Sociology (BA)

The Sociology bachelor's degree program develops in its graduates the sociological imagination: the ability to see connections between personal experiences and public issues. As students apply the sociological perspective widely across the human world, from small-scale groups to international institutions, they learn that they are not only lifelong participants in socialization, but are affected by those agents of socialization as well. The Sociology program curriculum equips students to answer questions about contemporary cultures, cities and inequalities, such as: How do new technologies affect social lives and cultures? What are the benefits and risks as millions of people move from rural to urban lives? How do inequalities of class, race and gender reinforce or sometimes contradict each other? Graduates are prepared to address the challenges posed by our increasingly global, diverse and urban world.

Upon completion of the program, graduates are expected to:

Apply sociological theories and research methods to various social issues.
Develop a sociological imagination and use it to explain, in the language of the profession, the correlates, causes and consequences of various social issues.
Examine the ways in which various social forces — i.e., individuals, groups, cultures and institutions — contribute to both social reproduction and social change.
Apply theories and methods to evaluate policies and programs at multiple levels of organizations: local, state, national and global.
Identify and explain sociologically informed possibilities and strategies for positive social change.