Sociology Major

Home Undergraduate Program Sociology Major

Students must file a study plan and declare a major no later than the end of the sixth quarter of enrollment and/or when they have reached 90 credits. Junior transfers must declare their major during their second quarter at UCSC.

Prerequisites to Declaring the Major

Before you can declare the Sociology major, you complete the three lower-division courses (Socy 1, 10 & 15) with a GPA of 3.0 or better in those courses.

Declaration Advising Sessions

Once you have completed the necessary prerequisites, you can begin the declaration process by signing up for a declaration advising session. Group advising sessions for Sociology are scheduled each quarter before the declaration deadline listed in the campus Academic and Administrative Calendar. Eligible students will be given an overview of the combined major, department policies, and will learn how to get a faculty advisor. For more information about the declaration sessions, please see our declaration session page.

Sociology majors are required to take a total of 13 courses (three prescribed lower-division preparation courses, four prescribed upper-division core courses, and six upper- division electives).

All Sociology majors are required to take the following courses or their equivalent prior to declaring the major with a GPA of 3.0 or better in those courses.

The following four courses are required as the foundation of theoretical and methodological training in the discipline. Students should take these courses early in their academic careers.

• Sociology 103A, Statistical Methods
• Sociology 103B, The Logic and Methods of Social Inquiry
• Sociology 105A, Classical Sociological Theory
• Sociology 105B, Contemporary Sociological Theory

Six additional upper-division sociology courses are required, including at least one in each of three undergraduate areas of specialization (institutional analysis, social psychology, inequality and social change).

Prior to graduation, all sociology majors are required to complete one of the following comprehensive requirements:

1) Capstone Course: Complete the Sociology Capstone Course, SOCY 196A, Capstone: The Sociologist as a Public Intellectual

2) Senior Thesis: As a prerequisite for the senior thesis, students must complete Sociology 103B by the junior year and be in good academic standing. A thesis proposal must be submitted to the preferred faculty thesis sponsor by the second week of spring quarter (four quarters prior to graduation). The propsal consists of a 1-3 page thesis abstract and draft research plan or design, a brief bibliography, and narrative evaluations from course 103B and any other relevant courses. For detailed information regarding the Senior Thesis, consult the Sociology Undergraduate Student Handbook (pdf).