Majoring in Sociology
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Major Concentrations
The Department of Sociology offers a B.A. in Sociology. When you declare your major, choose one of the following concentrations in Sociology:
Generalist Sociology Concentration
Of all our concentrations, the Generalist Sociology concentration provides the most flexibility. Students will gain substantive knowledge while investigating a wide array of institutions and social processes. Strong analytic skills are developed through the major’s rigorous theory and research methods requirements. Students who are considering multiple career paths will benefit from the breadth of knowledge developed in this concentration.
Globalization Concentration
In the Globalization concentration, students will master core theoretical approaches to understanding the political-economic, social, and cultural dimensions of globalization. Courses will analyze pressing global issues including development and inequality, immigration, the environment, work, gender, and sexuality .The concentration prepares students to work in an array of globally-oriented careers in public agencies, NGOs, and private firms.
Health, Medicine, and Well-Being Concentration
Why is it that African-Americans have experienced higher death rates from COVID-19? How are health and illness defined across time and place? And how do health care systems work in the U.S. and around the world? The Health, Medicine, and Well-Being concentration focuses on the connections between health, illness, health care, and society, illuminating the cultural and structural factors that influence the practice of medicine, as well as the social causes of illness and mortality. Students who elect this major concentration can take courses about: the social construction of illness, the social organization of medicine around the world, social responses to illness, social foundations of health behaviors, and the link between social stratification and health disparities. The concentration is ideal training for students interested in public health, government data analysis, social work, health policy, and hospital administration. It provides a necessary background about the interplay between health and society, especially for students who are planning careers as physicians, nurses, or other health care providers.
Criminology, Law, and Society Concentration
The Criminology, Law, and Society concentration provides sociology majors with an in-depth study of the social theories and research methodologies that build understanding of law, crime, and criminal justice. It investigates how varied structures in society, including systems of racial, gender and social class inequality, affect the creation of laws, definitions and causes of crime, and the societal responses to law-violation such as policing, courts and corrections. The concentration provides conceptual and practical skills that are valuable in a variety of career settings. It is especially strong training for individuals interested in working in law, criminal justice, social policy analysis, and social science research occupations.
Social Problems, Policy, and Justice Concentration
The Social Problems, Policy, and Justice concentration equips sociology majors with a strong understanding of the sources and consequences of pressing social problems, and competing approaches to enacting social change. Courses in the concentration investigate how social issues come to be identified and understood as social problems; media; the generation of inequalities related to race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, immigration status and class; urban and spatial inequalities; the relationship between humans and the environment; and how social activism, social policy, and other sources of social change may affect these pressing concerns. Coupled with the major’s rigorous theory and research methods sequence, this concentration prepares students to work in education, journalism, business, social advocacy, activism and social policy settings.
If you declared your major before then, remember that you are responsible for fulfilling the requirements described in the Catalog published for the year you declared. If you have questions, please see your advisor.
