
 Palaeoclimatology – study of changes in climate taken on the scale of the entire history of
Earth.
 Coastal geography – study of the dynamic interface between the ocean and the land,
incorporating both the physical geography (i.e. coastal geomorphology, geology and
oceanography) and the human geography (sociology and history) of the coast.
 Geomorphology – scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them.
 Geodesy – scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the
Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space.
 Hydrology – study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other
planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed
sustainability.
 Hydrography – mapping (charting) of water topographic features through the measurement
of the depths, the tides and currents of a body of water and establishment of the sea,
river or lake bed topography and morphology.
 Glaciology – study of glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve
ice.
 Limnology – study of inland waters.
 Oceanography – branch of Earth science that studies the ocean.
 Pedology – study of soils in their natural environment.
 Landscape ecology – science of studying and improving relationships between ecological
processes in the environment and particular ecosystems.
 Palaeogeography – study of what the geography was in times past.
 Regional geography – study of world regions.
 Gerontology – study of the social, psychological and biological aspects of aging.
 History – discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events.
History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. This category includes many
sub-domains of history such as, art history, diplomatic history, history of science, economic
history, environmental history, military history, political history, urban history, women's history
and many others.
 Industrial relations – multidisciplinary field that studies the employment relationship.
 Information science – interdisciplinary field primarily concerned with the analysis, collection,
classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information.
 International studies – study of the major political, economic, social, cultural and sacral issues
that dominate the international agenda
 Law – set of rules and principles (laws) by which a society is governed, through enforcement by
governmental authorities.
 Legal management – social sciences discipline that is designed for students interested in the study
of State and its elements, Law, Law Practice, Legal Research and Jurisprudence, legal Philosophy,
Criminal Justice, Governance, Government structure, Political history and theories, Business
Organization and Management, Entrepreneurship, Public Administration and Human Resource
Development.
 Paralegal studies – social sciences discipline that is designed for students interested in the
study of State and its elements, Law, Law Practice, Legal Research and Jurisprudence, legal
Philosophy, Criminal Justice, Governance, Government structure, Political history and
theories, Business Organization and Management, Entrepreneurship, Public Administration
and Human Resource Development.
 Library science – study of issues related to libraries and the information fields.
 Linguistics – scientific study of natural language.
 Anthropological linguistics – study of the relations between language and culture and the
relations between human biology, cognition and language.
 Applied linguistics – interdisciplinary field of study that identifies, investigates, and offers
solutions to language-related real-life problems.
 Biolinguistics – study of the biology and evolution of language.
 Clinical linguistics and speech and language pathology – sub-discipline of linguistics which
involves the application of linguistic theory to the field of Speech-Language Pathology.
 Cognitive linguistics – branch of linguistics that interprets language in terms of the concepts,
sometimes universal, sometimes specific to a particular tongue, which underlie its forms.
 Comparative linguistics – branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing
languages to establish their historical relatedness.
 Computational linguistics – interdisciplinary field dealing with the statistical or rule-based
modeling of natural language from a computational perspective.
 Developmental linguistics – study of the development of linguistic ability in an individual,
particularly the acquisition of language in childhood.
 language acquisition – the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive
and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words to communicate.
 Dialectology – scientific study of linguistic dialect, a sub-field of sociolinguistics.
 dialectometry – the study of high levels of structure in geographical dialect networks.
 Discourse analysis – general term for a number of approaches to analyzing use of written, oral
or sign language or any significant semiotic event.
 Etymology – study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have
changed over time.
 Evolutionary linguistics – the scientific study of both the origins and development of language
as well as the cultural evolution of languages.
 Forensic linguistics – application of linguistic knowledge, methods and insights to the forensic
context of law, language, crime investigation, trial, and judicial procedure.
 Geolinguistics – branch of human geography that studies the geographic distribution of
language or its constituent elements.
 Historical linguistics – study of language change.
 Lexis – total vocabulary or lexicon having items of lexical, rather than grammatical, meaning.
 Linguistic typology – subfield of linguistics that studies and classifies languages according to
their structural features.
 Morphology – identification, analysis and description of the structure of a given language's
morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech,
intonation/stress, or implied context (words in a lexicon are the subject matter of lexicology).
 Neurolinguistics – study of the neural mechanisms in the human brain that control the
comprehension, production, and acquisition of language.
 Philology – study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary
studies, history and linguistics.
 Phonetics – branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or
the equivalent aspects of sign.
 Phonology – branch of linguistics concerned with the systematic organization of sounds in
languages.
 Phraseology – study of set or fixed expressions, such as idioms, phrasal verbs, and other types
of multi-word lexical units (often collectively referred to as phrasemes), in which the
component parts of the expression take on a meaning more specific than or otherwise not
predictable from the sum of their meanings when used independently.
 Pragmatics – subfield of linguistics which studies the ways in which context contributes to
meaning.
 Psycholinguistics – study of the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans
to acquire, use, comprehend and produce language.
 Sociolinguistics – descriptive study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including
cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and the effects of
language use on society.
 Speech science – Speech science refers to the study of production, transmission and
perception of speech. Speech science involves anatomy, in particular the anatomy of the oro-
facial region and neuroanatomy, physiology, and acoustics.
 Stylistics – study and interpretation of texts from a linguistic perspective.
 Syntax – "the study of the principles and processes by which sentences are constructed in
particular languages."
 Semantics – study of meaning.
 Writing systems and orthography – representation of language in a textual medium through
the use of a set of signs or symbols (known as a writing system).
 Management – in addition to the administration of an organization, it is the act of getting people
together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and
effectively.
 Media studies – academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and
effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'.
 Communication studies – academic field that deals with processes of human communication,
commonly defined as the sharing of symbols to create meaning.
 Philosophy – study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence,
knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Academic philosophy is considered a science by
some.[4] Others say that philosophy is not a science but it is instead a precursor of it. The role of
philosophy is also a philosophical question.
 Philosophy of language – is concerned with four central problems: the nature of meaning,
language use, language cognition, and the relationship between language and reality.
 Philosophy of information – (PI) is the area of research that studies conceptual issues arising
at the intersection of computer science, information science, information technology, and
philosophy.
 Political philosophy – is the study of topics such as politics, liberty, justice, property, rights,
law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority.
 Epistemology – study of how we know what we know; study of the nature and scope of
knowledge.
 Ethics – major branch of philosophy, encompassing right conduct and good life. It is
significantly broader than the common conception of analyzing right and wrong.
 Logic – formal science of using reason
 Philosophy of mind – branch of philosophy that studies the nature of the mind, mental events,
mental functions, mental properties, consciousness and their relationship to the physical
body, particularly the brain.
 Philosophy of science – questions the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of
science; questions the use and merit of science; sometimes overlaps metaphysics and
epistemology by questioning whether scientific results are actually a study of truth.
 Social philosophy – is the study of questions about social behavior and interpretations of
society and social institutions in terms of ethical values rather than empirical relations.
 Aesthetics – is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of art, beauty, and taste, with
the creation and appreciation of beauty.
 Philosophy of mathematics – is the branch of philosophy that studies the philosophical
assumptions, foundations, and implications of mathematics. The aim of the philosophy of
mathematics is to provide an account of the nature and methodology of mathematics and to
understand the place of mathematics in people's lives.
 Philosophy of education – Philosophy of education can refer to either the academic field of
applied philosophy or to one of any educational philosophies that promote a specific type or
vision of education, and/or which examine the definition, goals and meaning of education.
 Planning
 Urban planning – studies the development and use of land, protection and use of the
environment, public welfare, and the design of the urban environment, including air, water,
and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportation,
communications, and distribution networks.
 Regional planning – deals with the efficient placement of land-use activities, infrastructure,
and settlement growth across a larger area of land than an individual city or town.
 Political science – social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government,
and politics.
 Comparative politics – field and a method used in political science, characterized by an
empirical approach based on the comparative method.
 Game theory – study of strategic decision making.
 Geopolitics – theory that describes the relation between politics and territory whether on
local or international scale.
 political geography – field of human geography that is concerned with the study of both
the spatially uneven outcomes of political processes and the ways in which political
processes are themselves affected by spatial structures.
 Ideology – set of ideas that constitute one's goals, expectations, and actions.
 Political economy – Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying,
and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the
distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political
economy originated in moral philosophy. It developed in the 18th century as the study of the
economies of states, polities, hence political economy.
 Political psychology, bureaucratic, administrative and judicial behaviour –
 Psephology – branch of political science which deals with the study and scientific analysis of
elections.
 Voting systems – methods by which voters make a choice between options, often in an election
or on a policy referendum.
 Public administration – houses the implementation of government policy and an academic
discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work.
 Public policy – generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or
executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent
with law and institutional customs.
 Local government studies – form of public administration which in a majority of contexts,
exists as the lowest tier of administration within the a given state.
 International politics – study of relationships between countries, including the roles of
states, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), international nongovernmental
organizations (INGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and multinational
corporations (MNCs).
 International relations theory – study of international relations from a theoretical
perspective; it attempts to provide a conceptual framework upon which international
relations can be analyzed.
 Psychology – science of behavior and mental processes
 Applied psychology – use of psychological principles and theories to overcome problems in
other areas, such as mental health, business management, education, health, product design,
ergonomics, and law.
 Psychological testing – field characterized by the use of samples of behavior in order to
assess psychological construct(s), such as cognitive and emotional functioning, about a
given individual.
 Clinical psychology – integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for the purpose
of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction
and to promote subjective well-being and personal development.
 Community psychology – Sense of community Social capital
 Consumer behaviour – study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy a
product.
 Counseling psychology – psychological specialty that encompasses research and applied
work in several broad domains: counseling process and outcome; supervision and training;
career development and counseling; and prevention and health.
 Educational psychology – study of how humans learn in educational settings, the
effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social
psychology of schools as organizations.
 Forensic psychology – intersection between psychology and the courtroom—criminal, civil,
family and Federal.
 Health psychology – concerned with understanding how biological, psychological,
environmental, and cultural factors are involved in physical health and illness.
 Industrial and organizational psychology – scientific study of employees, workplaces, and
organizations.
 Legal psychology – involves empirical, psychological research of the law, legal institutions,
and people who come into contact with the law.
 Media psychology – seeks an understanding of how people perceive, interpret, use, and
respond to a media-rich world.
 Military psychology – research, design and application of psychological theories and
experimentation data towards understanding, predicting and countering behaviours either
in friendly or enemy forces or civilian population that may be undesirable, threatening or
potentially dangerous to the conduct of military operations.
 Occupational health psychology – concerned with the psychosocial characteristics of
workplaces that contribute to the development of health-related problems in people who
work.
 Pastoral psychology – application of psychological methods and interpretive frameworks
to religious traditions, as well as to both religious and irreligious individuals.
 Political psychology – interdisciplinary academic field dedicated to understanding political
science, politicians and political behavior through the use of psychological theories.
 Psychometrics – field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological
measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes,
personality traits, and educational measurement.
 School psychology – field that applies principles of clinical psychology and educational
psychology to the diagnosis and treatment of children's and adolescents' behavioral and
learning problems.
 Sport psychology – interdisciplinary science that draws on knowledge from the fields of
Kinesiology and Psychology.
 Systems psychology – branch of applied psychology that studies human behaviour and
experience in complex systems.
 Traffic psychology – study of the behavior of road users and the psychological processes
underlying that behavior (Rothengatter, 1997, 223) as well as to the relationship between
behavior and accidents
 Behavior analysis – philosophy of psychology based on the proposition that all things that
organisms do can and should be regarded as behaviors, and that psychological disorders are
best treated by altering behavior patterns or modifying the environment.
 Biopsychology – application of the principles of biology (in particular neurobiology), to the
study of physiological, genetic, and developmental mechanisms of behavior in human and
non-human animals.
 Cognitive psychology – subdiscipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes.
 Clinical psychology – integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for the purpose of
understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to
promote subjective well-being and personal development.
 Cultural psychology – field of psychology which assumes the idea that culture and mind are
inseparable, and that psychological theories grounded in one culture are likely to be limited
in applicability when applied to a different culture.
 Developmental psychology – scientific study of systematic psychological changes, emotional
changes, and perception changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life
span.
 Educational psychology – study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness
of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools
as organizations.
 Evolutionary psychology – approach in the social and natural sciences that examines
psychological traits such as memory, perception, and language from a modern evolutionary
perspective.
 Experimental psychology – application of experimental methods to the study of behavior and
the processes that underlie it.
 Forensic psychology – intersection between psychology and the courtroom—criminal, civil,
family and Federal.
 Health psychology – concerned with understanding how biological, psychological,
environmental, and cultural factors are involved in physical health and illness.
 Humanistic psychology – psychological perspective which rose to prominence in the mid-20th
century in the context of the tertiary sector beginning to produce in the most developed
countries in the world more than the secondary sector was producing, for the first time in
human history demanding creativity and new understanding of human capital.
 Industrial and organizational psychology – scientific study of employees, workplaces, and
organizations.
 Music therapy – allied health profession and one of the expressive therapies, consisting of an
interpersonal process in which a trained music therapist uses music to help clients to improve
or maintain their health.
 Neuropsychology – studies the structure and function of the brain as they relate to specific
psychological processes and behaviors.
 Personality psychology – branch of psychology that studies personality and individual
differences.
 Psychometrics – field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological
measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, personality
traits, and educational measurement.
 Psychology of religion – application of psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to
religious traditions, as well as to both religious and irreligious individuals.
 Psychophysics – quantitatively investigates the relationship between physical stimuli and the
sensations and perceptions they affect.
 Sensation and perception psychology –
 Public administration – houses the implementation of government policy and an academic
discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work.
 Social work – professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and
wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy,
community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or
any real or perceived social injustices and violations of their human rights.
 Sociology – studies society using various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis
to understand human social activity, from the micro level of individual agency and interaction to
the macro level of systems and social structure.
 Criminology – study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both
the individual and in society.
 Demography – statistical study of human populations and sub-populations.
 Urban and rural sociology - the analysis of social life in metropolitan and non-metropolitan
areas.
 Sustainable development – the process of meeting human development goals while sustaining the
ability of natural systems to continue to provide the natural resources and natural system services
upon which the economy of human society depends.
 Sustainability studies – focuses on the interdisciplinary perspective of the sustainability concept.
Programs include instruction in sustainable development, geography, environmental policies,
ethics, ecology, landscape architecture, city and regional planning, economics, natural
resources, sociology, and anthropology, many of which are considered social sciences in their
own right.
Branches of Natural Science
Physical science

 Physical science – branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to the
biological sciences. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science",
together called the "physical sciences". However, the term "physical" creates an unintended,
somewhat arbitrary distinction, since many branches of physical science also study biological
phenomena (organic chemistry, for example).
Physics

 Physics – physical science that studies matter and its motion through space-time, and related
concepts such as energy and force
 Acoustics – study of mechanical waves in solids, liquids, and gases (such as vibration and
sound)
 Agrophysics – study of physics applied to agroecosystems
 Soil physics – study of soil physical properties and processes.
 Astrophysics – study of the physical aspects of celestial objects
 Astronomy – studies the universe beyond Earth, including its formation and development,
and the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects (such
as galaxies, planets, etc.) and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth
(such as the cosmic background radiation).
 Astrodynamics – application of ballistics and celestial mechanics to the practical
problems concerning the motion of rockets and other spacecraft.
 Astrometry – branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions
and movements of stars and other celestial bodies.
 Cosmology – discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole.
 Extragalactic astronomy – branch of astronomy concerned with objects outside our own
Milky Way Galaxy
 Galactic astronomy – study of our own Milky Way galaxy and all its contents.
 Physical cosmology – study of the largest-scale structures and dynamics of the universe
and is concerned with fundamental questions about its formation and evolution.
 Planetary science – scientific study of planets (including Earth), moons, and planetary
systems, in particular those of the Solar System and the processes that form them.
 Stellar astronomy – natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects (such
as stars, planets, comets, nebulae, star clusters and galaxies) and phenomena that
originate outside the atmosphere of Earth (such as cosmic background radiation)
 Atmospheric physics – study of the application of physics to the atmosphere
 Atomic, molecular, and optical physics – study of how matter and light interact
 Biophysics – study of physical processes relating to biology
 Medical physics – application of physics concepts, theories and methods to medicine.
 Neurophysics – branch of biophysics dealing with the nervous system.
 Chemical physics – branch of physics that studies chemical processes from the point of
view of physics.
 Computational physics – study and implementation of numerical algorithms to solve
problems in physics for which a quantitative theory already exists.
 Condensed matter physics – study of the physical properties of condensed phases of
matter.
 Cryogenics – cryogenics is the study of the production of very low temperature (below
−150 °C, −238 °F or 123K) and the behavior of materials at those temperatures.
 Dynamics – study of the causes of motion and changes in motion
 Econophysics – interdisciplinary research field, applying theories and methods originally
developed by physicists in order to solve problems in economics
 Electromagnetism – branch of science concerned with the forces that occur between
electrically charged particles.
 Geophysics – the physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the
Earth using quantitative physical methods
 Materials physics – use of physics to describe materials in many different ways such as
force, heat, light and mechanics.
 Mathematical physics – application of mathematics to problems in physics and the
development of mathematical methods for such applications and for the formulation of
physical theories.
 Mechanics – branch of physics concerned with the behavior of physical bodies when
subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effects of the bodies on their
environment.
 Biomechanics – study of the structure and function of biological systems such as
humans, animals, plants, organs, and cells by means of the methods of mechanics.
 Classical mechanics – one of the two major sub-fields of mechanics, which is concerned
with the set of physical laws describing the motion of bodies under the action of a
system of forces.
 Continuum mechanics – branch of mechanics that deals with the analysis of the
kinematics and the mechanical behavior of materials modeled as a continuous mass
rather than as discrete particles.
 Fluid mechanics – study of fluids and the forces on them.
 Quantum mechanics – branch of physics dealing with physical phenomena where the
action is on the order of the Planck constant.
 Thermodynamics – branch of physical science concerned with heat and its relation to
other forms of energy and work.
 Nuclear physics – field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic
nuclei.
 Optics – branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including
its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it.
 Particle physics – branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles
that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation.
 Psychophysics – quantitatively investigates the relationship between physical stimuli and
the sensations and perceptions they affect.
 Plasma physics – state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles
are ionized.
 Polymer physics – field of physics that studies polymers, their fluctuations, mechanical
properties, as well as the kinetics of reactions involving degradation and polymerisation
of polymers and monomers respectively.
 Quantum physics – branch of physics dealing with physical phenomena where the action is
on the order of the Planck constant.
 Relativity –
 Statics – branch of mechanics concerned with the analysis of loads (force,
torque/moment) on physical systems in static equilibrium, that is, in a state where the
relative positions of subsystems do not vary over time, or where components and
structures are at a constant velocity.
 Solid state physics – study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as quantum
mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy.
 Vehicle dynamics – dynamics of vehicles, here assumed to be ground vehicles.
Chemistry

 Chemistry – physical science of atomic matter (matter that is composed of chemical
elements), especially its chemical reactions, but also including its properties, structure,
composition, behavior, and changes as they relate the chemical reactions
 Analytical chemistry – study of the separation, identification, and quantification of the
chemical components of natural and artificial materials.
 Astrochemistry – study of the abundance and reactions of chemical elements and
molecules in the universe, and their interaction with radiation.
 Cosmochemistry – study of the chemical composition of matter in the universe and the
processes that led to those compositions
 Atmospheric chemistry – branch of atmospheric science in which the chemistry of the
Earth's atmosphere and that of other planets is studied. It is a multidisciplinary field of
research and draws on environmental chemistry, physics, meteorology, computer
modeling, oceanography, geology and volcanology and other disciplines
 Biochemistry – study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited
to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes.
 Agrochemistry – study of both chemistry and biochemistry which are important in
agricultural production, the processing of raw products into foods and beverages, and
in environmental monitoring and remediation.
 Bioinorganic chemistry – examines the role of metals in biology.
 Bioorganic chemistry – rapidly growing scientific discipline that combines organic
chemistry and biochemistry.
 Biophysical chemistry – new branch of chemistry that covers a broad spectrum of
research activities involving biological systems.
 Environmental chemistry – scientific study of the chemical and biochemical
phenomena that occur in natural places.
 Immunochemistry – branch of chemistry that involves the study of the reactions and
components on the immune system.
 Medicinal chemistry – discipline at the intersection of chemistry, especially synthetic
organic chemistry, and pharmacology and various other biological specialties, where
they are involved with design, chemical synthesis and development for market of
pharmaceutical agents (drugs).
 Pharmacology – branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug
action.
 Natural product chemistry – chemical compound or substance produced by a living
organism – found in nature that usually has a pharmacological or biological activity for
use in pharmaceutical drug discovery and drug design.
 Neurochemistry – specific study of neurochemicals, which include neurotransmitters
and other molecules such as neuro-active drugs that influence neuron function.
 Computational chemistry – branch of chemistry that uses principles of computer science
to assist in solving chemical problems.
 Chemo-informatics – use of computer and informational techniques, applied to a range
of problems in the field of chemistry.
 Molecular mechanics – uses Newtonian mechanics to model molecular systems.
 Flavor chemistry – someone who uses chemistry to engineer artificial and natural flavors.
 Flow chemistry – chemical reaction is run in a continuously flowing stream rather than in
batch production.
 Geochemistry – study of the mechanisms behind major geological systems using chemistry
 Aqueous geochemistry – study of the role of various elements in watersheds, including
copper, sulfur, mercury, and how elemental fluxes are exchanged through
atmospheric-terrestrial-aquatic interactions
 Isotope geochemistry – study of the relative and absolute concentrations of the
elements and their isotopes using chemistry and geology
 Ocean chemistry – studies the chemistry of marine environments including the
influences of different variables.
 Organic geochemistry – study of the impacts and processes that organisms have had on
Earth
 Regional, environmental and exploration geochemistry – study of the spatial variation
in the chemical composition of materials at the surface of the Earth
 Inorganic chemistry – branch of chemistry concerned with the properties and behavior of
inorganic compounds.
 Nuclear chemistry – subfield of chemistry dealing with radioactivity, nuclear processes and
nuclear properties.
 Radiochemistry – chemistry of radioactive materials, where radioactive isotopes of
elements are used to study the properties and chemical reactions of non-radioactive
isotopes (often within radiochemistry the absence of radioactivity leads to a substance
being described as being inactive as the isotopes are stable).
 Organic chemistry – study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and
preparation (by synthesis or by other means) of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons,
and their derivatives.
 Petrochemistry – branch of chemistry that studies the transformation of crude oil
(petroleum) and natural gas into useful products or raw materials.
 Organometallic chemistry – study of chemical compounds containing bonds between
carbon and a metal.
 Photochemistry – study of chemical reactions that proceed with the absorption of light by
atoms or molecules..
 Physical chemistry – study of macroscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena
in chemical systems in terms of physical laws and concepts.
 Chemical kinetics – the study of rates of chemical processes.
 Chemical thermodynamics – study of the interrelation of heat and work with chemical
reactions or with physical changes of state within the confines of the laws of
thermodynamics.
 Electrochemistry – branch of chemistry that studies chemical reactions which take
place in a solution at the interface of an electron conductor (a metal or a
semiconductor) and an ionic conductor (the electrolyte), and which involve electron
transfer between the electrode and the electrolyte or species in solution.
 Femtochemistry – Femtochemistry is the science that studies chemical reactions on
extremely short timescales, approximately 10−15 seconds (one femtosecond, hence the
name).
 Mathematical chemistry – area of research engaged in novel applications of
mathematics to chemistry; it concerns itself principally with the mathematical
modeling of chemical phenomena.
 Mechanochemistry – coupling of the mechanical and the chemical phenomena on a
molecular scale and includes mechanical breakage, chemical behaviour of
mechanically stressed solids (e.g., stress-corrosion cracking), tribology, polymer
degradation under shear, cavitation-related phenomena (e.g., sonochemistry and
sonoluminescence), shock wave chemistry and physics, and even the burgeoning field
of molecular machines.
 Physical organic chemistry – study of the interrelationships between structure and
reactivity in organic molecules.
 Quantum chemistry – branch of chemistry whose primary focus is the application of
quantum mechanics in physical models and experiments of chemical systems.
 Sonochemistry – study of the effect of sonic waves and wave properties on chemical
systems.
 Stereochemistry – study of the relative spatial arrangement of atoms within molecules.
 Supramolecular chemistry – area of chemistry beyond the molecules and focuses on
the chemical systems made up of a discrete number of assembled molecular subunits
or components.
 Thermochemistry – study of the energy and heat associated with chemical reactions
and/or physical transformations.
 Phytochemistry – strict sense of the word the study of phytochemicals.
 Polymer chemistry – multidisciplinary science that deals with the chemical synthesis and
chemical properties of polymers or macromolecules.
 Solid-state chemistry – study of the synthesis, structure, and properties of solid phase
materials, particularly, but not necessarily exclusively of, non-molecular solids
 Multidisciplinary fields involving chemistry
 Chemical biology – scientific discipline spanning the fields of chemistry and biology
that involves the application of chemical techniques and tools, often compounds
produced through synthetic chemistry, to the study and manipulation of biological
systems.
 Chemical engineering – branch of engineering that deals with physical science (e.g.,
chemistry and physics), and life sciences (e.g., biology, microbiology and
biochemistry) with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw
materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms.
 Chemical oceanography – study of the behavior of the chemical elements within the
Earth's oceans.
 Chemical physics – branch of physics that studies chemical processes from the point of
view of physics.
 Materials science – interdisciplinary field applying the properties of matter to various
areas of science and engineering.
 Nanotechnology – study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale
 Oenology – science and study of all aspects of wine and winemaking except vine-
growing and grape-harvesting, which is a subfield called viticulture.
 Spectroscopy – study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy
 Surface science – Surface science is the study of physical and chemical phenomena
that occur at the interface of two phases, including solid–liquid interfaces, solid–gas
interfaces, solid–vacuum interfaces, and liquid–gas interfaces.
Earth Science

 Earth science – all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. Earth science,
and all of its branches, are branches of physical science.
 Atmospheric sciences – umbrella term for the study of the atmosphere, its processes, the
effects other systems have on the atmosphere, and the effects of the atmosphere on these
other systems.
 Biogeography – study of the distribution of species (biology), organisms, and ecosystems
in geographic space and through geological time.
 Cartography – study and practice of making maps or globes.
 Climatology – study of climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over
a period of time
 Coastal geography – study of the dynamic interface between the ocean and the land,
incorporating both the physical geography (i.e. coastal geomorphology, geology and
oceanography) and the human geography (sociology and history) of the coast.
 Environmental science – an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the
study of environmental systems.
 Ecology – scientific study of the distribution and abundance of living organisms and
how the distribution and abundance are affected by interactions between the
organisms and their environment.
 Freshwater biology – scientific biological study of freshwater ecosystems and is a
branch of Limnology
 Marine biology – scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or
brackish bodies of water
 Parasitology – Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the
relationship between them.
 Population dynamics – Population dynamics is the branch of life sciences that
studies short-term and long-term changes in the size and age composition of
populations, and the biological and environmental processes influencing those
changes.
 Environmental chemistry – Environmental chemistry is the scientific study of the
chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places.
 Environmental soil science – Environmental soil science is the study of the interaction
of humans with the pedosphere as well as critical aspects of the biosphere, the
lithosphere, the hydrosphere, and the atmosphere.
 Environmental geology – Environmental geology, like hydrogeology, is an applied
science concerned with the practical application of the principles of geology in the
solving of environmental problems.
 Toxicology – branch of biology, chemistry, and medicine concerned with the study of
the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms.*** Geodesy – scientific discipline
that deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its
gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space
 Geography – science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth
 Geoinformatics – science and the technology which develops and uses information science
infrastructure to address the problems of geography, geosciences and related branches of
engineering.
 Geology – study of the Earth, with the general exclusion of present-day life, flow within
the ocean, and the atmosphere.
 Planetary geology – planetary science discipline concerned with the geology of the
celestial bodies such as the planets and their moons, asteroids, comets, and
meteorites.
 Geomorphology – scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them
 Geostatistics – branch of statistics focusing on spatial or spatiotemporal datasets
Geophysics – physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the Earth
using quantitative physical methods.
 Glaciology – study of glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve
ice.
 Hydrology – study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other
planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed
sustainability.
 Hydrogeology – area of geology that deals with the distribution and movement of
groundwater in the soil and rocks of the Earth's crust (commonly in aquifers).
 Mineralogy – study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical)
properties of minerals.
 Meteorology – interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere which explains and
forecasts weather events.
 Oceanography – branch of Earth science that studies the ocean
 Paleoclimatology – study of changes in climate taken on the scale of the entire history of
Earth
 Paleontology – study of prehistoric life
 Petrology – branch of geology that studies the origin, composition, distribution and
structure of rocks.
 Limnology – study of inland waters
 Seismology – scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through
the Earth or through other planet-like bodies
 Soil science – study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the earth including soil
formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility
properties of soils; and these properties in relation to the use and management of soils.
 Topography – study of surface shape and features of the Earth and other observable
astronomical objects including planets, moons, and asteroids.
 Volcanology – study of volcanoes, lava, magma, and related geological, geophysical and
geochemical phenomena.
Life Science
Biology

 Biology – study of living organisms.


 Aerobiology – study of airborne organic particles
 Agriculture – study of producing crops from the land, with an emphasis on practical
applications
 Anatomy – study of form and function, in plants, animals, and other organisms, or specifically
in humans
 Human anatomy – scientific study of the morphology of the adult human.
 Astrobiology – study of evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe—also known
as exobiology, exopaleontology, and bioastronomy
 Biochemistry – study of the chemical reactions required for life to exist and function, usually
a focus on the cellular level
 Bioengineering – study of biology through the means of engineering with an emphasis on
applied knowledge and especially related to biotechnology
 Biogeography – study of the distribution of species spatially and temporally
 Bioinformatics – use of information technology for the study, collection, and storage of
genomic and other biological data
 Biomathematics or Mathematical Biology – quantitative or mathematical study of biological
processes, with an emphasis on modeling
 Biomechanics – often considered a branch of medicine, the study of the mechanics of living
beings, with an emphasis on applied use through prosthetics or orthotics
 Biomedical research – study of the human body in health and disease
 Biophysics – study of biological processes through physics, by applying the theories and
methods traditionally used in the physical sciences
 Biotechnology – new and sometimes controversial branch of biology that studies the
manipulation of living matter, including genetic modification and synthetic biology
 Building biology – study of the indoor living environment
 Botany – study of plants
 Cell biology – study of the cell as a complete unit, and the molecular and chemical interactions
that occur within a living cell
 Conservation Biology – study of the preservation, protection, or restoration of the natural
environment, natural ecosystems, vegetation, and wildlife
 Chronobiology – field of biology that examines periodic (cyclic) phenomena in living organisms
and their adaptation to solar- and lunar-related rhythms.
 Cryobiology – study of the effects of lower than normally preferred temperatures on living
beings.
 Developmental biology – study of the processes through which an organism forms, from zygote
to full structure
 Embryology – study of the development of embryo (from fecundation to birth). See also
topobiology.
 Gerontology – study of aging processes.
 Ecology – study of the interactions of living organisms with one another and with the non-
living elements of their environment
 Environmental Biology – study of the natural world, as a whole or in a particular area,
especially as affected by human activity
 Epidemiology – major component of public health research, studying factors affecting the
health of populations
 Evolution – any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of
biological populations.
 Evolutionary Biology – study of the origin and descent of species over time
 Evolutionary developmental biology – field of biology that compares the
developmental processes of different organisms to determine the ancestral
relationship between them, and to discover how developmental processes evolved.
 Paleobiology – discipline which combines the methods and findings of the natural science
biology with the methods and findings of the earth science paleontology.
 Paleontology – study of fossils and sometimes geographic evidence of prehistoric life
 Genetics – study of genes and heredity
 Genomics – discipline in genetics concerned with the study of the genomes of organisms.
 Proteomics – large-scale study of proteins, particularly their structures and functions
 Population genetics – study of changes in gene frequencies in
 Histology – study of cells and tissues, a microscopic branch of anatomy
 Integrative biology – study of whole organisms
 Limnology – study of inland waters
 Marine Biology – study of ocean ecosystems, plants, animals, and other living beings
 Microbiology – study of microscopic organisms (microorganisms) and their interactions with
other living things
 Bacteriology – study of bacteria.
 Virology – study of viruses and some other virus-like agents
 Molecular Biology – study of biology and biological functions at the molecular level, some cross
over with biochemistry
 Structural biology – branch of molecular biology, biochemistry, and biophysics concerned
with the molecular structure of biological macromolecules
 Morphology – In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the
form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features.
 Mycology – study of fungi
 Oceanography – study of the ocean, including ocean life, environment, geography, weather,
and other aspects influencing the ocean
 Oncology – study of cancer processes, including virus
or mutation oncogenesis, angiogenesis and tissues remoldings
 Population biology – study of groups of conspecific organisms, including
 Population ecology – study of how population dynamics and extinction
 Population genetics – study of changes in gene frequencies in populations of organisms
 Pathobiology or pathology – study of diseases, and the causes, processes, nature, and
development of disease
 Parasitology – study of parasites and parasitism
 Pharmacology – study and practical application of preparation, use, and effects of drugs and
synthetic medicines
 Physiology – study of the functioning of living organisms and the organs and parts of living
organisms
 Immunology – following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to
immunology:
 Kinesiology – Kinesiology, also known as human kinetics, is the scientific study of human
movement
 Neurobiology – study of the nervous system, including anatomy, physiology and pathology
 Neuroscience – interdisciplinary science that studies the nervous system
 Histology –
 Phytopathology – study of plant diseases (also called Plant Pathology)
 Psychobiology – study of the biological bases of psychology
 Sociobiology – study of the biological bases of sociology
 Systematics – study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the
relationships among living things through time
 Cladistics – method of classifying species of organisms into groups called clades, which
consist of an ancestor organism and all its descendants (and nothing else)
 Phylogeny – study of evolutionary relation among groups of organisms (e.g. species,
populations), which is discovered through molecular sequencing data and morphological
data matrices
 Taxonomy – science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a
classification.
 Zoology – study of animals, including classification, physiology, development, and behavior
 Arachnology – scientific study of spiders and related animals such as scorpions,
pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, collectively called arachnids.
 Acarology – study of the taxon of arachnids that contains mites and ticks
 Entomology – study of insects
 Myrmecology – scientific study of ants, a branch of entomology
 Coleopterology – study of beetles
 Lepidopterology – study of a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies
(called lepidopterans)
 Ethology – study of animal behavior
 Helminthology – study of worms, especially parasitic worms
 Herpetology – study of reptiles and amphibians
 Ichthyology – study of fish
 Malacology – branch of invertebrate zoology which deals with the study of the Mollusca
(mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species
after the arthropods.
 Mammalogy – study of mammals
 Cetology – branch of marine mammal science that studies the approximately eighty
species of whales, dolphins, and porpoise in the scientific order Cetacea.
 Physical anthropology – studies the physical development of the human species.
 Nematology – scientific discipline concerned with the study of nematodes, or roundworms
 Ornithology – study of birds

Branches of Humanities

Languages

 This particular branch of humanities consists of learning the way people communicate in different
speaking countries. It brings a sense of culture to individuals as they are likely to be taught the
various history and origins of the languages they learn.

The arts

 The arts consist of theater, music, art and film. They are all mediums of self-expression and these
courses in particular encourage personal interpretation and analysis. Fine arts courses also come into
this category; however, they focus more on the historical forms of art and their origins.

Literature

 Literature refers to novels, short stories, plays and so on. Individuals attempt to decipher the
meaning of texts and look into symbolism and themes. Literature courses delve into social aspects
that may influence texts.

Philosophy and religion

 These courses study human behavior and the age-old questions such as the meaning of life and the
existence of God. They analyze various cultures and their religious beliefs as well as moral codes.

History

 This is arguably the most facts-based course as individuals delve into past events such as war and
politics and how societies and cultures have been affected throughout the years.
Branches of Applied Psychology

Clinical psychology
Clinical psychology includes the study and application of psychology for the purpose of
understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to
promote subjective well-being and personal development. Central to its practice are psychological
assessment and psychotherapy, although clinical psychologists may also engage in research,
teaching, consultation, forensic testimony, and program development and administration. Some
clinical psychologists may focus on the clinical management of patients with brain injury—this area
is known as clinical neuropsychology. In many countries clinical psychology is a regulated mental
health profession.

Counseling psychology
Counseling psychology is an applied specialization within psychology, that involves both research and
practice in a number of different areas or domains. According to Gelso and Fretz (2001), there are
some central unifying themes among counseling psychologists. These include a focus on an
individual’s strengths, relationships, their educational and career development, as well as a focus
on normal personalities. Counseling Psychologists help people improve their well-being, reduce and
manage stress, and improve overall functioning in their lives. The interventions used by Counseling
Psychologists may be either brief or long-term in duration. Often they are problem focused and goal-
directed. There is a guiding philosophy which places a value on individual differences and an
emphasis on "prevention, development, and adjustment across the life-span."

Educational psychology
Educational psychology is devoted to the study of how humans learn in educational settings,
especially schools. Psychologists assess the effects of specific educational interventions:
e.g., phonics versus whole language instruction in early reading attainment. They also study the
question of why learning occurs differently in different situations.
Another domain of educational psychology is the psychology of teaching. In some colleges,
educational psychology courses are called "the psychology of learning and teaching". Educational
psychology derives a great deal from basic-science disciplines within psychology including cognitive
science and behaviorially-oriented research on learning.

Environmental psychology
Environmental psychology is the psychological study of humans and their interactions with their
environments. The types of environments studied are limitless, ranging from homes, offices,
classrooms, factories, nature, and so on. However, across these different environments, there are
several common themes of study that emerge within each one. Noise level and ambient temperature
are clearly present in all environments and often subjects of discussion for environmental
psychologists. Crowding and stressors are a few other aspects of environments studied by this sub-
discipline of psychology. When examining a particular environment, environmental psychology looks
at the goals and purposes of the people in the using the environment, and tries to determine how
well the environment is suiting the needs of the people using it. For example, a quiet environment
is necessary for a classroom of students taking a test, but would not be needed or expected on a
farm full of animals. The concepts and trends learned through environmental psychology can be used
when setting up or rearranging spaces so that the space will best perform its intended function. The
top common, more well known areas of psychology that drive this applied field include: cognitive,
perception, learning, and social psychology.
Forensic psychology and legal psychology
Forensic psychology and legal psychology are the area concerned with the application of
psychological methods and principles to legal questions and issues. Most typically, forensic
psychology involves a clinical analysis of a particular individual and an assessment of some specific
psycho-legal question. The psycho-legal question does not have to be criminal in nature. In fact, the
forensic psychologist rarely gets involved in the actual criminal investigations. Custody cases are a
great example of non-criminal evaluations by forensic psychologists. The validity and upholding of
eyewitness testimony is an area of forensic psychology that does veer closer to criminal
investigations, though does not directly involve the psychologist in the investigation process.
Psychologists are often called to testify as expert witnesses on issues such as the accuracy of
memory, the reliability of police interrogation, and the appropriate course of action in child
custody cases.

Health and medicine


Health psychology concerns itself with understanding how biology, behavior, and social context
influence health and illness. Health psychologists generally work alongside other medical
professionals in clinical settings, although many also teach and conduct research. Although its early
beginnings can be traced to the kindred field of clinical psychology, four different approaches to
health psychology have been defined: clinical, public health, community and critical health
psychology.

Human factors and ergonomics


Human factors and ergonomics (HF&E) is the study of how cognitive and psychological processes
affect our interaction with tools, machines, and objects in the environment. Many branches of
psychology attempt to create models of and understand human behavior. These models are usually
based on data collected from experiments. Human Factor psychologists however, take the same data
and use it to design or adapt processes and objects that will compliment the human component of
the equation. Rather than humans learning how to use and manipulate a piece of technology, human
factors strives to design technology to be inline with the human behavior models designed by general
psychology. This could be accounting for physical limitations of humans, as in ergonomics, or
designing systems, especially computer systems, that work intuitively with humans, as does
engineering psychology.

Industrial and organizational psychology


Industrial and organizational psychology, or I-O psychology, focuses on the psychology of the
workforce, customer, and consumer, including issues such as the psychology of recruitment, selecting
employees from an applicant pool, training, performance appraisal, job satisfaction, work
motivation. work behavior, stress at work and management. In short, I-O psychology is the
application of psychology to the workplace. A core aspect of this field is job analysis, the detailed
study of which behaviors a given job entails.

School psychology
School psychology is a field that applies principles of clinical psychology and educational
psychology to the diagnosis and treatment of students' behavioral and learning problems. School
psychologists are educated in child and adolescent development, learning theories, psychological
and psycho-educational assessment, personality theories, therapeutic interventions, special
education, psychology, consultation, child and adolescent psychopathology, and the ethical, legal
and administrative codes of their profession.
Social change
Psychologists have been employed to promote "green" behavior, i.e. sustainable development. In this
case, their goal is behavior modification, through strategies such as social marketing. Tactics include
education, disseminating information, organizing social movements, passing laws, and altering taxes
to influence decisions.

Sport psychology
Sport psychology is a specialization within psychology that seeks to understand psychological/mental
factors that affect performance in sports, physical activity and exercise and apply these to enhance
individual and team performance. The sport psychology approach differs from the coaches and
players perspective. Coaches tend to narrow their focus and energy towards the end-goal. They are
concerned with the actions that lead to the win, as opposed to the sport psychologist who tries to
focus the players thoughts on just achieving the win. Sport psychology trains players mentally to
prepare them, whereas coaches tend to focus mostly on physical training. Sport psychology deals
with increasing performance by managing emotions and minimizing the psychological effects of injury
and poor performance. Some of the most important skills taught are goal setting, relaxation,
visualization, self-talk awareness and control, concentration, using rituals, attribution training, and
periodization. The principles and theories may be applied to any human movement or performance
tasks (e.g., playing a musical instrument, acting in a play, public speaking, motor skills). Usually,
experts recommend that students be trained in both kinesiology (i.e., sport and exercise
sciences, physical education) and counseling.

Traffic psychology
Traffic psychology is an applied discipline within psychology that looks at the relationship between
psychological processes and cognitions and the actual behavior of road users. In general, traffic
psychologists attempt to apply these principles and research findings, in order to provide solutions
to problems such as traffic mobility and congestion, road accidents, speeding. Research psychologists
also are involved with the education and the motivation of road users.
Difference between Social Science and Natural Science
Natural Sciences (NST) is a branch of science concerned with the description, prediction, and
understanding of natural phenomena, based on observational and empirical evidence while
Social science is a major category of academic disciplines, concerned with society and the
relationships among individuals within a society. It in turn has many branches, each of which is
considered a "social science” Social science and Natural science are two subjects that differ from
each other in terms of their subject matter. Social science is any study that is centered on society
and its development. In short, it refers to any subject that does not come under the gamut of natural
sciences.

Thus, social sciences include a variety of subjects such as anthropology, education, economics,
international relations, political science, history, geography, psychology, law, criminology, and the
like. Anthropology is a social science that deals with the history of man. Human biology and
humanities get covered too by the term anthropology.

Economics is a social science that studies the various theories and problems relating production of
goods, distribution of goods and of course the consumption of wealth. Physical geography and human
geography are covered by the term geography which is yet another social science. History is a social
science that explores into the past human events.

On the other hand, natural sciences are the branches of science that go into the details of the natural
world by using scientific methods. It is important to know that natural sciences employ scientific
methods to go deep into details regarding natural behavior and natural condition. This is the main
difference between social science and natural science.

Sciences such as logic, mathematics, and statistics are called as formal sciences and they too are
different from natural sciences. Astronomy, Biology, Earth Science, Physics, Chemistry,
Oceanography, Material Science, Earth Science and Atmospheric Science are some of the well-known
natural sciences.

It is interesting to note that subjects such as meteorology, hydrology, geophysics and geology also
fall under natural sciences since they all involve scientific methods in their approach. These are the
differences between the two important terms, namely, social science and natural science.

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