The Bachelor of Arts in Sociology is a social science degree. Students in this program study human beings as they relate to each other and operate in groups. They examine the research, theories, and history of various social issues such as religion, corrections, politics and public health. Graduates of this program are inclined to professions that involve politics, government civil service, health care, Child and Family support services, general public or private management, and law.

Degree Program Objectives

In addition to the institutional and general education level learning objectives, the Bachelor of Arts in Sociology also seeks the following specific learning outcomes of its graduates.  With reference to each of the respective areas of sociology, graduates in this degree program will be able to:

•  Identify the relationship between the mutual rights and obligations of individuals on the one hand, and the social group on the other, and relate the theories to current social issues and institutions.
• Recognize the importance to balance the conflicting needs for social order and social change and associate the importance of balancing the conflicting needs for social order and social change.
• Discuss the relationship between human inquiry and the social sciences, focusing on the ethics and methodologies of social research.
• Recognize the different problems and identify the behaviors that affect the roles of each type of culture and distinguish between urban and rural societies.
• Describe the effect that the study of sociology has historically had on the application of the law and identify social parameters and characteristics that have the most likely impact on legal functions.
• Identify major bodies of theoretical work and the theorists associated with them and analyze important developments in recent sociological theory, to include developments in European sociological theory that influenced the growth of theory in the United States.
• Identify the major social issues that influenced the development of sociological theory and discuss the ethics and politics in social science research focusing on ethical controversies. 

Degree Program Requirements

RQ295 / COL 100 Foundations of Online Learning (fomerly Academic and Career Planning) (3 semester hours) - Required as the first course in all undergraduate programs.

General Education Requirements (34 semester hours)
English Composition - 6 semester hours
EN101 / ENG 101 - Proficiency in Writing (Required)
EN102 / ENG 102 - Effectiveness in Writing or
EN202 / ENG 200 - English Composition and Literature

Social Sciences - 6 semester hours
SS101 / ECO 101 - Microeconomics
SS102 / ECO 102 - Macroeconomics
SS111 / GEO 101 - Introduction to Geography
SS133 / SOC 111 - Introduction to Sociology
SS134 / PSY 101 - Introduction to Psychology 
SS190 / ANT 100 - Introduction to Anthropology
SS210 / CFD 220 - Human Sexuality  
SO220 / SOC 220 - American Popular Culture

Science - 4 semester hours including required 1 hour labs
SC100 / SCI 100 - Introduction to Biology
SC198 / SCI 100 L - Introduction to Biology Lab
SC101 / SCI 110 - Introduction to Chemistry
SC199 / SCI 110 L - Introduction to Chemistry Lab   
SC102 / SCI 102 - Introduction to Human Anatomy & Physiology 
SC122 / SCI 102 L - Introduction to Human Anatomy & Physiology Lab
SC103 / SCI 103 - Introduction to Physics 
SC123 / SCI 103 L - Introduction to Physics Lab
SC104 / SCI 104 - Introduction to Astronomy
SC124 / SCI 104 L - Introduction to Astronomy Lab
SC106 / SCI 106 - Introduction to Oceanography 
SC126 / SCI 106 L - Introduction to Oceanography Lab
SC107 / SCI 107 - Introduction to Meteorology
SC127 / SCI 107 L - Introduction to Meteorology Lab

Mathematics - 3 semester hours
MA110 / MA112 / MAT 110 - Introduction to College Algebra and Trigonometry / College Algebra, or
MA111 / MA113 / MAT 111 College Algebra and Trigonometry / College Trigonometry, or
MA125 / MAT 125 - Math for Liberal Arts Majors, or
MA225 / MAT 225 - Calculus

History - 6 semester hours
HS101 / HIS101 - American History to 1877
HS102 / HIS 102 - American History since 1877
HS111 / HIS 111 - World Civilization I
HS112 / HIS 112 - World Civilization II
HS121 / HIS 121 - Western Civilization Before The Thirty Years War
HS122 / HIS 122 - Western Civilization Since Thirty Years War
HS215 / HIS 223 - History of the American Indian
HS217 / HIS 221 - African-American History before 1877
HS218 / HIS 222 - African-American History since 1877

Humanities - 3 semester hours
HM101 / SPA 100 - Spanish I 
HM102 / SPA 101 - Spanish II (Prerequisite: HM101) - or other foreign language
HM200 / MUS 200 - Music Appreciation
HM230 / REL 201 - Introduction to World Religions  
HM240 / ART 200 - Art Appreciation  
HM277 / PHI 200 - Introduction to Ethics
PH101 / PHI 101 - Introduction to Philosophy

Literature - 3 semester hours
HM201 / LIT 220 - American Literature before the Civil War
HM202 / LIT 221 - American Literature from Civil War to Present
HM221 / LIT 210 - English Literature: Beowulf to 18th Century
HM222 / LIT 211 - English Literature: 18th Century to Present
HM211 / LIT 201 - World Lit through the Renaissance
HM212 / LIT 202 - World Lit since the Renaissance

Political Science - 3 semester hours
SS121 / POL 210 - American Government I
SS131 / INR 210 - International Relations
 

Core Courses (24 semester hours) 
PY302 / PSY 301 - Advanced Social Psychology (Prerequisite: SS212/PSY 201)
SO303 / SOC 303 - Classical Sociological Theory
SO304 / SO305 / SOC 304 - Contemporary Sociological Theory / The History of Sociological Theory
SS211/ SOC 215 - Social Deviance
SO330 / SOC 330 - Research Methods and Statistics
SO410 / SOC 401 - Current Sociological Issues
SS133 / SOC 111 - Introduction to Sociology
SS233 / SOC 211 - Introduction to Contemporary Sociology

Major Courses (15 semester hours) 
A student enrolled in Sociology will take five (5) courses any of the following lists. There are no concentrations in this program. However, major courses are grouped by areas that may be of particular interest to students.
Human Expression and Society
SS210 / PSY 220 - Human Sexuality
PY345 / CFD 445 - Family Communications
PY403 / PY404/ PSY 403 - Prejudice and the Minority Experience / Psychology of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity
PY411 / SOC 402 - Racism and Sexism
SO413 / SOC 422 - Sociology of the Law

Institutions and Society
SO311 / SOC 311 - Political Sociology
SO411 / SOC 420 - Sociology of Religion
SO412 / SOC 421 - Sociology of the Family

Minorities, Women, and Society
WS304 / WOM 330 - The Black Woman
WS329 / WOM 331 - Women in South Asian Society
WS331 / WOM 320 - Introduction to Feminist Thought
WS332 / WOM 321 - Contemporary Women’s Issues
WS343 / WOM 343 - Native American Women
WS364 / WOM 361 - History of Women in Latin America
WS378 / WOM 378 - Women and Sports
WS400 / WOM 400 - Women of Color: Cross-Cultural Comparison
WS401 / WOM 410 - Women and Leadership

Public Health and Society
PY324 / PY325 / PSY 324 - Addictions and Addictive Behavior / Psychology of Addiction and Substance Abuse
PY431 / PSY 431 - Psychology of Disaster
SS344 / SOC 315 - Food and Culture
SO320 / SOC 320 - Society and Ecology 

Capstone Course (3 semester hours)
SO498 / SOC 498 - Senior Seminar in Sociology
Prerequisite: Senior Standing and completion of all core and major courses prior to enrollment.

Electives (42 semester hours)
Select any courses that have not been used to fulfill core or major requirements. Credits applied toward a minor or certificate in an unrelated field may be used to fulfill elective credit for the major.

Total = 121 semester hours