Sociology is the systematic study of society with special attention to social interaction and the social making of humans. It investigates the forces that hold society together and that threaten to pull it apart through the analysis of interaction at every level from micro-group interaction to competition of nation states. Having as its goal a holistic understanding of human society, human beings and their lives, sociology is relevant to a wide range of other disciplines and every day life issues. As a result, sociology has a broad scope that includes culture, family, gender, crime, religion, politics, development, population, and urbanization, among others. Besides their coursework, sociology majors are given the opportunity to carry out supervised field research as a part of their undergraduate program.
Bachelor of Arts
In addition to the possibility of pursuing advanced graduate work in sociology or related fields, majors are trained for employment in international development agencies, government, non-governmental organizations or the private sector in social and community services or research and managerial positions.
In order to declare the major in sociology, students must pass SOC 201 with at least a “B”. Continuation within the major is dependent on maintaining at least 2.5 GPA within their concentration requirements. Students must take SOC 495 in their last full academic year. Courses at the 500-level are also open to selected advanced undergraduates.
A total of 120 credits is required for the bachelor’s degree in sociology: