Student Experience

Department Opportunities Outside of the Classroom

Whether you are looking for ways to engage in community service, participate in ongoing research with a sociology faculty member, attend the Department Speaker Series, search for funding sources, seek a sociology-specific student organization, and/or explore post-graduation - and career options - for sociology students, we can help!  You will find information on each below, but you are also welcome to contact Dr. Jonetta Weber, Undergraduate Program Mentor & Graduate Program Advisor in Sociology.

Community Engagement

If you are interested in community engagement - volunteer activity or an internship experience, consider taking SOC 405 Community Engagement.  The course introduces students to community-based learning through class instruction and a volunteer or internship experience (generally 35-40 hours) which connects students with local organizations and allows them to develop a greater understanding of social issues by applying their degrees.  In the past, students have conducted their volunteer work/internship experience with a variety of organizations, including but not limited to:  Baptist East Hospital, Big Brothers and Sisters of Kentuckiana, Catholic Charities, Down Syndrome of Louisville, Gilda's Club Kentuckiana, Goodwill, Home of the Innocents, Kid’s Café and the Community Kitchen (part of Dare to Care food bank), Louisville West Ministries partnered with the Parkland Boys and Girls Club, Metro United Way, On Our Way Home, Planned Parenthood, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Scholar House, The Cabbage Patch Settlement, an animal shelter, a youth sports program, a state park, etc.

The course is offered online each fall and is open to sociology majors and minors who have successfully completed both SOC 201 Introduction to Sociology and SOC 323 Diversity and Inequality and earned at least 90 credit hours. While the course is the required CUE for students completing the BS in sociology, students earning their BA in sociology may take the course as an elective. 

Department Research

The Department of Sociology is an active research unit with projects involving faculty, staff, and students. To learn more about our research activities, read some of our faculty's latest research and a few of our current department projects, which includes those projects seeking participants for a particular study and those providing opportunities for undergraduate and/or graduate student involvement (e.g., assisting with the development of a literature review, collecting and/or analyzing data, etc.).  For more about individual faculty's research, visit their individual webpage on our faculty page, and see below for more information about the benefits of working with faculty on a research project.

Gaining more experience in “research” can be invaluable, as it provides an opportunity to watch the actual process of preparing/submitting a manuscript unfold, learn (and/or use) a statistical technique or methodological approach, and, perhaps, enjoy co-authorship (although the latter cannot be assumed and should be discussed with the faculty at the onset). 

While we do not have a formal process by which students connect with a specific faculty member and participate in their research (or work in their labs as students might in the hard sciences), all of our faculty have, in addition to teaching and service, a component of their job that is focused on research, and, for some, the nature of their research project provides opportunities for students to be involved.  Depending on the student’s level of experience, they may be asked to help with the development of the literature review, a survey or interview questions, collecting and/or analyzing data, etc.

Jon H. Rieger Speaker Series

The late Dr. Jon H. Rieger, professor of sociology from 1971-2020, created an endowment fund for the Department of Sociology to host an event each spring that would feature a prominent scholar in the field of sociology.  Known as the Rieger Speaker Series, the first event was held in 2018 and (with the exception of 2023) has hosted at least one - and sometimes two - speakers each year.  Two sociology graduate programs are elected to serve on the Speaker Series committee each fall to secure the guest speaker(s), and both undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to attend the event(s).

Student Organizations

The Department has two student organizations, the Sociology Graduate Student Association (SGSA) and the undergraduate Sociology Student Association (SSA).  All undergraduate students - regardless of major - are welcome to join the SSA, and there are no participation/memberships fees to either organization.

Student Funding Sources

For information regarding funding sources for general financial support, as well as student research and conference participation, click here.

Post-Graduation Strategies and Career Opportunities

If you are trying to decide between graduate school or moving directly into the workforce, be sure to read post-graduation strategies information and read about career opportunities for sociology students.