Why Study Sociology?
What is sociology?
Sociology is the scientific study of human social relationships and structures. Like biologists and
other natural scientists, sociologists work by sets of rules through which they evaluate the
arguments and evidence generated by empirical research. This doesn't mean sociological work is
either narrow or lacking in practical significance. Our techniques range from computer
simulation through survey research to participant observation of urban street corner life. Styles
among sociologists vary from the scientific to the humanistic, from the applied to the theoretical.
Sociology involves the observation and explanation of human behavior in a wide variety of
areas. In addition to the specialties of social psychology, political sociology, and mathematical
sociology, which have obvious ties to other social sciences, sociologists study such things as race
relations, social stratification, the family, the community, ethnic minorities, sex roles, drugs,
crime, population, leisure, sport, aging, mass media, developing nations, organizational structure,
communication in small groups and in dyads.
Is sociology for you?
If you are actively concerned about the world you live in and want to do something constructive
and useful in it - whether in law, business, education, medicine, urban or rural planning, etc. -
sociology provides our best means for understanding how "the system" works. Whether you
want to change society radically, modify it, preserve it as it is, or restore it to a bygone era, you
must first understand what the structure of system is, how social order is maintained, and how
social change can be affected. Sociology can give you some of that knowledge and can further
help you acquire the analytic tools to develop it on your own.
What can you do with it?
1. Social problems orientation: Many public or nonprofit agencies, governmental bureaus, and
community programs hire applied sociologists.
2. Research orientation: Many organizations utilize majors who have emphasized sociological
methodology and social statistics.
3. Sociology as a pre-professional background:
medicine and nursing primary or secondary teaching
public health politics and political consulting
law urban and regional planning
counseling journalism and communications
criminology public administration
penology (corrections) business administration
social work market research and advertising
ministry media programming and production
4. Sociology as background training for various general institutional (or anti-institutional) skills:
social service administration, program and policy planning, community development, program
and policy evaluation, organizational consulting, small group management and leadership.
5. Becoming a professional sociologist: This requires a Ph.D. with rare exceptions. Most
sociology majors do not become professional sociologists, although a substantial number of our
graduates have gone to graduate programs either in sociology or related professional fields. More
than half of all professional sociologists are employed in academic settings, engaged in various
combinations of teaching and research. But a large minority work elsewhere.
In the federal government, sociologists work as demographers for the Department of Labor or
Census Bureau; survey study directors for Department of Labor, Office on Aging, Office of
Education, National Institute of Drug Abuse, Department of Justice, or Law Enforcement
Assistance Administration; legislative consultants; rural sociologists for U.S. Department of
Agriculture; program evaluators for ACTION or Office of Economic Opportunity; regional
researchers for State Department; analysts of school desegregation for Department of Education.
In addition to courses, what does the department offer?
The sociology department offers a variety of activities. Some result in credit such as being a
teaching assistant or working as a research assistant. Research activities range from library
research to data preparation and analysis for ongoing faculty and faculty-student projects.
Students qualified for the work study program can almost always find jobs in the department.
Membership in Alpha Kappa Delta, the sociology national honorary society, is awarded to those
who excel academically.
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