Sociology, BA

Department of Anthropology, Sociology and Social Work
Jodi O’Brien, PhD, Chair

Objectives

Sociologists are fascinated by the fundamental question: why do people do what they do? Sociologists describe and explain the ecological foundations of society, major institutions and the ways in which people interact, organize their lives together and bestow meaning on the world. In so doing we seek a wider cross-cultural and multi-cultural understanding, striving to make people’s lives intelligible across the boundaries of culture, class, race, and gender.

Students are invited to develop their abilities to apply the sociological perspective to the study of social life. We seek to build a learning environment which will bring each student to a level of understanding and skill needed to apply that knowledge to furthering one’s career and bettering one’s life and society. We help prepare students for careers in human services, for graduate study in sociology, education and law. Internships match theory with practice by providing opportunities for on-the-job training.

We strive to help students make sense of their own lives and the world in which they live. We also want to empower them to see the possibilities and limits of social change and of service to others.

Requirements

In order to earn the bachelor of arts degree with a major in sociology, students must complete a minimum of 180 credits with a cumulative and major/program grade point average of 2.00, including the following:

I. Core Curriculum Requirements

Module I: Engaging Academic Inquiry

UCOR 1100 - Academic Writing Seminar
UCOR 1200 - Quantitative Reasoning (or MATH 118 or above)
UCOR 1300 - Creative Expression and Interpretation
UCOR 1400 - Inquiry Seminar in the Humanities
UCOR 1600 - Inquiry Seminar in the Social Sciences
UCOR 1800 - Inquiry Seminar in the Natural Sciences (or BIOL 161/171, 200, CHEM 121/131, PHYS 105, 121)

Module II: Exploring the Self and Others

Module III: Engaging the World

II. College of Arts and Sciences Requirements

Modern Language 115, 125, 135, or equivalent (15)

NOTE:

All students with a major in the College of Arts and Sciences must demonstrate competency through the level of 135 in a language other than English. This competency is ordinarily achieved by successful completion of the three-course sequence: 115, 125, and 135. Because these courses are a college requirement, no course in the sequence may be taken on a pass/fail, correspondence, or audit basis. Placement into other than the beginning course of the sequence is achieved by acceptable performance on the Modern Language Competency Examination. See the Modern Languages Department for details on the examinations. Courses used to satisfy the College of Arts and Sciences modern language requirement may not be used to fulfill sociology major requirements.

Choose one of the following two courses:

III. Major Requirements

60 credits in sociology, social work, and anthropology, including:

SOCL 307 - Sociological Theory
SOCL 308 - Sociological Reasoning (Pre-requisite SOCL 307)
SOCL 309 - Sociological Research Methods (Pre-requisites SOCL 307, 308)

Area I: Power and Stratification

Choose one from the following three courses: (5)

Area II: Self and Society

Choose one from the following two courses: (5)

Electives

Choose electives from ANTH, SOCL, and SOCW courses (30)

Senior Synthesis/Capstone

SOCL 490 - Senior Synthesis (5)

NOTE:

A minimum of 30 upper-division credits in sociology, social work, and anthropology will be required for graduation.
Transfer students must complete a minimum of 25 credits in sociology, social work, and/or anthropology at Seattle University.

Departmental Honors

Sociology Major with Departmental Honors