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.
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News
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 Kuyperand 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.
Making the New Look Old: ISU Professor Examines Anachronism in Contemporary Comics
Out with the new, in with the old—or at least, make the new look old.
That’s the idea behind ISU English Professor Matthew Levay’s new book, The New Old Style: Anachronism in Contemporary Comics, which explores comics, history, and artistic engagement with the past. The book appeared this August with the University of Nebraska Press, as part of their series “Encapsulations: Critical Comics Studies.” According to the publisher, books in the series share “an emphasis on expanding the critical range and depth of comics studies.”