1. Minimum requirement: 14 c.u.'s

2. At least 12 c.u.'s of the required 14 c.u.'s must be Sociology courses.

a. 1 c.u. must be Sociology 001, Introduction to Sociology

b. 1 c.u. must be a course in sociological theory approved by the department: Sociology 125, Classical Sociological Theory; Sociology 126, Contemporary Sociological Theory; or other theory courses which may be offered from time to time.

c. 3 c.u.'s must be approved courses in social research methods. One of these courses should be Sociology 100, Introduction to Sociological Research. Another course should be Sociology 120, Social Statistics. The third course can be chosen from among such methods courses as Sociology 128, Introduction to Demographic Methods; Sociology 221, Sample Survey Methods; Sociology 222, Field Methods of Sociological Research; or other methods courses which may be offered from time to time. Sociology 100 should be taken first whenever possible, and ideally the methods sequence should be completed before the beginning of senior year.

d. 3 c.u.'s must be in an approved area of concentration. Areas of concentration include:

- Sociology of Culture
- Deviance and the Sociology of the Law
- Sociology of Families and Populations
- Sociology of Health and Medicine
- Structures of Opportunity and Inequality
- Urban Sociology

e. 4 additional c.u.'s in Sociology. Students are encouraged to take some courses outside of their concentration.

3. The remaining 2 c.u.'s of the major may be either Sociology courses or related courses in other departments that are directly related to the students' area of concentration, subject to authorization by the Undergraduate Chair.

4. When a student applies to be a Sociology major, he or she must work out a tentative Major Plan with an advisor. The Major Plan should indicate the courses the student plans to take in order to satisfy the major requirements in an educationally coherent way. The tentative plan can be amended or updated at any time with the approval of the undergraduate chair.

5. Students are strongly encouraged to include some upper-level courses in their programs. 500-level courses are normally open to juniors and seniors. A select number of 600-level courses will also be open to juniors and seniors with the permission of the instructor.

Last Modified: 05-Mar-2008
For updates, comments please contact: saunderc@ssc.upenn.edu