Sociology | College of Liberal Arts
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Undergraduate Program

Welcome to the undergraduate program of the Department of Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin. The UT Austin Sociology Department currently serves as the academic home for nearly 600 undergraduate majors. The B.A. degree places tremendous value on core training in sociological theory as well as methods and statistics. It builds on that core with a variety of course offerings in areas such as criminology and deviance, demography, education, family, gender, health, politics and development, race and ethnicity, and social stratification. 

The Department's undergraduate alumni go on to some of the leading graduate programs and law schools around the country, or on to productive careers in state and local governments, the private sector, and the non-profit sector. Students actively participate in research activities alongside faculty members, with the Sociology Honors Program and the Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD) Sociology Honors Society serving as the cores of upper-division student activity.

Major in Sociology
& you can change the world

The Sociology department offers a wide range of classes in subjects such as:

  • Criminal Justice
  • Education
  • Health Care
  • Income Inequality
  • Gender, Race, and Sexuality

What is Sociology?
Sociology examines how people build institutions and organizations and react to social situations such as economic inequalities, religious movements, race relations, criminal justice, and more. A sociologist studies these phenomena with a variety of scientific tools, including collecting and analyzing statistical data and conducting surveys, experiments, focus groups, and in-depth interviews. The goal of sociological study is a better understanding of how all parts of society are related.

Why do students choose Sociology?
Reason #1 >> They enjoyed their first Sociology course. Other reasons:

  • They want to understand people and society
  • They enjoy the flexibility of the degree plan
  • Sociology matches well with interests in Law, Medicine, Social Sciences/Research, Forensic Science, Criminal Justice, Communications, and Business

What kinds of classes does Sociology offer?

Health Courses:
Global Health Issues; Sociology of Health and Illness; Introduction to Health and Society; Race, Class, and Health; Mental Health in the Social Context

Criminal Justice:
Criminology, Criminal Justice, Deviance, Social Psychology and the Law

Other Favorites:
Life and Death Decisions, Society and Education, The Sustainable City, Sociology of Gender

What can I do with a Sociology degree?
Half of Sociology majors go directly to the workforce after graduation with the remainder either going to graduate school or working and going to graduate school. The American Sociological Association shows that nearly all former majors who were not full time graduate students held paid jobs 18 months after graduation. Sociology is a great major for students interested in medicine, law, or other subjects.

What kind of job can I get?
Jobs include (but are not limited to):

  • Public health policy
  • Community organization
  • Caseworkers
  • Non-profit administrators
  • Managers
  • Crime scene technicians
  • Law enforcement agents
  • Social science researchers
  • Business administrators
  • Teachers
  • Paralegals
  • Recreation therapy
  • And more

I’m interested in graduate school. What’s next?
Students interested in graduate programs in Sociology or other social sciences should consider Sociology Honors and membership in AKD, the Sociology Honors Society.

Pre-Health students should pursue the Pre-Health Professions Certificate and meet with HPO advisors.

Pre-Law students should meet with the Liberal Arts Career Services (LACS) Pre-Law Advisor.

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