Sociology, B.A.

Offered by Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health .

Sociology is the study of social relationships among people and the institutions and organizations they use to organize these relationships. There are many subfields within sociology, including medical sociology, aging, population, religion, gender roles, family, work organizations, occupations, crime and delinquency, urban sociology, political sociology and others described in the course listings below.

Major Requirements

32 credits
Minimum grade of “C” or better in all courses that count toward the major. P/F courses do not count toward the major.
At least 16 credits must be earned in courses taken at UMBC.

Course Requirements

Core Requirements (14 credits)

Students are urged to complete all core courses prior to their last semester before graduation. SOCY 300 and SOCY 301 should be taken, in sequence, as soon as possible after completing 9 credits of Sociology. They cannot be taken concurrently.

SOCY 101 - Basic Concepts in Sociology (3.00)
SOCY 300 - Methodology of Social Research (4.00)
SOCY 301 - Analysis of Sociological Data (4.00)
SOCY 409 - Sociological Theory (3.00)

Elective Courses (18 credits)

Eighteen credits of sociology or anthropology courses with a grade of “C” or better, excluding SOCY 396 and any other P/F courses. A maximum of six (6) credits in Anthropology may count toward a major in Sociology.

The department’s Sociology elective course offerings may include the following courses:

SOCY 201 - Social Problems in American Society (3.00)
SOCY 204 - Diversity and Pluralism: An Interdisciplinary Perspective (3.00)
SOCY 205 - Civic Agency and Social Entrepreneurship (3.00)
SOCY 220 - Urban Sociology (3.00)
SOCY 235 - Sociological Perspectives on Globalization (3.00)
SOCY 297 - Selected Topics in Sociology (3.00)
SOCY 310 - Social Stratification and Inequality (3.00)
SOCY 315 - Population and Society (3.00)
SOCY 321 - Race and Ethnic Relations (3.00)
SOCY 330 - Deviance in Contemporary Society (3.00)
SOCY 332 - Human Sexuality in Sociological Perspectives (3.00)
SOCY 333 - Human Sexuality in Cross-Cultural Perspective (3.00)
SOCY 334 - Sexual Diversity (3.00)
SOCY 335 - Terrorism and Social Violence (3.00)
SOCY 345 - Sociology of Education (3.00)
SOCY 349 - The Sociology of Religion (3.00)
SOCY 351 - Sociology of Health, Illness, and Medicine (3.00)
SOCY 352 - Issues in Health Care (3.00)
SOCY 353 - Marriage and the Family (3.00)
SOCY 354 - Social Bases of Public and Community Health (3.00)
SOCY 355 - The Sociology of Gender (3.00)
SOCY 358 - Contemporary Problems of Aging in Society (3.00)
SOCY 359 - Death and Dying (3.00)
SOCY 371 - Criminology and Penology (3.00)
SOCY 372 - Juvenile Delinquency (3.00)
SOCY 374 - Drugs and Alcohol in Society (3.00)
SOCY 380 - Political Sociology (3.00)
SOCY 397 - Selected Topics in Sociology (3.00)
SOCY 406 - Social Inequality and Social Policy (3.00)
SOCY 418 - SAS for Social Scientists (3.00)
SOCY 419 - Qualitative Methods in Social Research (3.00)
SOCY 420 - Epidemiology (3.00)
SOCY 430 - Sociology of Aging (3.00)
SOCY 431 - Family and Aging in Society (3.00)
SOCY 432 - Work and Retirement (3.00)
SOCY 433 - Gender, Work, and Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective (3.00)
SOCY 434 - Gender and the Life Course (3.00)
SOCY 450 - Demographic Analysis (3.00)
SOCY 451 - Sociology of Health and Illness Behavior (3.00)
SOCY 452 - Health Care Organization and Delivery (3.00)
SOCY 454 - Comparative Health Systems (3.00)
SOCY 455 - Disability and Rehabilitation (3.00)
SOCY 457 - Social History of American Medicine (3.00)
SOCY 458 - Sociology of Mental Health and Illness (3.00)
SOCY 470 - Social Ties across the Life Course (3.00)
SOCY 472 - Issues in Aging Policy (3.00)
SOCY 497 - Selected Topics in Sociology (3.00)