Department of Sociology

Welcome to the Sociology Department!

The sociology program's mission is to provide a quality education in Sociology that meets the contemporary interests and needs of our students within the context of a global society that is growing more diverse and complex.

We seek to prepare our students to practice lifelong learning processes as well as to engage in specific post-college endeavors such as entrance into the labor force or the pursuit of a graduate education.

The sociology program emphasizes the use of sociological theory and research methods to explore the complexities of modern social life. Students are taught to look beyond the classroom and understand more fully the practical applications of sociological principles to everyday social and life experiences.

Learning Goals

Implement the theories of significant social theorists such as Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, WEB DuBois, Talcott Parsons, Herbert Blumer, Erving Goffman, Patricia Hill Collins, and Dorothy Smith to conceptualize a social problem.
Connect social theories to sociological perspectives like structural functionalism, conflict theory, feminism and symbolic interactionism in order to analyze the social world.
Demonstrate the everyday application of sociology in a way that includes an examination of issues related to race, gender, social class, and sexuality.
Utilize quantitative and/or qualitative research methods to ethically address sociological questions and analyze empirical data and findings.
Write and speak about sociological issues in a clear, logically sound, and coherent manner.
Develop a sociological imagination to make critical connections between lived experiences and social institutions, structures, meanings, and change.