Poverty is about more than low incomes; it’s a complex condition that affects every aspect of a person’s life, including health, education, access to opportunities, and overall well-being. It often creates cycles of disadvantage, where structural inequalities and barriers make it difficult for people to break free, regardless of individual effort.

This minor combines courses from academic disciplines such as economics, philosophy, and political science into a secondary program of study meant to complement a student’s major. Students from a broad range of majors, from humanities to the hard sciences, are encouraged to have informed, critical conversations about what it means to live in poverty, its causes and how poverty might be addressed and alleviated through individual and institutional actions from a broad variety of perspectives.

As a private liberal arts and sciences university, Furman provides an exceptional environment for multidisciplinary studies, allowing students to find connections between multiple areas of interest. The poverty studies minor includes course options from several different academic disciplines. Small class sizes give students greater access to professors who are among the best in their fields.

As a poverty studies minor at Furman, you will complete a full-time summer internship actively working to reduce poverty and improve the lives of people living in poverty. The combination of interdisciplinary classroom learning and internship experience help students understand the complex causes, consequences, and experiences of poverty while equipping them with practical solutions. Visit our campus or request information to learn more.