About Us

The College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences (CHASS) at University of Detroit Mercy is dedicated to cultivating intellectual versatility and a moral foundation so that students act with understanding, integrity and compassion in their personal and professional lives.

CHASS is primarily an undergraduate teaching college based on scholarship and a commitment to engaging students in their development in the liberal arts disciplines.

The College also offers a wide variety of graduate-level academic degrees, certificates and endorsements. These programs contribute to the preparation of value-centered graduates who are sensitive to the ethical and transcendent dimensions of human experience.

CHASS's mission is realized primarily through its curriculum, which is also the heart of the University's core curriculum. This curriculum focuses on critical thinking, communication skills and understanding values. These studies include the humanities as well as the social and behavioral sciences which define, found and distinguish learning and teaching at a university level.

The College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences prepares students to participate in a diverse and changing world in the Jesuit and Mercy traditions as "men and women for others." The College provides a student-centered education in an urban context which stimulates a desire for the life-long exploration of the intellectual, spiritual and ethical dimensions of what it means to be human.

The College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences education will illuminate and ignite engagement with the diverse experiences of our shared humanity. We will foster communities of belonging so that people learn, thrive and discover who they are and who they are called to be to build more just, equitable and inclusive societies.

Jocelyn M. Boryczka, Ph.D.
Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences
Professor of Political Science
313-993-3250
boryczjm@udmercy.edu

Jocelyn Boryczka joined the University as Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences in August of 2022. Boryczka most recently served as vice provost for Scholarly and Inclusive Excellence at Fairfield University, a Jesuit Catholic institution in Fairfield, Conn. and was formerly the associate vice provost for Scholarly, Creative and Community Engagement at Fairfield University. She has written two books about women’s education, served as editor and co-editor of New Political Science: A Journal of Politics & Culture, received the Martin Luther King Jr. Visions Award, the Connecticut ACE Women’s Network Award for Distinguished Academic Woman in Higher Education Leadership and the Alpha Sigma Nu Best Teacher of the Year Award.

Accreditation standards encourage mission-oriented structure and delivery of degree programs and challenge schools to pursue continuous improvement. In specified professions, graduating from an accredited institution reassures potential employers that your degree meets a standard of excellence.

• Master of Arts -  Counseling Programs
  The counseling programs at the University of Detroit Mercy are CACREP-accredited and seek to prepare individuals for a successful and rewarding career in the field of counseling. This nationally recognized program provides students with a state of the art academic and training program at one of Michigan's premier institutions of higher education.
• Education Teacher Certification Programs
  State of Michigan Board of Education
• Psychology, Doctoral Program
  The program in clinical psychology has received full accreditation from the American Psychological Association (APA).
• School Psychology Specialist Program
  The program is fully accredited by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) through 2029.
  Student Outcomes
• Social Work, BSW Program
  Council on Social Work Education

The College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences' main office, located in Briggs 108.
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Summer Office Hours
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Dean's Office Personnel

University Faculty & Staff Directory