Degree Requirements

Sociology Studies

Requirements for Degrees. The Department of Sociology and Anthropology offers a major in sociology, a minor in sociology, and a minor in anthropology. It also offers, in collaboration with the Department of Education, a course of study that leads to social studies teacher certification.

Requirements for a Major in Sociology. A sociology major must complete 44 semester hours of required courses in sociology and anthropology and receive grades of C- or better. There are five compulsory courses. The remaining 24 semester hours must include courses from at least three of the four subject areas identified below. At least 12 of the 24 hours must be taken at the 300 level or higher. Topics courses and independent study courses may be given a subject area designation by the instructor in consultation with the department. Compulsory and elective courses do not count toward the subject area distribution requirement. In consultation with a department advisor, a sociology major may fulfill some of the major requirements by taking anthropology courses. Additionally, students are required to complete a course in Statistics (MATH:108 Introduction to Statistics, PSYC:123 Elementary Statistics, or MGMT:202 Business Statistics). Students must earn a grade of C- or better in this course. This course does not count as part of the 44 semester hours required for the major. The department recommends that SOCI:220 Research Methods and SOCI:311 Sociological Theory be completed by the end of the junior year.

The capstone requirement for a major in sociology can be met by taking a 4-credit-hour upper-level seminar or independent study that requires the production of a research paper. These courses include the following: Seminar (SOCI:500 or ANTH:500) and Senior-level Independent Study (SOCI:501 or ANTH:501).

semester hours

Human Diversity

Social Structures and Institutions

Global and Local Processes

Social Disorganization

Electives

Requirements for a Minor in Sociology. Students must complete 24 semester hours of required courses in sociology and receive grades of C- or better. Required courses include SOCI:101 Principles of Sociology, SOCI:220 Research Methods and SOCI:311 Sociological Theory. At least 8 of the remaining 12 semester hours must be taken from courses offered at the 200 level or higher. Credit received for practica courses are not included in the 24 semester hours required of sociology minors.

Requirements for a Minor in Anthropology. Students must complete 24 semester hours in anthropology and receive grades of C- or better. Required courses include ANTH:162 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, SOCI:220 Research Methods and ANTH:400 History of Anthropological Theory. Students must also complete 8 semester hours of anthropology theory courses (e.g., ANTH:220 Magic, Witchcraft and Religion; ANTH:310 National, Transnational and Diasporic Communities; or SOCI:333 Development, Globalization and Society) and 4 semester hours of an area studies course (e.g., SOCI:210 Caribbean Culture and Society or any history course focused on a geographic or cultural area, e.g. the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia or the African diaspora). With approval of the department, the area studies course may be taken outside the department.

semester hours

Teaching Certification. Students interested in elementary or secondary education as a career must meet certain state-mandated requirements. Additional information is available from the Department of Education. At minimum, these students must complete SOCI:101 Principles of Sociology, SOCI:102 Social Problems, SOCI:331 Social Control and Deviance, SOCI:311 Sociological Theory, SOCI:341 Family and Kinship, SOCI:413 Race, Ethnicity and Minorities, ANTH:162 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, and SOCI:220 Research Methods. Sociology majors preparing for teacher certification may substitute student teaching for the two sociology or anthropology electives.

Honors. The departmental honors program encourages and recognizes outstanding academic performance in the major. The department invites qualified students to join the program. To graduate with departmental honors in sociology, candidates must do the following:

• have a GPA of 3.5 or above in the major and 3.25 or above overall,
• write a senior thesis or equivalent paper based on departmental seminars, and
• sit for an oral honors examination.

Interdisciplinary options. Psychology and sociology majors may also choose the minor Human Resource Management. This minor requires: ACCT:200 Financial Accounting, ECON:105 Elements of Economics or ECON:202 Principles of Microeconomics, MGMT:360 Management and Organizational Behavior, MGMT:361 Human Resource Management, MGMT:461 Projects in Human Resource Management and MGMT:462 Human Resource Planning. An additional 4 semester hours of electives are chosen from MGMT:369 Ethics and Leadership and ECON:325 Labor Economics.