2023-24 Edition

Sociology, B.A.

Sociology studies patterns of relationships among people, how behavior is shaped by these patterns of relationships, and how conflicts and cooperation among groups affect social structure and effect social change. Sociology majors are introduced to the most important ideas, methods, and findings of sociology in the introductory courses, explore basic subareas of sociology in the lower division courses, and pursue specialized study in the upper-division courses.

In research and teaching, the Department's faculty emphasize empirical sociological research in such areas as small groups, organizations, work, art, world systems, gender, family, and social networks.

All students must meet the University Requirements.
All students must meet the School Requirements.
Departmental Requirements for the Major

School requirements must be met and must include 12 courses (48 units) as specified below:

A. Complete the following:
SOCIOL 1 Introduction to Sociology
SOCIOL 2 Globalization and Transnational Sociology
or SOCIOL 3 Social Problems
B. Complete one course in methods and one in theory:
SOCIOL 110 Research Methods
SOCIOL 120 Sociological Theory
C. Complete one course in research design and implementation:
SOCIOL 180A Sociology Majors Seminar
D. Complete seven SOCIOL courses, of which no more than three may be lower-division.
E. Complete three additional School of Social Sciences courses, of which no more than one may be lower-division.

The Honors Program in Sociology is open to outstanding Sociology majors during their junior or senior year. To gain admission to the program, potential honors students normally take Sociology courses in theory (SOCIOL 120), methods (SOCIOL 110), statistics (SOCIOL 10A-SOCIOL 10B-SOCIOL 10C or equivalent) and at least two Sociology core courses. Students who receive an average grade of 3.5 or better in these courses are eligible for the honors program. In addition, honors students should have a grade point average of 3.2 or better in all courses taken at UCI. Majors who are transfers may petition for entry into the program based on their grades from their former schools.

During their junior or senior year, honors program students write a thesis, designed and carried out under faculty supervision. projects normally entail some empirical analysis of sociological data. Students meet regularly in a two-quarter honors seminar to design and carry out these projects, to exchange ideas, and to help analyze each other’s work (SOCIOL H188A-SOCIOL 188BW satisfies Sociology major requirement C: Honors students do not have to take SOCIOL 180A). In addition, honors students are required to attend at least six Sociology colloquia and subsequent meetings to discuss relevant sociological issues. Upon successful completion of the program, including approval of an honors thesis by the faculty mentor and honors instructor and receiving a grade of B+ or higher in SOCIOL 188BW, students graduate with honors in Sociology.