About Sociology
How societies, institutions, and groups shape human life. Courses carry the SOC subject code and are offered through the College of Arts, Design & Communication. Numbers below 300 are introductory, 300–499 advanced undergraduate, and 500 and above graduate. Prerequisites are enforced at registration.
How the sequence works
Of the 9 SOC courses listed, 2 are introductory (numbers under 300), 2 are advanced undergraduate (300–499). 1 course has no prerequisite and is a reasonable first step. Later courses assume the earlier ones, so read prerequisites before you plan a term — they are enforced at registration and an override from the Sociology department is the only way around them.
SOC 1000 — Introduction to Sociology 3 cr
The sociological perspective: culture, socialization, institutions, inequality, and social change.
Prerequisite: none.
SOC 2100 — Social Problems 3 cr
Poverty, crime, health, environment, and work analyzed as structural rather than individual issues.
Prerequisite: SOC 1000.
SOC 2300 — Race and Ethnicity 3 cr
The social construction of race, systems of stratification, and contemporary policy debates.
Prerequisite: SOC 1000.
SOC 2500 — Sociology of Family 3 cr
Family forms across time and culture, work and care, and family policy.
Prerequisite: SOC 1000.
SOC 3100 — Social Research Methods 4 cr
Survey, interview, ethnographic, and secondary-data methods, ethics, and a small research project.
Prerequisite: SOC 1000.
SOC 3300 — Social Stratification 3 cr
Class, status, and power; mobility; and how inequality is produced and reproduced.
Prerequisite: SOC 1000.
SOC 3500 — Work and Organizations 3 cr
Labor markets, bureaucracy, professions, automation, and the changing nature of work.
Prerequisite: SOC 1000.
SOC 3700 — Deviance and Social Control 3 cr
How societies define and respond to rule-breaking, and the institutions of control.
Prerequisite: SOC 1000.
SOC 4900 — Senior Seminar in Sociology 3 cr
An integrative capstone built around an original research paper and its presentation.
Prerequisite: senior standing.
Planning and advising
Your degree audit shows exactly how SOC courses apply to your requirements; this list only shows what is offered. If you are choosing between two courses, deciding when to take a heavy one, or wondering whether a course will run next term, your academic adviser can tell you. Course availability by term is set close to registration and is not guaranteed by anything on this page.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. Every course, prerequisite, credit value, and department on this page is invented; nothing here describes a real curriculum or a course you can enroll in.