2025-2026 General Catalog
Source: https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/departments-programs-degrees/sociology/sociology-ab/ Parent: https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/departments-programs-degrees/#programsanddegreestext
The Major Programs
Sociology is the study of human society in all its manifestations. Its aim is to discover the process and structure of human interaction, to identify the main forces that sustain or weaken social groups, and to determine the conditions that transform social life. Sociology, like any science, is a disciplined, intellectual quest for knowledge about the fundamental nature of things. Students selecting the Sociology major will choose one of five options:
- The General Sociology emphasis allows students to gain a broad perspective of sociology by providing an introduction to the discipline and its central issues and concepts. This emphasis offers the most flexibility in allowing students to choose which upper division courses to take.
- The Law & Society emphasis is designed for students interested in the study of law, politics, and research. It offers a structured program of courses in law, criminology, deviance, and their relation to issues of societal order and change. Focusing on law in action, students will study how legal and criminal systems operate and theories of legal/criminal behavior. Students can expect to take courses in violence and inequality, delinquency, deviance, the criminal justice system, criminology, and social problems.
- The Social Services emphasis focuses on the interactive perspective of family, community, social problems, and social services. The core of the curriculum addresses the fields of social welfare, the family, and social stratification. Students round out their program with courses chosen from areas of social issues, social interaction, gender, and organizational behavior. Students will also take multiple courses within the areas of psychology and race and ethnicity. The program provides a strong liberal arts education and adequately prepares students to work in the diverse social environment of the 21st century.
- The Global & International Sociology emphasis is designed for students interested in developing an interdisciplinary, historically-informed understanding of global issues as well as regional challenges and characteristics. Students will study the social bases of political and economic life, culture and communities, inequalities, ethnic relations, migration, environmental changes, and other issues. Besides sociology courses, students choose classes across diverse disciplines, for example, economics, anthropology, political science, history, religious studies, and international agriculture.
- The Race, Ethnicity, & Immigration emphasis brings together two sociological subfields by allowing students to take common core of lower division courses that provide them with a foundational knowledge of race & ethnicity and immigration. Students will build on this foundation by choosing from an array of Sociology courses that provide in-depth instruction in specific areas related to Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration, and from electives offered by the departments of African American and African Studies, Chicana/Chicano Studies, Native American Studies, Asian American Studies, Middle East and South Asia Studies, and other Social Science and Humanities departments offering relevant courses.
Career Opportunities
The Sociology major provides students with a solid liberal arts education that will prepare them for graduate work in the social sciences as well as a variety of careers. Students who major in sociology often work in areas such as business, education, law, social work or counseling, data analytics, research, health services, community engagement, and global fields.
Advising
Honors Program
An Honors Program is available to Sociology and Sociology-Organizational Studies majors who have demonstrated excellence in their field of study. This programs gives students the opportunity to engage in their own sociological research in the form of an honors thesis.
To be eligible for the program, students must have a grade-point average of 3.500 in the major, completed 135 units, and obtained the recommendation of a sociology faculty sponsor familiar with their work. Honors students write an honors thesis and take two courses (SOC 194HA & SOC 194HB) during their senior year. Successful completion of the Honors Program, when combined with College GPA requirements, enables the student to graduate with High or Highest Honors. Students should apply for the program before they begin their fourth year.
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