As a core discipline in the Liberal Arts, Sociology offers courses designed
to further the student’s understanding and critical analysis of society. Our
curriculum provides students with a sociological understanding of the sources
and consequences of social inequality and the impact of race, ethnicity, social
class, and gender on social institutions and social behavior. Our courses focus
on such questions as-How does our social background influence our attitudes and
behavior? What are the chances for full equality between women and men? What can
we do to reduce the problems of poverty and crime? What options do people have
to change their groups, organizations, and culture? What kind of family forms
are emerging in the post-industrial world? Why are rates of physical and mental
illness unusually high in some areas of society?
These are just a few of the many questions that Sociology seeks to answer.
Sociology explores and challenges common assumptions about the world around us
and addresses many of the problems facing us in the present: the growing health
care crisis; drug use and abuse; violence and discrimination against women and
minorities; divorce; and the growing feminization of poverty.
Sociology faculty seek in all our classes to encourage students to look at
society in new ways. We are deeply committed to high-quality undergraduate
teaching. We offer a welcoming, student-centered atmosphere, and our students
typically tell us how much they appreciate the attention the Sociology faculty
and staff show them inside and outside the classroom.
The Department offers two optional concentrations within the major: (1)
Crime, Law, and Deviance; and (2) Race, Class, and Gender. We also offer a minor
in Sociology.
The Sociology curriculum provide excellent preparation for a variety of
careers. Employers are increasingly interested in hiring individuals who know
about social interaction and organizational behavior. Sociology provides this
knowledge and helps you develop your skills in written and oral communication,
critical thinking and problem solving, and research methods and data analysis.
Opportunities exist for employment in fields such as: criminal justice, public
relations, human resources management, industrial relations, organizational
research, marketing, family counseling, community planning, teaching, and health
care. The Department also offers a supervised internship providing practical
experience in a field setting.
Requirements
- Satisfy general education requirements.
- Core requirements for a Sociology major (18 credits): SOC 101, SOC 301,
SOC 302, SOC 390, SOC 460, SOC 499.
- Sociology Electives (18 Credits): Nine of the 18 credits must be 300 or
400- level Sociology courses.
- The following courses must be passed with a grade of “C” or better: ENG
212 or ENG 317; and one of following statistics courses: ANT 462, MAT 215, MAT
232, PAA 315, PSY 341, SOC 310.
- There is no foreign language requirement for Sociology. However, language
courses are strongly recommended for those students planning graduate work or
planning to work in careers needing some bilingual proficiency (especially
Spanish and French).
- All required courses (except SOC 101) must be successfully completed with
a grade of “C” or better. The GPA for all courses, required and elective,
taken for the Sociology major must be at least 2.0.
- Student Internships: Internships are available for Sociology majors. Those
interested in an internship should stop by the department office for
guidelines. Students are required to complete an “Intent to Declare an
Internship” form. Forms are due March 24 for the fall semester, and October 15
for spring semester.
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