Sociology Concentration

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SociologyConcentration

• Pre-Advising PowerPoint

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About Sociology

• Welcome to the sociology concentration at Towson
  University. Broadly defined, sociologists study
  social processes and interaction, social
  structures and institutions, and social issues
  and problems.
• Sociology is a scientific discipline that looks
  beyond the individual, to the way people are
  grouped and society is organized, and how this
  impacts patterns of living and understanding.
• Current strengths among our sociology faculty
  include the study of inequality and
  stratification, small groups and symbolic
  interaction, and social institutions such as the
  family, politics, health and medicine, sport, or
  the economy and work.
• In addition, the department offers numerous
  courses on wide ranging topics including
  immigration, urban sociology, social movements,
  gender, formal organizations, friendship and
  intimacy, and others.

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The New Sociology Curriculum

• For students beginning fall 2006 and beyond, the
  sociology concentration has been revised and is
  thus different from previous years.
• Overall, students must complete a minimum of 13
  courses or 39 units of study to finish the new
  sociology concentration.
• Students in our new and revised sociology
  concentration must complete courses in five
  areas.

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Completing SociologyLower Level Courses

• First, all sociology students complete three
  courses in the Sociology-Anthropology Common
  Core, including introductory courses in sociology
  and anthropology, and a statistics course. These
  courses provide broad-based knowledge of society
  and culture, as well as an introduction to
  statistical techniques used by sociologists to
  analyze data.
• Second, the sociology concentration requires the
  completion of two 200 level sociology elective
  courses. These courses introduce specific
  examples of the subject matter of sociology and
  more closely examine the sociological perspective
  on society and the sociological imagination.

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Completing SociologyTheory, Methods, Advanced
Study

• Third, there are two required courses in
  sociological theory and research methods. These
  courses provide the foundational understanding of
  sociology as a discipline and provide the
  knowledge and tools for both formulating and
  answering sociological questions. We strongly
  recommend that all students take the theory
  course before the methods course, and that
  students avoid taking both courses during the
  same semester.
• Fourth, students studying in sociology are
  required to complete one course from the combined
  applications, engagement, and advanced study area
  of the curriculum. Our advanced study and
  applications courses involve the in-depth
  exploration of sociological concepts to
  understand and address contemporary issues in the
  social world. Here students pursue an additional
  applied data analysis or theory course, an
  external internship, a capstone seminar that
  culminates in the writing and presentation of a
  scholarly paper, independent research under the
  tutelage of a specific faculty member, or the
  first course leading to the Honors Thesis.

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Completing SociologyUpper Level Elective Courses

• Fifth, all students in sociology must complete
  five upper level sociology elective courses from
  three areas social inequalities, social
  processes or interaction, and social institutions
  or contexts. These courses involve more specific
  study of a range of critical substantive areas
  within the discipline of sociology. There are
  many courses to choose from in this area, but the
  general rule is that you must complete one course
  from each of the three areas. The remaining two
  courses can be any courses in this section of
  interest to you.

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Career Opportunities

• Sociology students often ask, what kind of jobs
  are available for students who major in
  sociology? It is important to think about
  sociology as a perspective, that is as an
  approach to solving problems, analyzing data, and
  thinking critically. As such, sociology students
  are well prepared for work in settings such as
  the corporate workplace, social services,
  research institutes, government or politics,
  journalism or the mass media, or nonprofit and
  community organizations. Examples of career
  options (some requiring a graduate degree)
  include survey researcher, policy analyst,
  population demographer, public relations
  specialist, urban planner, community organizer,
  lawyer, or university professor, among many
  possibilities.

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And finally

• In concluding your visit to this website today,
  we would like you to complete a short survey
  about your interests related to sociology.
• This survey should be answered, printed, and
  brought along with a copy of your unofficial
  transcript to your first meeting with your major
  advisor.
• If you are transferring credits to Towson, please
  bring your transfer evaluation form.
• If there are courses that you believe will
  satisfy our requirements to complete the
  concentration, it would be helpful if you have a
  syllabus and/or course description for the course.