BA/BS degree requirements — Department of Sociology

The Department of Sociology offers both the bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees in sociology, and students can elect to pursue a track in diversity and inequality; sociology of culture; or health, medicine, and well-being. Students also have the opportunity to complete a BA in sociology entirely online.

The BA SOC Online program requires the core classes listed below and then several 300- and 400- level electives from a pool of electives - and offers the same quality instruction from our instructors. To learn more about the online option, admission requirements and application deadlines, send a request for information to the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning. (Currently, the BS in sociology is not also available as a 100% online program.)

For full degree requirements, visit the BA in sociology and the BS in sociology in the Undergraduate Catalog. For a quick glance at the coursework required within the major for a degree in sociology, see below:

Coursework
In addition to the Cardinal Core Requirements (CC), programmatic requirements and supporting courses (see below), and general electives, students in any of the sociology degree programs take 39-45 credit hours in sociology.

Core Courses
All undergraduate students working toward a BA or BS in sociology must complete the following core courses (which are offered each fall, spring, and summer):

SOC 201 Intro to Sociology-SB
SOC 202 Social Problems-SBD1 OR SOC 206 Social Justice OR SOC 210 Race in the U.S.-SBD1
SOC 301 Intro to Social Statistics
SOC 303 Intro to Research Methods-WR
SOC 320 Social Theory-WR
SOC 323 Diversity & Inequality

Electives in Sociology
Both BA and BS students then take three 300-level sociology electives and four 400-level sociology electives from a pool of electives related to their track - and, for the BS in sociology degrees, an additional 200+ level elective and either SOC 400 Independent Study or SOC 405 Voluntarism. Students will find the full list of requirements in the Undergraduate Catalog, specifically:

Click here for the BA degrees (BA in sociology with no track, BA in sociology with a track in diversity and inequality, and BA in sociology with track in sociology of culture)
Click here for the BS degrees (BS in sociology with no track, and BS in sociology with track in health, medicine, and well-being

Also, for a list of upcoming sociology electives being offered and their elaborated course descriptions (more detailed than what the Undergraduate Catalog provides), visit here.

In general, the department offers the following electives on a regular basis: SOC 305 Urban Sociology, SOC 315 Environmental Sociology, SOC 325 Sociology of Human Sexuality, SOC 327 Sociology of Gender, SOC 329 Sociology of Families, SOC 334 Sociology of Deviant Behavior, SOC 336 Criminology, SOC 340 Mental Health & Illness, SOC 342 Medical Sociology, SOC 343 Sociology of Women's Health, SOC 350 Special Topics in Sociology, SOC 380 Animals and Society, and SOC 392 Faces of Global Poverty-WR.

At the 400-level, we offer the following on a regular basis: SOC 400 Independent Study-CUE, SOC 405 Community Engagement-CUE, SOC 410 Sociology of Aging-CUE, SOC 415 Sociology of Death and Dying-CUE, SOC 425 Sociology of Leisure-CUE, SOC 435 Sociology of Health and Illness-CUE, SOC 450 Special Topics in Sociology-CUE (e.g., Animals and Society, Environmental Justice, Immigrants & Identity, Sociology of Food, U.S. Holidays), SOC 454 Social Inequality & Stratification-WR;CUE, SOC 464 Race and Ethnicity-WR;CUE, and SOC 472 Sociology of Education-WR;CUE.

Admission to the Program
In addition to GPA requirements (see here for details), students must take SOC 301 Social Statistics and earn a solid C or better before being admitted to the sociology program. (Students must also earn a solid C or better in SOC 303 Research Methods and SOC 320 Social Theory to graduate with a degree in sociology.)

Programmatic Requirements: Humanities or Natural Sciences

Sociology majors must take two humanities (or natural science) division courses (at the 300+ level) for their degree. (BA students must also take an additional humanities or natural science at any level.) Humanities Division courses include: art, art history, Chinese Studies, English, humanities, linguistics, modern languages, music history, philosophy, theatre arts, and any language course (ASL, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish). Natural Sciences Division courses include: biology, chemistry, geosciences, mathematics, and physics.

Supporting Course Requirements: Social Sciences
Students earning the BA in sociology must take 18 hours of social science electives (supporting courses), two courses of which must be either ANTH 201, PAS 200, LALS 311, and/or WGST 201. Students earning the BS in sociology must take 24 hours of social science electives, one course of which must be either ANTH 201, PAS 200, LALS 311, or WGST 201. For more details on the "supporting courses" requirement.

The social sciences include: anthropology; communication; criminal justice; economics; geography; history; paralegal studies; peace, justice and conflict transformation; political science; and psychology. Some classes in Asian studies, liberal studies, Pan-African studies, social change, and women & gender studies are also considered social science electives; please consult the course description for a particular course's designation. NOTE: Sociology courses may not be used to satisfy social science requirements.

Substitutions
Sociology majors may only substitute a psychology research methods course (i.e., PSYC 302) for SOC 303, but may substitute BSTA 301 (formerly MGMT 201), GEOG 356, CJ 326, MATH 109 or 560, PHUN 301, PSYC 301, or SW 204 for SOC 301. Any other substitutions must be approved by Dr. Jonetta Weber in the Department of Sociology.

Sociology minors may substitute CJ 325, PAS 408, PSYC 302, or SW 426 for SOC 303, and may substitute BSTA 301 (formerly MGMT 201), GEOG 356, CJ 326, MATH 109 or 560, PHUN 301, PSYC 301, or SW 204 for SOC 301. Any other substitutions must be approved by Dr. Jonetta Weber in the Department of Sociology.

NOTE: Students opting to substitute one of the approved courses above for SOC 301 and/or SOC 303 must take an additional sociology elective at the 300+ level in lieu of the required sociology course(s). Students may not take two statistics courses and have both count toward their degree.

WR (Writing Requirement) Approved Courses
All students must take two WR courses to fulfill the writing requirement. SOC 303 (Research Methods) and SOC 320 (Social Theory) are WR courses, thus meeting the WR requirement for sociology majors/minors.

CUE (Culminating Undergraduate Experience)
All students must take one sociology CUE course during their senior year. Students pursuing the BS in sociology will take SOC 405 Voluntarism or conduct an independent study in sociology (SOC 400), while students pursuing the BA in sociology will take any 400-level sociology course designated as a CUE. Currently, 400-level courses with the CUE designation include: SOC 400 Independent Study, SOC 405 Voluntarism, SOC 410 Sociology of Aging, SOC 415 Sociology of Death & Dying, SOC 425 Sociology of Leisure, SOC 435 Sociology of Health and Illness, SOC 440 The Health Care System, SOC 450 Special Topics in Sociology, SOC 454 Social Inequality and Stratification, SOC 464 Race and Ethnicity, SOC 470 Political Sociology, SOC 472 Sociology of Education, and SOC 499 Senior Honors Thesis.