Welcome to CHESS
Fall 2026 marks the inaugural semester of the College of Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences (CHESS)—bringing together programs dedicated to understanding people, strengthening communities, and preparing tomorrow's leaders.
Students gain the practical knowledge, hands-on experience, and transferable skills needed to succeed in today's workforce. Through research, creative activity, internships, field experiences, and community engagement, you'll develop the critical thinking, communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills that employers value and careers demand.
Your education is more than earning a degree—it's building the knowledge, experience, and confidence to make a meaningful impact in your career and your community.
Explore Our Programs
News
Anthropology Professor Co-Edits Publication on Environmental Studies
From Alaska to Tanzania, human beings have always found a way to survive and build community. A new book seeks to shed light on work that is often overlooked and underappreciated: the work of women in governing a community’s resources.
Katherine Reedy, interim dean and a professor of anthropology at Idaho State University College of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, recently co-edited a long-awaited volume titled Women’s Impact on Environmental Governance. The work, a collection of case studies that explore women’s roles in managing environmental resources, covers several communities around the globe—including Reedy’s lifelong area of study.
Rupp Debate Society Opens 2026-27 Season at College of Southern Idaho
Idaho State University's James M. & Sharon E. Rupp Debate Society opens its 2026-27 travel season September 25 and 26 at the Fran Tanner Open, hosted by the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls.
Isaac Brambila, Lazarus Clark and Alex Kuyper will represent Idaho State in International Public Debate Association competition and in individual speaking events including extemporaneous speaking, communication analysis, and informative speaking. The team is directed by Dr. Sarah T. Partlow Lefevre, Professor of Communication, Media, and Persuasion, with assistant coaches Jack Quigley and Heather Gilmore, Ph.D.
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Exploring the Heart of Law: History Professor Earns Research Fellowship at Notre Dame to Study Emotions in Medieval Law
Woolley has been awarded the A.W. Mellon Junior Faculty Fellowship in Medieval Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Beginning this Fall, she will spend nine months in Notre Dame’s Medieval Institute where she will focus on her first book project, tentatively titled The Heart of Law: Friendship and Emotions in the Early Common Law.