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Sociology Program Requirements

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Faculty

  • Kristjane Nordmeyer (Co-Chair)
  • Mark Rubinfeld (Co-Chair)

view Sociology Courses

Program Goals

  • To enhance critical, analytical, and integrative thinking skills
  • To improve writing and other communication skills
  • To be able to understand, evaluate, and conduct different types of social research
  • To develop global consciousness, social responsibility, and ethical awareness
  • To gain an understanding of the discipline’s concepts, foundations, and perspectives

Objectives

Sociology offers an academic major and minor leading to a Bachelor of Science degree. In simplest terms, sociology is the study of social life including social interactions, relationships, groups, organizations, and institutions. In studying the cultural, interactional, and institutional dimensions of society, students learn about the social world in the broadest sense of the term, as well as the social actions, policies, and transformations that can help make a lasting, positive difference in the lives of the people that make up that world. Covering so many facets of social organization and behavior, sociology is a foundational degree for just about any occupation or career that involves working with people. Students are encouraged to use their learning and experience in applied settings such as internships, seminars, and directed studies.

Program Requirements

Students must maintain a cumulative 2.5 GPA or better in courses required for the sociology major and minor. Students may apply up to twelve credits from any courses in the sociology-related fields of justice studies (JUST), political science (PLSC), and psychology (PSYC) toward fulfilling the elective requirements of the sociology major; students may apply up to four credits from any courses in the above-listed sociology-related fields toward fulfilling the elective requirements of the sociology minor.

Students have the opportunity to take an internship and may apply a maximum of 4 credit hours of internship coursework to the major. Majors must have completed SOC 390 before they can take SOC 470.

The sociology program allows for the double dipping of up to eight credits from courses in the sociology-related fields of justice studies (JUST), political science (PLSC) and/or psychology (PSYC) that can be applied toward fulfilling the elective requirements of the sociology major and, similarly, allows for the double dipping of up to four credits from courses in the above sociology-related fields (JUST, PLSC, PSYC) that can be applied toward fulfilling the elective requirements of the sociology minor.

Students must meet the university-wide graduation requirements in addition to the Sociology major:

  • 124 total hours
  • 30 upper division hours
  • WCore or Honors College requirements

Sociology Major

Requirement Description Credit Hours Prerequisites
I. World Language Requirement 8  
Sociology majors must complete eight (8) credit hours in a single world language.
II. Lower Division Courses 8  
SOC 105 The Sociological Imagination 4  
SOC 205 Social Problems 4  
III. Upper Division Sociology & Related Courses 12  
SOC 313 Social Theory 4 SOC 105
SOC 390 Social Research Methods 4  
SOC 470 Senior Thesis 4 SOC 390
IV. Electives 24  
Twenty-four (24) credits of Sociology or Sociology-related electives with 14 of those credits at the 300-level or above. Sociology-related elective course offerings include any sociology-related courses in Justice Studies, Political Science, and Psychology. Sociology elective course offerings include but are not limited to the following;see Sociology course descriptions for a full listing.
SOC 253 Sociology of the Family 4  
SOC 300 Special Topics in Sociology 4  
SOC 320 Sociology of Popular Culture 4  
SOC 330 Sports and Society 4  
SOC 342 Sociology of the Life Course 4  
SOC 345 Sociology of Sexualities 4  
SOC 350 Gender in Society 4  
SOC 370 Social Work 4  
SOC 372 Race, Ethnicity and Class 4  
SOC 375 Social Welfare Policy 4  
SOC 395 Applied Sociology 4  
SOC 400 Seminar in Sociology 4  
SOC 401 Directed Studies 1-4  
SOC 440 Internship 1-4  
Total Hours for the Sociology Major 52  

Recommended Plan of Study for Sociology

Fall Semester Spring Semester
Year 1 SOC 105* (freshman or sophomore year)
SOC 205 (freshman or sophomore year)		 SOC electives
Year 2 SOC electives SOC electives
Year 3 SOC electives SOC 313
SOC electives
Year 4 SOC 390
SOC electives		 SOC 470

Optional Concentrations

Sociology students may earn an optional concentration in Gender and Sexuality or Social Work and Social Welfare by completing three courses (12 credits) in the following two areas:

Optional Concentrations Credit Hours Prerequisites
Gender and Sexuality (Must complete Gender in Society and Sociology of Sexualities plus one more of the remaining two courses) 12  
SOC 253 Sociology of the Family 4  
SOC 342 Sociology of the Life Course 4  
Social Work and Social Welfare (Must complete Social Work and Social Welfare Policy plus one more of the remaining two courses) 12  
SOC 253 Sociology of the Family 4  
SOC 395 Applied Sociology 4  

Credits from sociology Special Topics classes, May Terms classes, and May Term Trips/Study Abroad Experiences that explicitly cover one of these two concentrations may be applied to that concentration with instructor’s permission.

Sociology Minor

Requirement Description Credit Hours Prerequisites
I. Required Courses 8  
SOC 105 The Sociological Imagination 4  
SOC 313 Social Theory 4 SOC 105
II. Electives 12  
  1. Eight hours of Sociology or sociology-related coursework (see above) numbered 300 or above
  2. Four hours of Sociology or sociology-related 100, 200, 300, or 400-level coursework
Total Hours for the Sociology Minor 20