The Bachelor of Arts in Sociology will provide you with a degree that can launch you into a variety of careers. Not only will you have the opportunity to specialize within a specific area of sociology, but you will also build skills in social science foundation courses. The program is flexible enough to allow you to also complete an interdisciplinary certificate.
The following information comes from the official EWU catalog, which outlines all degree requirements and serves as the guide to earning a degree. Courses are designed to provide a well-rounded and versatile degree, covering a wide range of subject areas.
Sociology Major, Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Within the Bachelor of Arts degree, the Department of Sociology and Justice Studies offers a program in sociology, blending career education and the liberal arts. The education goal is not to train students; neither is the goal to educate students solely in sociology. Rather, the goal is to use the discipline as a way to critically synthesize what is learned in a liberal arts program. The program envisaged here provides a general background which will enable the student to move into a variety of career paths, while retaining the opportunity for particular specializations within sociology and thematically related disciplines.
The Department of Sociology and Justice Studies believes that a university must educate broadly to enrich both career and life. Accordingly, students in the Sociology Program complete social science foundation courses, as well as core disciplinary courses. In order to assist students as they move into a variety of career paths, students complete elective courses selected under the guidance of a Sociology major advisor.
Note: two years of a single high school world language or one year of a single college-level world language is required.
| Required Introduction and Social and Behavioral Science Foundation | ||
| SOCI 101 | INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY | 5 |
| SOCI/CRIM 356 | INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL STATISTICS | 5 |
| or CSBS 320 | STATISTICS FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES | |
| SOCI 357 | METHOD FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH | 5 |
| or CRIM 330 | SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH METHOD | |
| SOCI 465 | CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY | 5 |
| Required Disciplinary Core | ||
| SOCI 351 | SOCIAL STRATIFICATION | 5 |
| SOCI 363 | SOCIOLOGY OF DEVIANCE | 5 |
| SOCI 385 | GLOBAL MIGRATION | 5 |
| SOCI 470 | SOCIAL CHANGE | 5 |
| SOCI 481 | SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY | 5 |
| Required Disciplinary Electives–choose any three sociology courses with the direction of a sociology advisor and with approval of the department chair. | 15 | |
| Required Discipline-Based Capstone | ||
| SOCI 490 | SENIOR CAPSTONE: SOCIOLOGICAL PRACTICE | 5 |
| Total Credits | 65 | |
The following plan of study is for a student with zero credits. Individual students may have different factors such as: credit through transfer work, Advanced Placement, Running Start, or any other type of college-level coursework that requires an individual plan.
Courses may be offered in different terms and not all courses are offered every term, checking the academic schedule is paramount in keeping an individual plan current. There may be some courses that have required prerequisites not listed in the plan, review the course descriptions for information. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.
All Undergraduate students are required to meet the Undergraduate Degree Requirements.
This major requires the completion of the World Language requirement. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree must complete two years of a single language in high school or one year of a single language in college.
| First Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| ENGL 101 | 5 | ENGL 201 | 5 | Sociology Elective2 | 5 |
| SOCI 101 (Social Science BACR 1) | 5 | MATH 107 | 5 | Humanities & Arts BACR 21 | 5 |
| Humanities & Arts BACR 11 | 5 | Social Science BACR 21 | 5 | Natural Science BACR 11 | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Second Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| SOCI 357 or CRIM 330 | 5 | SOCI 356, CRIM 356, or CSBS 320 | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| Sociology Elective (Diversity - graduation requirement)2 | 5 | Sociology Elective2 | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| Natural Science BACR 21 | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Third Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| SOCI 351 | 5 | SOCI 385 (Global Studies - graduation requirement) | 5 | SOCI 481 | 5 |
| Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Fourth Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| SOCI 363 | 5 | SOCI 470 | 5 | SOCI 490 (Senior Capstone - graduation requirement) | 5 |
| SOCI 465 | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Total Credits 180 | |||||
University Graduation Requirements (UGR) and Breadth Area Course Requirements (BACR) courses may be less than 5 credits and additional credits may be required to reach the required 180 total credits needed to graduate. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.
Required Disciplinary Electives–choose any four sociology courses with the direction of a sociology advisor and with approval of the department chair.
Pre-requisites: SOCI 101.
This course seeks to realize two complementary objectives: First, to acquaint you with the origins of sociological inquiry and the variety of styles and logical systems which shape such research; secondly, to demonstrate the nature of the research techniques which follow.
Pre-requisites: SOCI 101.
Examines the conditions under which deviance as a social reality emerges, develops, and changes over time. Typical concerns are the process of social typing; official responses to deviances; managing the deviant identity; and the role of bureaucracies and social class in promoting deviance as a political construction.
Pre-requisites: English competency.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–global studies.
This course introduces students to critical debates in the study of migration in social sciences and related disciplines. Furthermore, the course investigates the causes and consequences of modern population mobility from a comparative perspective by posing a core question: what are the socio-cultural, economic, and political outcomes of migration across sending and receiving countries?
Pre-requisites: SOCI 101.
An analytic approach to the social-psychological consequences of social structure. Focal concerns may include alienation, anti-psychiatry, personality and social class, role behavior, and socialization.
A Sociology major gives you a deep understanding of social structures, relationships, and institutions. You’ll gain the tools to think critically, communicate effectively, and engage with diverse perspectives.
Through hands-on research and analysis, you’ll explore complex social issues like inequality, justice, and community development. You’ll also learn how to address those challenges.
Whether you’re drawn to social services, public policy, education, healthcare, or research, the Sociology degree prepares you to make a meaningful impact. Its versatility opens career pathways in the public and private sectors, with a shared focus on improving communities and organizations.
Explore the countless career paths for Sociology Majors: