Program Overview
Sociology - B.A.
About This Program
The Sociology major provides you with a deep understanding of the social factors that shape our world. With a focus on critical thinking and problem solving, you will gain the skills needed to analyze complex social issues and develop effective solutions. Enroll now and become a change agent in society.
Contact Information
- Tiffany Taylor | |
Program Delivery
- Delivery: Mostly online, In person
- Location: Ashtabula Campus, Kent Campus, Stark Campus
Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries
- Social science research assistants
- 5.8% faster than the average
- 40,100 number of jobs
- $49,210 potential earnings
- Sociologists
- 3.6% about as fast as the average
- 3,200 number of jobs
- $86,110 potential earnings
- Sociology teachers, postsecondary
- 3.8% about as fast as the average
- 17,000 number of jobs
- $75,610 potential earnings
Admission Requirements
The university affirmatively strives to provide educational opportunities and access to students with varied backgrounds, those with special talents and adult students.
- First-Year Students on the Kent Campus: First-year admission policy on the Kent Campus is selective. Admission decisions are based upon cumulative grade point average, strength of high school college preparatory curriculum and grade trends. Students not admissible to the Kent Campus may be administratively referred to one of the seven regional campuses to begin their college coursework. For more information, visit the admissions website for first-year students.
- First-Year Students on the Regional Campuses: First-year admission to Kent State’s campuses at Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas, as well as the Twinsburg Academic Center, is open to anyone with a high school diploma or its equivalent. For more information on admissions, contact the Regional Campuses admissions offices.
- International Students: All international students must provide proof of proficiency of the English language (unless they meet specific exceptions) through the submission of an English language proficiency test score or by completing English language classes at Kent State’s English as a Second Language Center before entering their program. For more information, visit the admissions website for international students.
- Former Students: Former Kent State students who have not attended another institution since Kent State and were not academically dismissed will complete the re-enrollment process through the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center. Former students who attended another college or university since leaving Kent State must apply for admissions as a transfer or post-undergraduate student.
- Transfer Students: Students who attended an educational institution after graduating from high school or earning their GED must apply as transfer students. For more information, visit the admissions website for transfer students.
Program Requirements
Major Requirements
- SOC 12050: INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY (DIVD) (KSS)
- SOC 32210: RESEARCHING SOCIETY (ELR) (WIC)
- SOC 32220: DATA ANALYSIS
- SOC 32221: DATA ANALYSIS LABORATORY
- SOC 42126: SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES
- Sociology (SOC) Electives
- Sociology (SOC) Upper-Division Electives (30000 or 40000 level)
Additional Requirements
- UC 10001: FLASHES 101
- Foreign Language (see Foreign Language College Requirement below)
- Kent Core Composition
- Kent Core Mathematics and Critical Reasoning
- Kent Core Humanities and Fine Arts (minimum one course from each)
- Kent Core Social Sciences (must be from two disciplines)
- Kent Core Basic Sciences (must include one laboratory)
- Kent Core Additional
- General Electives (total credit hours depends on earning 120 credit hours, including 39 upper-division credit hours)
Graduation Requirements
- Minimum Major GPA: 2.000
- Minimum Overall GPA: 2.000
Roadmap
This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this program. Students will work with their advisor to develop a sequence based on their academic goals and history. Courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.
University Requirements
All students in a bachelor's degree program at Kent State University must complete the following university requirements for graduation.
- Flashes 101 (UC 10001)
- Diversity Domestic/Global (DIVD/DIVG)
- Experiential Learning Requirement (ELR)
- Kent Core (see table below)
- Writing-Intensive Course (WIC)
- Upper-Division Requirement
- Total Credit Hour Requirement: 120 credit hours
Kent Core Requirements
- Kent Core Composition (KCMP)
- Kent Core Mathematics and Critical Reasoning (KMCR)
- Kent Core Humanities and Fine Arts (KHUM/KFA) (min one course each)
- Kent Core Social Sciences (KSS) (must be from two disciplines)
- Kent Core Basic Sciences (KBS/KLAB) (must include one laboratory)
- Kent Core Additional (KADL)
- Total Credit Hours: 36-37
Program Learning Outcomes
Graduates of this program will be able to:
- Describe how sociology is similar to and different from other social sciences.
- Show how one’s personal life is shaped by the time and place in which one lives.
- Demonstrate how institutions of family, education, religion, medicine and the economy are interrelated.
- Understand the interrelationships between social structures and individuals in society.
- Distinguish between individualistic, cultural and structural explanations of social events.
Program Policies
Foreign Language Requirements
In general, students may elect any foreign language taught through the Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies. However, certain majors, concentrations and minors require specific languages or limit the languages from which students may choose. In addition, students who plan to pursue graduate study may need particular languages for that study. In such cases, students should seek the advice of the appropriate department before selecting a language.
Mandatory Outcomes Assessment
In addition to the other General Requirements of the college, candidates for an undergraduate degree in the College of Arts and Sciences are required, as a condition of graduation, to participate in an outcomes assessment. These outcomes assessments are conducted by each undergraduate degree program in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Full Description
The Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology provides broad training in the theories and methods that sociologists use to understand contemporary social issues and problems. Students are encouraged to think critically as they examine issues ranging from small group behavior to global social movements. The core curriculum focuses on social inequalities, social psychology and health and illness. In addition, the program offers courses on a variety of topics that include urban living, deviant behavior, religion and family.
Sociology students are increasingly interested in courses that prepare them for meaningful careers that change the world (Seemiller and Grace 2016). One only needs to look at Black Lives Matter or the Sunrise Movement to see evidence of this generational disposition. Sociology, as a discipline, provides students with rigorous coursework on social inequality and social change and helps students find careers in government, teaching, community organizing, non-governmental organizations and social work.
Students may work with faculty and advisors to pursue their own individualized specialization in such areas as medical sociology; social inequalities; sociological social psychology; social change and social justice; family and life course sociology; and social problems, deviance and crime.
Sociology students may apply early to the M.A. degree in Sociology and double count 9 credit hours of graduate courses toward both degree programs. See the Combined Bachelor's/Master's Degree Program Policy in the University Catalog for more information.