About the Major

Major requirements. The program is designed to help students attain both broad knowledge and confident skill in sociological reasoning and argumentation.

Introductory Sociology (SOC 151 or, in certain cases, SOC 152) is required for admission to the major. Each major is assigned a faculty advisor with whom the student works out a program of study. Majors must complete a total of 10 courses (including SOC 151) in fulfillment of the major requirements.

The Department of Sociology offers three types of courses:

  • Foundation courses (SOC 151 and 152, Introductory Sociology; SOC 202, Sociological Analysis; SOC 212, Sociology and Social Theory). These courses provide an introduction to sociological reasoning.

  • Topical courses (all sociology courses 221 and above). Courses in this category examine many of the topical areas in which sociology makes a contribution to our knowledge of society and social processes. Non-majors may have a special interest in courses in this category that correspond to the intellectual concerns of departments and programs with which the Department of Sociology maintains formal or informal ties: Psychology; African American Studies; the Science in Society Program; the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program; and the College of Social Studies. Similarly, students should note the applicability of many of these courses to work in anthropology, art, economics, government, history, linguistics, philosophy, psychology, religion, theater, and other disciplines.

  • Research courses (listed below). These are topical courses that culminate in a research paper. As research-oriented courses, they guide students in the application of sociological reasoning to specific empirical and theoretical problems. They may also serve to fulfill the topical course requirements.

Students may apply as many as three electives taken outside the Department of Sociology toward the topical course requirement.

Ordinarily, education in the field, independent study, or a tutorial may count toward the major; students may take an additional tutorial to prepare a senior essay and two additional tutorials to prepare an honors thesis.  However, teaching apprentice credits may not count toward the major and must be taken Credit/Unsatisfactory.

All sociology majors must enter their senior year having taken a minimum of three courses within the Wesleyan Sociology Department.  This includes at least one of the two required courses (SOC 202, Sociological Analysis or SOC 212, Sociology and Social Theory).

The 10-credit Sociology Major courses must be distributed as shown in the following table:

Number of courses

Type of Course

3

Foundation courses

 

(1) SOC 151 Introductory Sociology

 

(1) SOC 202 Sociological Analysis (methods)

 

(1) SOC 212 Sociology and Social Theory (theory)

 

 

6

Topical courses

 

(6) All courses 221 and above (includes research courses).

 

 

1

Research courses (a subset of topical courses).

 

(1) SOC 230, 239, 240, 246, 258,  263, 264, 265, 270, 271, 273, 286, 291, 292, 302, 304, 307, 316, 399

 

 

 

 

Total = 10

 

Normally, the foundation course requirements are fulfilled at the beginning of the program. At least one research course is taken toward the end of major studies and is to be integrated with the student’s plans for a senior essay or thesis.

Transfer students. Exceptions to the requirements for the major may occasionally be made but only insofar as they suit the purposes of a coherently integrated program of study. Transfer students are encouraged to evaluate their transfer credit with the department chair at their earliest convenience.

Transfer students may petition the chair to import a credit from an introductory sociology course offered outside and may count the credit toward fulfillment of the sociology major requirements. Other foundational courses must be taken in the Wesleyan Department of Sociology.

Senior research project: Essay or thesis. This process culminates in the completion of a senior research project, either essay or thesis, required for all majors. The senior essay consists of a major research paper (normally at least 25 pages). SOC 305 and SOC 324 offer structured opportunities for the development of the essay, but it may also be written in a research course or a tutorial; in every case, the essay goes through substantial revision before its approval.

Qualifying for honors. Students are invited to explore with their faculty advisor the possibility of qualifying for honors.  Discussion should be initiated in the fall of the junior year.  Students interested in the sociology honors program should obtain a copy of the department guidelines elaborating all of the steps in the process of qualifying for honors. These guidelines are available online and in the Sociology Department office.

To qualify for honors via either route, students must have taken at least six courses by the end of the seventh semester.  Students must have an A- (91.7) average in those six courses, but an A- average in five courses is sufficient to register as a candidate. Preferably SOC 202 Sociological Analysis will have been taken by the end of the sixth semester, but SOC 212 Sociology and Social Theory may be substituted as long as the student is enrolled for SOC 202 in the seventh semester.

All honors candidates must meet the course and sociology GPA requirements; but fulfillment of these requirements is not sufficient to guarantee qualification to register as an honors candidate. Sociology majors who wish to be registered as honors candidates will be considered only after winning the support of an essay or thesis advisor. Essay and thesis advisors will bring before the Sociology Department faculty a request to register as an honors candidate. Members of the faculty will consider, in light of prior course work, the promise of each applicant and will determine whether the applicant will be authorized to register as an honors candidate.

Sociology majors with only one major may not have nonsociology faculty advise the required senior essay or thesis.  Sociology majors with more than one major may—upon consultation with sociology major advisor—petition to have nonsociology faculty advise a senior essay or thesis but the essay will not be considered for honors by the Department of Sociology.

Those selected to write a senior thesis will be excused from the research essay requirement, though not from the research course requirement. Senior thesis tutorials (SOC 409-410) may count toward the topical course requirement if the integrity of the overall program is thus enhanced.

Departmental prizes. The department periodically awards the Robert S. Lynd Award for outstanding senior essays written in sociology courses, the Herbert H. Hyman Prize for outstanding senior theses on a sociological topic, and the Anna Julia Cooper Prize to a student of overall excellence.

Study abroad. Study abroad is fully compatible with completing the major, but students who plan to go abroad for a semester are expected to discuss with their major advisors how such studies will fit into their overall academic plans before finalizing their plans.

Double majors. Students also may have double majors, for example, history and biology or anthropology and English. All the requirements of the two majors must be met, except when faculty representatives of the two departments approve alterations in a student’s program. Please consult with the department chair or a department advisor.

Education-in-the-field credit. Students, whether majors or nonmajors, seeking education-in-the-field credit must provide the department, in advance, with an acceptable prospectus of their work and assurance of professional guidance during the field experience. Students must submit research papers based on this experience. These papers should refer substantially to sociological literature pertinent to their field experience.

Sociology Department resources and course offerings. Majors and nonmajors alike are advised that the Public Affairs Center Data Laboratory is readily available to all sociology students. The department maintains a comprehensive archive of sociological data for use in student research projects. And in addition to the extensive sociological holdings in Olin Library, the department has a library of important reference works. Occasionally, financial assistance is available for students engaged in research.

In planning their programs, students should examine the department’s memorandum of courses to be offered in future years or omitted in a given year. Students in urgent need of courses omitted in a given year should consult members of the department about the possibility of tutorials. Other information about the sociology major is available in the department office, Public Affairs Center 122.