Chair:

Prema Kurien
302 Maxwell Hall
315-443-2346

Undergraduate Director

Gretchen Purser
400 Eggers Hall
315-443-5848

Faculty

Edwin Ackerman, Cecilia A. Green, Madonna Harrington Meyer, Prema Kurien, Scott Landes, Andrew London, Amy Lutz, Yingyi Ma, Shannon Monnat, Jennifer Karas Montez, Jackie Orr, Arthur Paris, Gretchen Purser, Rebecca Schewe, Nazanin Shahrokni, Merril Silverstein, Janet Wilmoth, Terrell Winder

Program Description

The undergraduate major in Sociology is designed to provide students with both a broad introduction to the field and an opportunity for concentration within the specialty areas of the department. In addition to required courses in sociological theory and qualitative and quantitative research methods, the department offers a variety of substantive courses in inequality studies (e.g., gender, class, race / ethnicity, sexuality, and disability); health; education; immigration; family, aging and the life course; population studies; criminology and criminal justice; and social policy.

In addition to substantive specialization in Sociology, the major emphasizes skill development in the areas of analytic reasoning, analytic writing, computer literacy, elementary qualitative and quantitative research, information retrieval, and report presentation. Opportunities for internship experiences and/or assisting in faculty research projects are available. Eligible majors are encouraged to participate in the senior thesis research culminating in a symposium where they present the results and interpretation of their own research project. The department has a Sociology Club and offers an annual undergraduate paper award that is supported by a generous gift from a donor.