Objectives

As a department, our objectives are to foster the intellectual development of students and to promote lifetime learning experiences. We do this through teaching and applying the insights of sociological perspectives to achieve a critical understanding of social reality and the human condition.

Our curriculum is designed to explore relationships within society, the social and cultural influences on human behavior, dynamics of interaction, and social institutions and social change in a global context.

Sociology Student Learning Outcomes

Students majoring in Sociology should know:

• The processes and structures that establish the underlying regularities of social life
• How social life is continually reconstructed through opposition and deviance
• The significance of cultural differences in traditional and modern societies
• The origin and development of principal theoretical ideas that inform contemporary sociological inquiries
• The basic methodological and statistical strategies used in contemporary sociology;

Students majoring in Sociology should be able to:

• Recognize how social life is structured in ways that influence choices, opportunities, and action
• Demonstrate an ability to write and speak effectively about contemporary social issues
• Read, assess, and interpret the results of sociological research
• Successfully complete an independent research project that competently draws from current theoretical, methodological, and empirical research;

Students majoring in Sociology should value:

• A knowledge of the range of interests and goals expressed by groups and organizations in society
• The ways in which sociological research may be effectively employed by organizations and institutions
• The application of sociological knowledge in order to enhance the quality of life
• A reasoned participation in community life that is informed by grounded sociological knowledge.

Major Requirements

Sociology majors are required to take one social science course from outside the major. The course may be a lower or upper level course in Economics, Geography, Political Science, Psychology, Urban Studies, or any course that satisfies the Understanding Human Behavior requirement of the University Core.

Sociology Model Four-Year Plan

The normal course load is 15 semester hours (5 classes). By following the model below, a student will complete all lower division core requirements by the end of the sophomore year as well as most major prerequisites. Note that core areas are suggested to provide a distribution of various disciplines every semester. Please be flexible implementing these suggestions, given your own interests and course availability. In four years, this plan meets all common graduation requirements.