Sociology Degree
Sociology: Understanding Society, Changing the World
Curious about what shapes human behavior, social movements and global trends? Want to develop skills that open doors to careers in law, public policy, education, business and beyond? A sociology degree equips you with the tools to analyze society, understand complex social issues and make a meaningful impact in a wide range of professions.
At 体育买球官网 University, sociology isn’t just about theory – it’s about action. You’ll study pressing topics like social justice, race and inequality, crime and punishment, family dynamics, and global development, all while mastering cutting-edge research methods that employers value. Small classes led by engaged faculty mean you’ll receive personalized mentorship as you explore the connections between individuals, institutions, and cultures.
Hands-on learning is central to the program. Gain real-world experience through internships with government agencies, nonprofits, and advocacy groups. Get involved in social justice initiatives through the Arlin M. Adams Center for Law & Society. Collaborate with faculty on research that addresses today’s most urgent social challenges.
Your sociology degree will prepare you for careers in law, government, social work, public health, education, business, nonprofit leadership and many other employment areas. Whether you want to influence policy, drive social change or work directly with communities, you’ll graduate with the analytical skills, research expertise and global perspective to thrive in a rapidly evolving world.
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体育买球官网’s pre-professional track prepares you for law school and beyond. If you want to put your people and legal skills to work, explore our major in legal studies.
SUSQUEHANNA By the Numbers
More Than Metrics
100%
of sociology students complete capstone projects
12%
Top ranked among U.S. colleges for ‘return on investment’ for lifetime earnings of grads
Georgetown Report100%
of our full-time faculty have a Ph.D. or terminal degree, and have real-world business experience
100%
of students receive financial aid through academic merit scholarships and need-based grants
Where Passion Meets Purpose
Straight from the Nest
“体育买球官网 helped me think critically about the world, leading to many research and leadership opportunities. These opportunities and work-study jobs gave me a broad range of transferable skills and experiences that led to several post-graduate options and prepared me well for graduate school and my career.”
— Zaida Bryant ’19
Explore Your Studies
Program Resources
A Glance Into Your Degree Pathway
With support from advisors and course planning tools, your time at 体育买球官网 is carefully designed to help you succeed. This example provides a glimpse into your degree experience, but you’ll have plenty of opportunities to customize your path with electives or study abroad programs that reflect your passions and career goals.
Basic concepts and principles of sociology applied to significant social problems. Examines social disorganization, cultural conflicts, and personal deviations associated with the stress of industrialization, urban life, and bureaucracy. 4 SH. CC: Social Interactions.
This course is designed to develop students’ competence as social researchers. We will cover both theoretical issues -like the epistemology and ethics of qualitative research – and practical ones – the nuts and bolts of the research process, from data collection to analysis. The course will focus on the connection between researchers’ theoretical goals and the practical resources and constraints of the research process. Students will be trained in some of the common forms of qualitative social research: ethnography, interviews, content analysis, case studies, and the comparative method. Students will also be required to employ qualitative methods to collect and analyze original data, both for (near-weekly) short written assignments and a 15-20 page final research paper. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing and at least one introductory course in sociology or anthropology. Same as ANTH-235. 4 SH. CC: Ethics Intensive, Writing Intensive.
This course is intended to introduce students to common methods used in quantitative social science research. It is intended to help us conceptualize a research problem and how to collect evidence to address that research problem. Students will learn how to conduct basic quantitative social science research, evaluate relevant evidence, and determine the best method to be used based on theoretical and practical considerations. The course also focuses attention on such issues such as the time dimension, sampling design and ethical issues when conducting quantitative social research. Finally we would use SPSS and series of datasets to test and demonstrate our knowledge of the respective statistical procedures. Upon completion of this course, students should be better able to critically evaluate the quantitative research they encounter in their social science coursework and in the mass media, as well as being able to design a basic quantitative research project. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing. Same as ANTH-245. 4 SH. CC: Ethics Intensive.
This course explores the dimensions, causes, costs, and correlates of the crime problem in the U.S. and considers the uses and limitations of the criminal justice system in dealing with it. To do this, the course is organized around three interdisciplinary literatures: criminology, law and society, and criminal justice studies. Focusing on issues of lawmaking, law breaking, and state response to crime, students will review and critique classical and contemporary approaches to the study of these phenomena; identify a range of theoretical approaches and empirical findings in the literatures identified above; and assess the strengths and limitations of contemporary crime control policies in light of accumulated empirical evidence. Prerequisite: SOCI-101, SOCI-102, or ANTH-162. 4 SH.
Western social theory from Comte to the present with emphasis on recent developments. Considers major schools, including positivism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, functionalism, social exchange theory, critical theory, phenomenological theory, and postmodernism. Prerequisite: Three courses in sociology. 4 SH.
Focuses on race and ethnic relations in contemporary society and popular understandings of race and ethnicity in the United States. Explores the boundaries and markers for membership in an ethnic, racial, or minority group. Specifically,this course regards race as a social construct that has significance for structural opportunities, experiences, worldviews, and conceptions of self and others. The course investigates the designations “race,” “ethnicity,” and “minorities,” and locates them in foundational and current tensions concerning power and identity. Prerequisite: ANTH-162 or SOCI-101. Same as SOCI-413. 4 SH. CC: Diversity, Social Interactions, Writing Intensive.
This course is intended as an introduction to human rights through a sociological perspective. Sociologists explore the social conditions under which human rights legislation is drafted, interpreted, enforced, and violated. The major element of a sociological understanding of human rights is the study of the myriad ways in which the international human rights regime is socially constructed and enacted. We will study the philosophical foundations of human rights doctrine, its historical development, its practical enactment and its discursive flexibility. Using certain examples taken from recent news items and world events, we will study how the discourse of human rights is realized, or failed to realize, in contemporary social reality all around the world. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing and SOCI-101 or SOCI-311. 4SH CC: Diversity Intensive, Writing Intensive.
This course examines the dynamic relationship between human societies and the environment through a sociological lens. Students will explore classical and contemporary theories in environmental sociology, including political economy, environmental justice, risk society, and ecofeminism. Key topics include climate change, environmental racism, urban sustainability, indigenous environmental knowledge, and the social construction of nature. Through case studies, policy analysis, and theoretical frameworks, students will critically assess how social, economic, and political structures shape environmental problems and solutions. Course requirements include active participation, an Op-Ed on environmental injustice, and a final research paper analyzing environmental issues through social and historical forces. Prerequisites: SOCI-101 or one EENV course. 4 SH. CC: Diversity Intensive, Writing Intensive
Research workshop which fulfills the capstone requirement for majors. Prerequisites: SOCI/ANTH-235 or SOCI/ANTH-245, and two courses in sociology or anthropology, at least one of which must be taken at the 300 level or above. SOCI-311 or ANTH-400 recommended. 4 SH. Capstone.
Sociology
Choose from a variety of elective courses within this program to customize your goals.
Supervised readings and writings in advanced fields of sociological study. Prerequisites: SOCI-101, three courses in sociology, a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 in departmental courses, and instructor’s permission. 1-4 SH. Capstone. May fulfill the capstone requirement with permission of the department head and when taken for at least 2 semester hours. Students not majoring or minoring in sociology or anthropology who wish to use SOCI-501 for their capstone must also have successfully completed SOCI/ANTH-235 or SOCI/ANTH-245, receiving a C- or higher.
Sociology
Choose from a variety of elective courses within this program to customize your goals.
Basic concepts and principles of sociology applied to significant social problems. Examines social disorganization, cultural conflicts, and personal deviations associated with the stress of industrialization, urban life, and bureaucracy. 4 SH. CC: Social Interactions.
The Black Lives Matter movement is a movement that began in 2012 after the murder of Trayvon Martin – however the movement and the #BlackLivesMatter weren’t the first time that Black people moved collectively to assert their human and civil rights. This course examines the important role of movements leading up to the Black Lives Matter Movement, specifically the Civil Rights Movement, Black Labor Movements, and the Black Power Movement. In this course we will engage with prominent social movement theories to gain an understanding of the processes behind Black people mobilizing to push for societal and institutional change. The course will focus on Black movements and engages with social movements theories such as collective identity, resource mobilization, and movement strategies and tactics to examine these key movements in U.S. history. 4 SH. CC: Social Interactions, First-Year Seminar.
This course is designed to develop students’ competence as social researchers. We will cover both theoretical issues -like the epistemology and ethics of qualitative research – and practical ones – the nuts and bolts of the research process, from data collection to analysis. The course will focus on the connection between researchers’ theoretical goals and the practical resources and constraints of the research process. Students will be trained in some of the common forms of qualitative social research: ethnography, interviews, content analysis, case studies, and the comparative method. Students will also be required to employ qualitative methods to collect and analyze original data, both for (near-weekly) short written assignments and a 15-20 page final research paper. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing and at least one introductory course in sociology or anthropology. Same as ANTH-235. 4 SH. CC: Ethics Intensive, Writing Intensive.
This course is intended to introduce students to common methods used in quantitative social science research. It is intended to help us conceptualize a research problem and how to collect evidence to address that research problem. Students will learn how to conduct basic quantitative social science research, evaluate relevant evidence, and determine the best method to be used based on theoretical and practical considerations. The course also focuses attention on such issues such as the time dimension, sampling design and ethical issues when conducting quantitative social research. Finally we would use SPSS and series of datasets to test and demonstrate our knowledge of the respective statistical procedures. Upon completion of this course, students should be better able to critically evaluate the quantitative research they encounter in their social science coursework and in the mass media, as well as being able to design a basic quantitative research project. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing. Same as ANTH-245. 4 SH. CC: Ethics Intensive.
This course explores the dimensions, causes, costs, and correlates of the crime problem in the U.S. and considers the uses and limitations of the criminal justice system in dealing with it. To do this, the course is organized around three interdisciplinary literatures: criminology, law and society, and criminal justice studies. Focusing on issues of lawmaking, law breaking, and state response to crime, students will review and critique classical and contemporary approaches to the study of these phenomena; identify a range of theoretical approaches and empirical findings in the literatures identified above; and assess the strengths and limitations of contemporary crime control policies in light of accumulated empirical evidence. Prerequisite: SOCI-101, SOCI-102, or ANTH-162. 4 SH.
Intermediate study of selected topics. Topics vary and depend on student and instructor interest. Possibilities include social policy analysis, sociology of dissent, juvenile delinquency, and sex roles. Prerequisite: SOCI-101, ANTH-162, or instructor’s permission. 2-4 SH.
Black feminism is the study of how gender, race and class issues are inextricably linked to oppression. Black feminism goes beyond mainstream feminisms and sees itself as a collective social movement. This course is primarily an activist response to intersecting oppressions that subordinate black women and others in terms of race, gender, class, sexuality, nation and the need for autonomy in the face of the privileged. Politics not only concerns personal experiences, however challenging and courageous, but must address larger agendas that go beyond individual temperament, choices and placement. There are no formal prerequisites for this course. 4 SH. CC: Diversity.
Western social theory from Comte to the present with emphasis on recent developments. Considers major schools, including positivism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, functionalism, social exchange theory, critical theory, phenomenological theory, and postmodernism. Prerequisite: Three courses in sociology. 4 SH.
Collective action plays a significant role in how social change happens. Social movements are often the sites at which people can gather to express their grievances. Movements are also sites where people can imagine and push for what they view as progress. Each movement is shaped by the goals, tactics, and strategies of the people within them – and people often gather around a sense of collective identity. Social movements that emphasize concepts like progress, development, and nation-making indicate visions of the future that can illuminate how race, gender, class, sexuality, and other power relations shape people’s lives. In this course, we will discuss various social movements and scrutinize the intersections of power relations as they relate to the ideals to which movements aspire. We will delve into movements like the civil rights movement, feminist movements, LGBTQ movements, and Black Lives Matter. 4SH. Prerequisites: SOCI-101.
This course is intended as an introduction to human rights through a sociological perspective. Sociologists explore the social conditions under which human rights legislation is drafted, interpreted, enforced, and violated. The major element of a sociological understanding of human rights is the study of the myriad ways in which the international human rights regime is socially constructed and enacted. We will study the philosophical foundations of human rights doctrine, its historical development, its practical enactment and its discursive flexibility. Using certain examples taken from recent news items and world events, we will study how the discourse of human rights is realized, or failed to realize, in contemporary social reality all around the world. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing and SOCI-101 or SOCI-311. 4SH CC: Diversity Intensive, Writing Intensive.
This course examines the dynamic relationship between human societies and the environment through a sociological lens. Students will explore classical and contemporary theories in environmental sociology, including political economy, environmental justice, risk society, and ecofeminism. Key topics include climate change, environmental racism, urban sustainability, indigenous environmental knowledge, and the social construction of nature. Through case studies, policy analysis, and theoretical frameworks, students will critically assess how social, economic, and political structures shape environmental problems and solutions. Course requirements include active participation, an Op-Ed on environmental injustice, and a final research paper analyzing environmental issues through social and historical forces. Prerequisites: SOCI-101 or one EENV course. 4 SH. CC: Diversity Intensive, Writing Intensive
A comparative study of family and kinship. Covers the structures and functions of family and kinship in different cultures. Emphasizes historical and contemporary changes in knowledge and practice focused on family, marriage, procreation, and kinship in the United States, with particular emphasis on the cultural construction of kinship, the naturalization of identity and difference, the politics of recognition, and new reproductive technologies. Prerequisite: ANTH-162 or SOCI-101. Same as SOCI-341. 4 SH. CC: Diversity Intensive, Writing Intensive.
This course develops students’ ability to understand and critique modern penal practices and to interrogate the relationship of punishment to criminal behavior, the rendering of justice, the promotion of public safety, and the management of risk. In addition to examining the structure, practices, and legal foundation of corrections in the United States, students will be exposed to a range of scholarship examining the social, moral, economic, political, ideological and historical contexts of punishment in the West, with an eye toward understanding how penal practices came to be as they are, their social implications, and cultural meanings. Review and discussion of these materials will develop students’ appreciation for the depth and complexity of the topic, as well as their ability to link punishment practices with broader socio-cultural conditions and worldviews. Prerequisite: SOCI-101 or ANTH-162. SOCI-311 is recommended but not required. 4 SH.
Introduces and exposes students to the various aspects of social work and social welfare. Includes examples of casework, group work, community organizations, and a combination of current practices. Explores how society provides services to meet human needs through public, voluntary and combined efforts. Prerequisite: SOCI-101 or PSYC-101. 4 SH.
Focuses on race and ethnic relations in contemporary society and popular understandings of race and ethnicity in the United States. Explores the boundaries and markers for membership in an ethnic, racial, or minority group. Specifically,this course regards race as a social construct that has significance for structural opportunities, experiences, worldviews, and conceptions of self and others. The course investigates the designations “race,” “ethnicity,” and “minorities,” and locates them in foundational and current tensions concerning power and identity. Prerequisite: ANTH-162 or SOCI-101. Same as SOCI-413. 4 SH. CC: Diversity, Social Interactions, Writing Intensive.
Research workshop which fulfills the capstone requirement for majors. Prerequisites: SOCI/ANTH-235 or SOCI/ANTH-245, and two courses in sociology or anthropology, at least one of which must be taken at the 300 level or above. SOCI-311 or ANTH-400 recommended. 4 SH. Capstone.
Supervised readings and writings in advanced fields of sociological study. Prerequisites: SOCI-101, three courses in sociology, a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 in departmental courses, and instructor’s permission. 1-4 SH. Capstone. May fulfill the capstone requirement with permission of the department head and when taken for at least 2 semester hours. Students not majoring or minoring in sociology or anthropology who wish to use SOCI-501 for their capstone must also have successfully completed SOCI/ANTH-235 or SOCI/ANTH-245, receiving a C- or higher.
Individual student work in an appropriate setting. Open only when positions are available. 1-8 SH.
Supervised field work in selected social work agencies. Students will keep a log, meet with a faculty member to discuss work, and write a paper. Prerequisites: junior or senior standing, relevant coursework, and the department’s permission. 4 SH.
Supervised field work in selected social work agencies. Students will keep a log, meet with a faculty member to discuss work, and write a paper. Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, relevant coursework, and the department’s permission. 4 SH.
When you enroll at 体育买球官网, you’ll be paired with an advisor and application tool to guide you in your course planning and scheduling. The following is an excerpt from thecomplete course catalog. Enrolled students follow the requirements of the course catalog for the academic year in which they declare each major and/or minor, consult with their advisor(s).
Learning Goals
- Develops a critical understanding of the relationships between individuals, culture and social structures.
- Improves abilities to speak, write and present information clearly to a variety of audiences.
- Develops an understanding of the links between theory and methods in the production of knowledge.
- Analyzes and critiques the dynamic nature of contemporary social and cultural worlds.
Requirements for Degrees
The Department of Sociology & Anthropology offers a major in sociology, a major in anthropology, 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.
Students in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology may, with the approval of the advisor and/or department head, complete more than one major and/or minor in the department.
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. All majors must achieve at minimum a cumulative GPA of 2.00 in courses offered in the major. There are five compulsory courses. At least 12 of the remaining 24 hours must be taken at the 300-level or higher. In consultation with a department advisor, a sociology major may fulfill some of the major requirements by taking anthropology courses. The department recommends that ANTH/SOCI-235 Qualitative Research Methods, ANTH/SOCI-245 Quantitative Research Methods and SOCI-311 Sociological Theory be completed by the end of the junior year. The capstone requirement for a major in sociology is met by taking ANTH/SOCI-500 Seminar or, with the permission of the department chair, by taking ANTH/SOCI-501 Independent Research, which requires the production of a research paper.
20 Compulsory Courses for Sociology Major
- 4 SOCI-101 Principles of Sociology
- 4 SOCI-235 Qualitative Research Methods
- 4 ANTH/SOCI-245 Quantitative Research Methods
- 4 SOCI-311 Sociological Theory
- 4 ANTH/SOCI-500 Seminar
24 Electives
Of the 24 remaining semester hours, at least 12 must be taken at the 300-level or higher.
Teaching Certification
Secondary Teaching Certification Coursework required by the state of Pennsylvania for admission to the teacher certification program includes successful completion of FYSE-100 or equivalent course (having learning goals related to English composition), at least 3 semester hours in British or American literature, at least 6 semester hours of mathematics coursework (or other courses which satisfy the Central Curriculum Analytical Thought requirement) and at least one 40-hour externship. Education course requirements for secondary education are EDUC-101 Introduction to Education and Society, EDUC-250 Educational Psychology, EDUC-260 Introduction to Special Education, EDUC-270 Instruction of Exceptional Students, EDUC-330 Technology in Education, EDUC-350 English Language Learners: Theory and Instruction, EDUC-380 Instructional Design, EDUC- 479 Principles of Learning and Teaching in Secondary Education, EDUC-483 Differentiated Instruction and Classroom Management in Secondary Education, and the EDUC-500 Student Teaching package (EDUC-501, EDUC-502, EDUC-503, and EDUC-600).
Sociology students who seek secondary education certification in social studies must take the following additional courses outside the Department of Sociology and Anthropology: EDUC-425 Methods of Curriculum Instruction and Assessment in Teaching Social Studies, ECON-105 Elements of Economics, POLI-111 American Government and Politics, POLI-121 Comparative Government and Politics, PSYC-101 Principles of Psychology, HIST-322 Pennsylvania History or HIST-324 Pennsylvania’s Pasts and Their Publics, and 1 course in U. S. history (HIST-111, HIST-112 or HIST-115).
Secondary education sociology students must also take the following courses within the Department of Sociology and Anthropology: ANTH-162 Introduction to Anthropology, SOCI-101 Principles of Sociology, SOCI-235 Qualitative Research Methods, SOCI-245 Quantitative Research Methods, SOCI-311 Sociological Theory, or ANTH-310 National, Transnational and Diasporic Communities, SOCI-341 Family and Kinship, SOCI-413 Critical Race Theory, SOCI-500 Seminar or SOCI-501 Independent Research, and 8 semester hours in sociology electives (student teaching may be substituted for the electives requirement).
Honors
The departmental honors program recognizes outstanding academic performance in the major with departmental honors. To graduate with departmental honors in sociology or anthropology, candidates must:
- Have a GPA of 3.50 or above in the major and 3.25 or above overall,
- Secure the recommendation of the department faculty to pursue honors,
- Write a senior thesis or equivalent paper based on departmental seminars, and
- Sit for an oral honors examination.
When you enroll at 体育买球官网, you’ll be paired with an advisor and application tool to guide you in your course planning and scheduling. The following is an excerpt from thecomplete course catalog. Enrolled students follow the requirements of the course catalog for the academic year in which they declare each major and/or minor and consult with their advisor(s).
Minor in Sociology
Students must complete 24 semester hours of required courses in sociology and receive grades of C- or better. All minors must achieve at minimum a cumulative GPA of 2.00 in courses credited toward the minor. Required courses include SOCI-101 Principles of Sociology, SOCI-235/ANTH-235 Qualitative Research Methods or SOCI-245/ANTH-245 Quantitative Research Methods, and SOCI-311 Sociological Theory. At least eight 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.
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