Bachelor of Science in Sociology

A major or minor in sociology within the College of Arts and Sciences provides students with vital intellectual and occupational skills. This includes analytical thinking; creative problem solving; effective written and oral communication; collecting, analyzing and interpreting data; and gaining expertise regarding the impact of social and cultural dynamics on individual and societal trends. Students may pursue broad training in sociology, or they may pursue a specific interest such as Crime/Deviance, Family, Health, Social Inequality, or Social Research. The core requirements of the major, as well as a selection of other courses, are offered regularly online, making it possible to earn a degree primarily at a distance.

We also encourage students strongly to seize the opportunities provided for internships and a variety of research experiences, which play a key role in helping students gain experience and build the strongest after-graduation opportunities. Our majors and minors pursue careers in a variety of fields that reflect their substantive expertise, such as:

Social-Justice Related Activism
Law and Criminal Justice
Education and Social/Human Services
Research—especially public health and medicine, public opinion research, market research/marketing, as well as occupations requiring data collection, analysis, and project direction skills (e.g., nursing, policy work, journalism, engineering, computational sciences)
Public Service/Government and Administration
Nonprofit organizations
Business, Management, and Human Resources
We also encourage students to combine their interest in sociology with one of the many interdisciplinary programs/certificates offered in the College of Arts and Sciences and beyond. This includes but is not limited to Environmental Studies, Ethnic Studies, Global Studies, Human Rights, Humanities and Medicine, Public Policy, and Women’s and Gender Studies.