Sociology BA
Sociology will enable you to see the world in a new light; it is the scientific study of human social relationships, interactions, and institutions. Whether they be friendships, families, church groups, socioeconomic classes, complex organizations, or nations, much of our lives are socially constructed. And in a society where individualism is celebrated, it is easy to forget that the way we behave and feel is socially produced. This is the basic premise of sociology. After your core courses, a BA in Sociology will focus on qualitative tools like interviews, stories, and community engagement to answer that critical question “What is this all about?”
Degree Requirements
General Education Requirements
Majors must satisfy the university and college general education requirements. Any foreign language may be used to meet the language requirement for the B.A. degree.
All required courses for the major must be completed with a grade of C- or better. Courses counting toward the major requirements may not be taken on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. All sociology majors must take the major field exam as a graduation requirement. This exam is usually taken in conjunction with the capstone course (SOC 4200).
The minimum number of Sociology hours required for the B.A. degree is 33.
Core Courses: 15 hours
Elective Courses: 18 hours
Core Courses (15 hours)
| SOC 1010 | Introduction to Sociology (MOTR SOCI 101) | 3 |
| SOC 2160 | Sociological Social Psychology | 3 |
| SOC 3210 | Sociological Theory | 3 |
| SOC 3230 | Social Research Methods | 3 |
| SOC 4200 | Applied Social Research | 3 |
| Total Hours | 15 | |
Electives (18 hours)
Students must complete at least 18 elective hours of Sociology Courses including 12 hours of SOC at the 3000-level or above. GERON, GS, MVS or courses relevant to sociology that are offered by other departments may be included as electives when approved in advance by the faculty.
Alignment with Minors
Students are strongly encouraged to focus their elective choices with the goal of achieving one or more minors that are closely associated with sociology. Those minors are: Gender Studies, Gerontology, Urban Studies, or Veterans Studies. Please meet with an advisor to discuss strategies to achieve these minors while pursuing a Sociology degree.
Learning Outcomes
Upon Completion of the Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, a student will be able to:
Identify and apply sociological theories to understand social phenomena by:
- Recognizing the differences between “folk” explanations of social phenomena and sociological theories of those phenomena
- Distinguishing modes of sociological inquiry from other disciplinary modes of inquiry
- Applying key concepts and key themes in sociological theory to analyze social phenomena
- Discerning the role of social structures in creating and reproducing social inequality and examining how social structures change
- Distinguishing among micro, meso, and macro levels of observation, inquiry, and analysis
Apply scientific principles to understand the social world by:
- Effectively utilizing evidence-based knowledge and sociological theories and concepts to generate research questions and/or hypotheses
- Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of scientific methodology and methods for analyzing social phenomena in different contexts
- Explaining disciplinary standards for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of data
Critically evaluate explanations of human behavior and social phenomena by:
- Identifying and appraising major theoretical perspectives, including their assumptions, key concepts, and main arguments in terms of historical context and interpretive and explanatory capacities
- Employing the sociological imagination to analyze social problems in context and evaluate solutions to social problems
Use sociological knowledge to inform social change by:
- Engaging with the world around them, including everyday life, work, policy debates, stakeholders, and the public
- Constructing and proposing real world solutions to social issues;
- Expressing sociological ideas in a clear and coherent manner in written and oral communication
- Demonstrating informal, technological, qualitative, and quantitative literacy
Sample Four Year Plan
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| INTDSC 10031 | 1 | SOC 2160 | 3 |
| SOC 1010 | 3 | Foreign Langauge 1002 | 5 |
| ENGL 1100 | 3 | CORE - Information Literacy | |
| CORE: Mathematics Proficiency | 3 | EXPLORE - Humanites and Fine Arts | 3 |
| Foreign Language 1001 | 5 | ||
| 15 | 11 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| SOC 2XXX+ Sociology Elective | 3 | SOC 2XXX+ level course | 3 |
| EXPLORE - Humanities and Fine Arts | 3 | SOC 3210 | 3 |
| EXPLORE - Math and Life/Natural Sciences | 3 | EXPLORE - Humanities and Fine Arts | 3 |
| Foreign Language 2101 | 3 | CORE - US History and Government | 3 |
| Elective or minor | 3 | Elective or minor | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| SOC 3230 | 3 | SOC 3XXX+ Sociology Elective | 3 |
| SOC 3XXX+ Elective | 3 | SOC 3XXX+ Sociology Elective | 3 |
| ENGL 3100 | 3 | EXPLORE - Mathematica and Life/Natural Sciences | 3 |
| EXPLORE - Mathematics and Life/Natural Sciences | 3 | Global Perspectives Requirement | 3 |
| CORE - Communication Proficiency | 3 | Elective or minor | 3 |
| Elective or minor | 1 | ||
| 15 | 16 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| SOC 3XXX: Sociology Course | 3 | SOC 4200 | 3 |
| Elective or minor | 3 | Elective or minor | 3 |
| Elective or minor | 3 | Elective or minor | 3 |
| Elective or minor | 3 | Elective or minor | 3 |
| Elective or minor | 3 | Elective or minor | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Total Hours: 117 | |||
- 1
INTDSC 1003 is required only for first-time freshmen and transfer students with less than 24 college credits.
Please Note: This plan is an example of what a four year plan could look like for a typical student. Placement exam scores in math as well as the completion of coursework may change the plan. It should not be used in the place of regular academic advising appointments. All students are encouraged to meet with their advisor each semester. All requirements are subject to change.