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Major Concentration

The sociology department now offers seven areas of concentration for our undergraduate majors, comprising sub-fields for which our department is recognized nationally and internationally. These concentrations are intended to guide students into specializing in areas of particular interest to them and to signal their expertise in these areas to potential employers and graduate schools. We also provide a general concentration for those students who do not wish to specialize in the following areas.

Education in sociology prepares students for a wide range of careers, and concentrations can assist students in combining sociology with other programs and majors that enhance and complement their sociological studies. For instance, pre-law and pre-med students can combine their pre-professional programs of study with their course work in sociology through concentrations in Sociology of Law and Sociology of Health, Medicine, and Science, respectively.

Students may only choose one area of concentration. For each concentration, students will take four courses in sociology and related departments, though at least two of the four courses must be taken through the sociology department. Students may substitute courses outside of sociology with the approval of a sociology adviser. Courses counting towards the concentration should in general come from students’ Sociology elective credits and related courses; i.e., courses counting toward the concentration do not have to be “extra” courses taken on top of the degree requirements. Sociology courses under 276, 376, and 392 can be considered, depending on their topic; please discuss these courses with an advisor. 

Students may also work with an adviser to create their own concentration if their area of interest is not covered in these specializations.

Sociology Major Concentrations

Course Offerings in Each Concentration

Below are the courses in sociology that are already being taught on a regular basis in each area of concentration. In brackets we have included a few examples of related courses from Anthropology, Economics, and Political Science, but these examples represent only a limited set of options, as courses in History, Psychology, Statistics, and other departments and programs will also be relevant, and we have not included an exhaustive list of relevant courses in the departments mentioned.

Economic Sociology and Global Development

SOCIOL 215–0 Economy and Society
SOCIOL 302-0 Sociology of Organizations
SOCIOL 309-0 Political Sociology
SOCIOL 316-0 Economic Sociology
SOCIOL 317-0 Global Development
SOCIOL 324-0 Global Capitalism
SOCIOL 325-0 Global and Local Inequalities
SOCIOL 330-0 Law, Markets and Globalization
SOCIOL 332-0 Work and Occupations
SOCIOL 335-0 Sociology of Rational Decision Making

[Possible related courses: Anthropology (e.g., 341-Economic Anthropology; 374- Anthropology of Complex Organizations); Economics (most courses count); Political Science (e.g. 341-International Political Economy; 342-International Organizations; and other courses on political economy); and other courses list in BIP]

Environment and Society

SOCIOL 212–0 Environment and Society
SOCIOL 220-0 Health, Biomedicine, Culture, and Society
SOCIOL 305-0 Population Dynamics
SOCIOL 311-0 Food, Politics and Society
SOCIOL 330-0 Law, Markets and Globalization
SOCIOL Topics Sociology of Disaster

[Possible related courses: Anthropology (e.g., 302-Agriculture: Its Origins, Environmental Impacts, and Social Transformations; 383-Environmental Anthropology); Economics (e.g., 370-Environmental and Natural Resource Economics); Political Science (e.g., 329-U.S.. Environmental Politics; 349-International Environmental Politics); and other courses listed in Environmental Policy and Culture and Environmental Sciences]

Social Data Research

SOCIOL 303-0 Analysis and Interpretation of Social Data
SOCIOL 305-0 Population Dynamics
SOCIOL 329-0 Field Research and Methods of Data
SOCIOL 398-1,2 Senior Research Seminar
SOCIOL 399 Independent Study (Research focused)
SOCIOL 400, 401-1, 401-2: Three Course Graduate Statistics Sequence

[Possible related courses: Anthropology (e.g., 361-Talk as Social Action; 362-Advanced Methods in Quantitative Analysis); Economics and Statistics (most econometrics and statistics courses count here); Political Science (e.g., most courses in the Research Methodology area)]
NOTE: Only two undergraduate Sociology courses will count toward this concentration. Two courses must be taken outside of Sociology or in the Sociology graduate curriculum in order to fulfill its requirements. This concentration is meant to develop stronger expertise in data analytic methods than is provided in the undergraduate sociology curriculum alone.

Social Inequality: Class, Gender, and Race

SOCIOL 201-0 Social Inequality
SOCIOL 202-0 Social Problems
SOCIOL 208-0 Race and Society
SOCIOL 210-0 Family and Society
SOCIOL 216-0 Gender and Society
SOCIOL 235-0 Critical Thought on Race and Ethnicity
SOCIOL 307-0 School and Society
SOCIOL 310-0 Sociology of the Family
SOCIOL 325-0 Global and Local Inequalities
SOCIOL 327-0 Youth and Society
SOCIOL 345-0 Class and Culture
SOCIOL 356-0 Sociology of Gender

[Possible related courses: Anthropology (e.g., 354-Gender and Anthropology; 365-Language, Race, and Ethnicity in the U.S..); Economics (e.g., 340-Economics of the Family; 339-Labor Economics); Political Science (e.g., 327-African American Politics; 328-Public Policy); and most courses in Gender Studies, Asian American Studies, African American Studies, and Latino Studies]

Sociology of Health, Medicine, and Science

SOCIOL 220–0 Health, Biomedicine, Culture, and Society
SOCIOL 232–0 Sexuality and Society
SOCIOL 305–0 Population Dynamics
SOCIOL 311–0 Food, Politics and Society
SOCIOL 355–0 Medical Sociology
SOCIOL 319–0 Sociology of Science
SOCIOL Topics - Gender, Health, and Medicine; Sociology of Technology; Sociology of Illness; Transnational Gender and Sexuality; Race/Gender/Sex/Science; Heterosexualities

[Possible related courses: Anthropology (e.g., 314: Human Growth and Development); Economics (e.g., 307-Economics of Medical Care); Political Science (e.g., 328-Public Policy); and most courses listed in Global Health Studies]

Sociology of Law/Law and Society

SOCIOL 206–0 Law and Society
SOCIOL 308–0 Crime, Politics and Society
SOCIOL 318–0 Law, Courts, and Social Change
SOCIOL 322–0 Sociology of Immigration
SOCIOL 330-0 Law, Markets and Globalization
SOCIOL 309–0 Political Sociology

[Possible related courses: Anthropology (e.g., 378: Law and Culture); Economics (e.g., 351: Law and Economics ); Political Science (most courses in the Law and Politics area); and other courses listed in Legal Studies]

Urban Sociology

SOCIOL 207-0 Cities in Society
SOCIOL 301-0 The City: Urbanization and Urbanism
SOCIOL 308–0 Crime, Politics and Society
SOCIOL 322–0 Sociology of Immigration
SOCIOL 376-0 Gangs

Due to changes in course offerings, please speak with an advisor if you are interested in Urban Sociology. [Possible related courses: Anthropology (e.g., 372-Third World Urbanization; 373-Power and Culture in American Cities); Economics (e.g., 354-Issues in Urban and Regional Economics); Political Science (e.g., 221-Urban Politics); and other courses listed in Urban Studies]