Sociology (BA) < DePaul University

Sociology is the study of groups, societies, social processes, and institutions. To study these, the department provides a program that focuses on sociological methods (how we know) and sociological theory (how we explain). The curriculum provides students with a basis for understanding and participation in their own communities and enables them to pursue careers and occupations in professions related to sociological knowledge and training.

Program Requirements
Program Requirements	Quarter Hours
Liberal Studies Requirements	84
Major (Core + Elective) Requirements	56
Open Electives	52
Total hours required	192

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

Apply and explain the sociological perspective (including the history of the discipline and its major theorists) to different levels of analysis of social contexts including: families, communities, cities, regions, organizations, societies at the national and global levels.
Recognize and use basic qualitative and quantitative research methods, concepts, and procedures for the social sciences.
Describe the historical context of sociology as a discipline, identify major classical and contemporary theorists, and critically examine key concepts of sociology such as social structures, inequality, deviance, social control, power and authority, complex organizations, and culture related to society and individual behaviors.
Apply sociological perspectives and skills into the construction of a socially inclusive and just society while also planning a purposeful career path that satisfied personal interests, values, and beliefs.

College Core Requirements

Study in the Major Field

The student’s course of study in the College consists of three parts: Liberal Studies, the major field, and electives. Together these three parts contribute to the liberal education of the student which is the common purpose of all study in the College. By “liberal education” the College understands not only a deep and thorough knowledge of a particular area of study but a knowledge of the diverse areas of study represented by criticism, history, the arts, the behavioral and social sciences, philosophy, religious studies, the natural science, and mathematics.

The major field program generally is built upon a set of core courses and a specialized “concentration.” The number of courses required for a major varies by department. Most students go beyond the minimum requirements, electing additional courses which both broaden and deepen their understanding of their chosen discipline.

Because no academic major program is built in isolation, students are required to pursue a number of electives of the student’s choice. The inherent flexibility of this curriculum demands that the student consult an academic advisor at each stage in the total program and at least once prior to each registration.

Students will be prompted to visit the College Office for their official graduation check early in their senior year.

Declaration of Major, Minor and Concentration

All students in the College are required to declare a major field prior to beginning their junior year. The student will then be assigned a faculty advisor in the major field department or program and should make an appointment to see that advisor at his or her earliest convenience.

Students must declare or change majors, minors, and concentrations, via Campus Connection. However, for the purpose of exploring the possibility of changing a major field, the student should consult an academic advisor in the Office for Academic Advising Support.

The Modern Language Requirement (MLR)

All students will be required to demonstrate competence in a modern language (i.e., a language other than English) equivalent to the proficiency attained from one year of college-level language study. This Modern Language Requirement (MLR) may be demonstrated by:

placing into 104 or above on the DePaul language placement exam
completing the last course or earning AP/IB credit for the last course in the first-year college sequence of any language (e.g. 103 for DePaul language classes)
completing a college course or earning AP/IB credit for a college course beyond the first-year level in any language (e.g. 104 or above for DePaul language classes)
completing the final course of a four-year sequence of the same modern language in high school*
completing a proctored exam by BYU and passing the exam (see the Department of Modern Languages website for registration details)
completing a proctored Written Proficiency Test (WPT) by Language Testing International (LTI) and achieving a score of Beginner High or above (see the Department of Modern Languages website for registration details)

*Students are strongly encouraged to take the DePaul language placement exam even if they have met the MLR via study of a language in high school. This will ensure continuation of language study at the proper level.

Please note: Modern Languages courses with an E-designation are taught in English and may not be applied to the Modern Language Requirement.

Students who complete an Inter-College Transfer (ICT) to the College will abide by the MLR in place on the effective date of the ICT, regardless of when they first matriculated at DePaul.

Students who have met the MLR and wish to pursue further work in the language may elect the “Modern Language Option” (see below).

Language for Liberal Studies Option

The Language for Liberal Studies Option is available to all BA students who wish to study a modern language beyond the level required by their College, and to all other undergraduate students without a modern language requirement who wish to study a language at any level.

Students selecting the Language for Liberal Studies Option may substitute a sequence of three courses in the same language for three domain courses.

The three Language for Liberal Studies Option substitutions must be made in three different domains, and any substitutions must be consistent with the principle that students complete at least one course in each learning domain.

Language for Liberal Studies Option substitutions may not be used to replace requirements in the Math & Computing, and Scientific Inquiry, domains.

Students majoring in one modern language may use the Language for Liberal Studies Option for study of a second language at the Intermediate level or above.

Modern Languages courses with an E-designation are taught in English and may not be applied to the Language for Liberal Studies Option.

NOTE: Please contact your college/school regarding additional information and restrictions about the Language for Liberal Studies Option.

External Credit and Residency

A student who has been admitted to the College begins residency within the college as of the first day of classes of the term in which the student is registered. Students in residence, whether attending on a full-time or part-time basis, may not take courses away from DePaul University without the written permission of the college. Permission must be obtained in advance of registration to avoid loss of credit or residency in the college; see the LAS website for more information.

Liberal Studies Requirements

Honors program requirements can be found in the individual Colleges & Schools section of the University Catalog. Select the appropriate college or school, followed by Undergraduate Academics and scroll down.

Plan of Study Grid
First Year Program		Hours
Chicago Quarter
LSP 110 or LSP 111	DISCOVER CHICAGO or EXPLORE CHICAGO	4
Focal Point
LSP 112	FOCAL POINT SEMINAR	4
Writing
WRD 103	COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC I ¹	4
WRD 104	COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC II ¹	4
Quantitative Reasoning
MAT 120	QUANTITATIVE REASONING ²	4
Sophomore Year
Race, Power, and Resistance
LSP 200	SEMINAR ON RACE, POWER, AND RESISTANCE	4
Junior Year
Experiential Learning
Required		4
Senior Year
Capstone
SOC 395	CAPSTONE IN SOCIOLOGY ^1,3	4

¹: Students must earn a C- or better in this course.
²: Readiness for MAT 120 is determined by the math placement test taken online after admission. Students may need to take developmental coursework prior to MAT 120. Students who complete MAT 120 and both a Computational Reasoning course and a Statistical Reasoning course in the Math and Computing Learning Domain take one less Learning Domain course. Students may not apply the course reduction to any Domain where only one course is required, and cannot be applied to the Scientific Inquiry Learning Domain. The MAT 120 requirement may be waived by passing a dedicated proficiency exam or it may be fulfilled by credit for advanced math coursework earned in-residence at DePaul (MAT 135, MAT 136, MAT 147, MAT 148, MAT 149, MAT 150, MAT 151, MAT 152 MAT 155, MAT 156, or equivalent) or earned externally either as transfer credit from another college/university or as test credit through AP, CLEP, IB, or International A and A/S Level exams. Calculus course(s) may be used to fulfill any of the three QR/MCD requirements.
³: A student whose only major is Sociology is required to complete the Capstone offered by the Sociology Department. A student who is double majoring (or pursuing dual degrees) with the primary major (or primary degree) in Sociology may substitute the Capstone of the secondary major or degree. A Sociology major in the University Honors Program shall take only the University Honors Capstone, not both the Honors Capstone and the Sociology Capstone.

Learning Domains

Arts and Literature (AL)

3 Courses Required

Historical Inquiry (HI)

2 Courses Required

Math and Computing (MC)

1 Course Required
[1 CR Course]

Philosophical Inquiry (PI)

2 Courses Required

Religious Dimensions (RD)

2 Courses Required

Scientific Inquiry (SI)

2 Courses Required
[1 Lab Course and 1 SWK Course]

Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Inquiry (SCBI)

1 Course Required

Notes

Courses offered in the student's primary major cannot be taken to fulfill LSP Domain requirements. If students double major, LSP Domain courses may double count for both LSP credit and the second major. Students who choose to take an experiential learning course offered by the major may count it either as a general elective or the experiential learning requirement.

In meeting learning domain requirements, no more than one course that is outside the student’s major and is cross-listed with a course within the student’s major, can be applied to count for LSP domain credit. This policy does not apply to those who are pursuing a double major or earning BFA or BM degrees.

Major Requirements

Sociology majors must complete required core sociology courses, sociology electives, and open electives. The core courses (24 credit hours) give students a foundation in theory, methods, and career development; sociology electives are selected in consultation with student's academic advisor to identify an area of specialization; and open electives are selected in consultation with student's academic advisor to meet the minimum graduation requirement of 192 hours.

Core Requirements

Course List
Course	Title	Quarter Hours
SOC 101	INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY	4
or SOC 105	SOCIAL PROBLEMS
SOC 115	ORIENTATION TO CAREERS IN SOCIOLOGY	2
SOC 215	WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENTS AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT IN SOCIOLOGY	2
SOC 279	INTRO STATS FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES ¹	4
SOC 331	SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY	4
SOC 380	RESEARCH METHODS IN SOCIOLOGY I	4
SOC 381	RESEARCH METHODS IN SOCIOLOGY II	4

¹: The statistics requirement may also be fulfilled by PSY 240, MAT 137, or MAT 242.

Sociology Elective Requirements

Students must complete eight additional courses from sociology 200-level and 300-level courses (32 credit hours). The courses are to be selected in consultation with the student's academic advisor and the courses can be used to make up the student's area of specialization. Students develop a self-defined area of specialization, which reflects the common themes connecting their academic coursework, research and career interests. Previous areas of specializations have included: Health and Human Services; Law, Crime, and Criminology; Urban - Cities, Action, Power, Practice; and Sociology of Culture.

NOTE: A minimum of three courses or twelve credits can be counted toward a student's area of specialization. A maximum of eight credits of SOC 398 INTERNSHIP can be counted toward major field credit. Additional SOC 398 credit may be earned but it will count for open elective credit or Experiential Learning (EL) credit, if applicable.

Course Listings by Category

Theory and Methodology

Course List
Course	Title	Quarter Hours
SOC 202	PHILOSOPHY AND SOCIAL THOUGHT
SOC 346	URBAN ETHNOGRAPHY
SOC 383	VISUAL SOCIOLOGY
SOC 384	ETHNOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTARY FILM PRODUCTION

Health and Human Services

Course List
Course	Title	Quarter Hours
SOC 200	SOCIAL WORK AND SOCIAL WELFARE
SOC 201	INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
SOC 221	INTRODUCTION TO THE U.S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
SOC 307	SOCIOLOGY OF DRUGS
SOC 321	HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS
SOC 322	HOW SCHOOLS ARE FAILING AND CRIMINALIZING YOUTH
SOC 351	HEALTH DISPARITIES
SOC 353	SOCIOLOGY OF MENTAL ILLNESS
SOC 370	SOCIOLOGY OF FOOD
SOC 373	PUBLIC HEALTH AND HIGH RISK BEHAVIOR

Law, Crime and Criminology

Course List
Course	Title	Quarter Hours
SOC 214	POLICING THE MARGINS
SOC 220	THEORIES OF CRIME AND DELINQUENCY
SOC 248	RESISTING WHITE SUPREMACY
SOC 305	POWER, DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL
SOC 310	CRIMINALIZATION, PUNISHMENT, & RESISTANCE
SOC 312	CRIMMIGRATION: IMMIGRATION AND CRIME, AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
SOC 317	GENDER, CRIME AND JUSTICE

Urban - Cities, Action, Power, Practice

Course List
Course	Title	Quarter Hours
SOC 212	COMMUNITY AND SOCIETY
SOC 214	POLICING THE MARGINS
SOC 217	WORK IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD
SOC 220	THEORIES OF CRIME AND DELINQUENCY
SOC 231	RACE AND ETHNICITY IN THE CITY
SOC 232	GLOBAL CITIES
SOC 243	THE SUBURBS
SOC 245	URBAN SOCIOLOGY
SOC 246	HOMELESS IN THE CITY
SOC 307	SOCIOLOGY OF DRUGS
SOC 313	SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION
SOC 340	SOCIAL INEQUALITY
SOC 346	URBAN ETHNOGRAPHY
SOC 347	CLASS, POWER AND DECISION MAKING IN THE CITY
SOC 348	THE CITY IN THE FUTURE
SOC 370	SOCIOLOGY OF FOOD
SOC 383	VISUAL SOCIOLOGY
SOC 384	ETHNOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTARY FILM PRODUCTION

Social Inequality: Class, Gender, and Race

Course List
Course	Title	Quarter Hours
SOC 207	YOUTH AND SOCIETY
SOC 209	SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER
SOC 248	RESISTING WHITE SUPREMACY
SOC 306	SOCIOLOGY OF FAMILIES
SOC 313	SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION
SOC 340	SOCIAL INEQUALITY

Sociology of Culture

Course List
Course	Title	Quarter Hours
SOC 207	YOUTH AND SOCIETY
SOC 209	SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER
SOC 233	SOCIOLOGY OF SPORT
SOC 280	MASS MEDIA AND CULTURE
SOC 281	SOCIOLOGY OF ROCK MUSIC
SOC 383	VISUAL SOCIOLOGY
SOC 384	ETHNOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTARY FILM PRODUCTION
SOC 386	POPULAR CULTURE AND THE ARTS
SOC 283	ART & SOCIETY

Political and Economic Sociology

Course List
Course	Title	Quarter Hours
SOC 217	WORK IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD
SOC 256	SOCIAL CHANGE
SOC 275	LIVED POLITICS: INDIVIDUALISM AND COMMUNITY
SOC 292	COLLECTIVE ACTION
SOC 344	POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY
SOC 345	POWER, POLITICS, AND CLIMATE CHANGE
SOC 349	CULTURE AND POLITICS
SOC 358	REVOLUTIONS AND PEASANT REBELLIONS
SOC 366	CAPITALISM AND GLOBALIZATION
SOC 388	SOCIOLOGY OF CONSUMPTION

Advanced Study

Course List
Course	Title	Quarter Hours
SOC 290	SPECIAL TOPICS IN SOCIOLOGY
SOC 291	SPECIAL TOPICS IN SOCIOLOGY
SOC 390	SEMINAR IN SOCIOLOGY
SOC 395	CAPSTONE IN SOCIOLOGY
SOC 397	TRAVEL/STUDY
SOC 398	INTERNSHIP
SOC 399	INDEPENDENT STUDY

Open Electives Requirement

Open elective credits are required in order to meet the minimum graduation requirement of 192 hours. These courses are to be selected in consultation with the student's academic advisor and may include courses in fields such as psychology, criminology, marketing, health sciences, or other areas of student interest. Students may choose to use their open electives as part of a minor or to complete a double major.

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