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Sociology and Anthropology

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Bachelor of Arts in Sociology

The Bachelor of Arts degree has the option of a concentration in social inequality, medicine and the environment, anthropology, or organizational sociology. The sociology major prepares students for a broad array of careers in areas including social services, law, medicine and allied professions, as well as leadership roles in business organizations, not-for-profit organizations, corporations, government and government agencies. Sociology students are also prepared for graduate work in sociology and other social sciences.

Students who select the B.A. in Sociology as their undergraduate degree are required to complete a total of 30 hours in sociology/anthropology courses, with at least 18 hours at the 3000 level or above. Students must get a "C" or higher in the courses that count towards the major, and maintain a 2.0 GPA overall in the major. Two years of a foreign language is required for this degree. Students who completed four years in high school study in one language are exempted from this requirement. This is a general requirement of the College of Arts and Sciences for the B.A. degree.

Each major must fulfill hourly requirements in five categories:

Introduction

  SOC 1010 Introductory Sociology
  ANTH 1050 Introduction to General Anthropology

Research Methods

  SOC 2130 Basic Statistics (required )
Students may fulfill three hours of the research requirement in any of the following courses.
  SOC 2510 Research Methods
  SOC 4410 Advanced Qualitative Methods
  ANTH 4900 Anthropological Research

 

Theory

  SOC 4710 Development of Sociological Theory


Emphasis

Requires at least 12 hours (six hours must be taken in the department) at the 3000 level or above of sociology/anthropology courses, with at least three hours of upper division anthropology.

Students have the option of using their electives to focus on specific areas of interest. A Concentration is a set of courses that provide a greater depth of knowledge in particular areas and are strictly voluntary. The requirements for the major in sociology may be met simply by completing the 12 hours of upper division credit in sociology/anthropology courses.

Any area of Concentration should contain no less than nine hours of upper division sociology/anthropology courses. Note the required upper division anthropology course may or may not be included in the area of Concentration. However, it is required for all majors regardless of Concentration.

Anthropological Research (ANTH 4900) or Sociology Independent Study (SOC 4990) may be used in place of a listed class with the agreement of the supervising instructor and the undergraduate adviser. No more than six hours may be applied to the major.

The department has presently designated four areas of Concentration: Anthropology, Medicine and Environment, Social Inequality, and Organizational Sociology.

Below are some of the courses that will count towards the emphasis area. This is not exhaustive. If you are interested in taking a particular course, but do not see it listed below, be sure to talk with the Undergraduate Advisor before enrolling.

 

 

Anthropology Emphasis
Required (6 Hours)
  ANTH 3910 Introduction to Physical Anthropology
  ANTH 4210 Cultural Anthropology

Electives (6 Hours in any of the following courses.)

  ANTH 3210 Cultures of African People
  ANTH 3220 People and Cultures of Native North America
  ANTH 3260 World Cultures and People
  ANTH 4200 Urban Anthropology
  ANTH 4220 North American Archaeology
  ANTH 4260 Topics of Ethnology
  ANTH 4520 Psycholinguistics
  ANTH 4920 Seminor in Anthropoligical Problems
  GEOL 4040 Geoarcheaology
     
Medicine and the Environment Emphasis
(9 hours from any of the following courses.)
  SOC 3820 Medical Sociology
  SOC 4700 Women's Health and Issues of Diversity
  SOC 4830 Sociology of Mental Illness
  ANTH 4230 Ethnomedicines of the Americas
  ANTH 4260 Topics of Ethnology (if appropriate)
  SOC 3850 Society, Environment and Resource Conservation

Organizational Sociology Emphasis
(12 hours from any of the following courses.)
  SOC 3080 Work and Society (required)
  SOC 4620 Sociology of Formal Organization (required)
  SOC 2180 Occupations and Careers
  SOC 3610 Social Organization
  SOC 4100 The Community
  SOC 4550 Workplace and Diversity
  ANTH 4210 Cultural Anthropology
  ANTH 4920 Seminar in Anthropological Problems (as appropriate)
  ANTH 4260 Topics of Ethnology (as appropriate)
  PSCI 3920 Topics in Political Science (as appropriate)
  PA 4200 Community Organizing and Social Change
  MGMT 3510 Human Resource Management
  MGMT 4040 Managerial Leadership

Social Inequality Emphasis
(9 hours in any of the following courses)
  SOC 3690 Social Stratification
  SOC 3800 Work and Society
  SOC 3810 Sociology of Education
  SOC 3840 Work Population and Social Issues
  SOC 3900 Race and Ethnic Relations in the U.S.
  SOC 3950 Sociology of Latin America
  SOC 4150 American Family Problems
  SOC 4250 Latino/a Migration in the World Economy
  SOC 4300 Sociology of Gender
  SOC 4700 Women's Health and Issues of Diversity
  ANTH 3260 World Cultures and Peoples (as appropriate)
  ANTH 4260 Topics of Ethnology (as appropriate)
  SOC 4800 Contemporary Topics in Sociology (as appropriate)

 

Thesis

  SOC 4900 Senior Thesis (required)

The senior thesis is a required senior year research and writing course for majors; it provides an opportunity to develop an original thesis project, and must be taken within the department. This course has been approved for the third writing course in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Electives in Sociology

The following popular courses (and a few other courses not listed below) do not count directly towards any area of Emphasis, but they can be applied as sociology electives toward the 125 credit-hour graduation requirement. Students are strongly encourageed to speak with the Undergraduate Advisor before enrolling for any of them.

  SOC 2100 Social Problems
  SOC 2150 Marriage and the Family
  SOC 3100 Social Aspects of Sports and Liesure
  SOC 3450 Social Psychology