BA Sociology

Sociology is the scientific study of the organization and functioning of societies, their major institutions, groups, and values. Sociologists are particularly interested in understanding and explaining social issues and problems, and the sources of stress and change in contemporary and historical societies. Our courses provide students with critical perspectives on a wide range of major social issues, including social inequality, race/ethnicity, gender/sexuality, the media, immigration, social movements, globalization, crime/deviance, education, war, and environmental issues. In addition, students take courses on classical and contemporary sociological theory, research design, and qualitative and quantitative research methods. The culmination of our curriculum is the required senior seminar. This course provides an opportunity for students to draw on their substantive and methodological training to complete an independent research project on a topic of their choice. Students majoring or minoring in sociology go on to careers in fields such as communications, marketing, business, management, education, law, medicine/public health, and the nonprofit sector.