The Major

Download an information sheet on sociology at Colorado College

To major in sociology at Colorado College you need at least 11 units of course work in sociology. A good way to start is to take our introductory First Year Experience course, Family and Social Change (FE137). Other introductory courses include Thinking Sociologically (SO100), Inequality (SO107), Gender Inequality (SO112), Racial Inequality (SO113), Global Inequality (SO116), Deviant Behavior (118), and Environmental Sociology (SO130).

In our 200-level courses, we delve more deeply into one the sub-fields of our sociology curriculum:

Self and Society -- Processes by which people shape and are shaped by their social contexts;
Inequality -- Processes by which societies define and distribute what is valuable to individuals and groups;
Associations and Institutions-- Process by which social life is organized and reproduced over time;
Social Change -- Processes by which social life is transformed.

Our 300-level courses provide opportunities for the close reading of texts or research under a faculty member's supervision. All of these courses, as well as the required courses that are the core of the major (Sociological Research Design [SO229], either Qualitative Research Methods [SO302] or Quantitative Research Methods [SO301], and Social Theory [SO334]), culminate in a senior thesis, a piece of original research or theorizing of the student's own choosing and design.

A recent sociology graduate, when asked what he would do with a sociology major, said, "I can do anything with my sociology major." Our graduates have become documentary filmmakers and physicians, community organizers and CEOs, lawyers and market researchers, psychotherapists and college professors. Many of our graduates go to graduate school, either a professional program or in one of the social sciences, and many work in the nonprofit sector. See our alumni news to see where recent graduates are today.

For more information on the major, contact Professor Sandi Wong, department chair, 719-389-6237 or email: swong@coloradocollege.edu.