Registration FAQs

30 hours of Sociology coursework (including 18 hours upper-division and 18 hours in residence) as follows:

• SOC 302 Intro to Study of Society with a grade of C or higher
• SOC 317L Intro to Social Statistics (or approved substitution) with a grade of C or higher
• SOC 327M Intro to Social Research with a grade of C or higher* (SOC 317M if taken prior to Fall 2020)
• SOC 379M Sociological Theory
• 18 additional hours of SOC elective with a minimum of 12 hours upper-division

A helpful tip: Do not take your courses in this order! It is recommended to take Sociology electives scattered throughout your time with us. Faculty who regularly teach SOC 327M note that students will not be prepared for that class until they have completed several Upper Division electives within the department. 

Classes at UT Austin are listed with a 3-digit course number. The first digit indicates the number of credit hours (most classes are 3 hours). The remaining digits indicate the approximate level of the course. X01 to X19 are lower-division courses and are intended primarily for first- and second-year students, or students taking introductory courses outside their area(s) of study. SOC 302, for example, is inteded to be suitable for first-semester students and can be taken by anyone to fulfill degree requirements.  

X20 to X79 indicate classes intended for advanced students. Students who have completed 60 course hours have "Upper Division Standing," which is required for many departments to take Upper Division courses. The Sociology Department allows students to take most of our Upper Division courses after they have completed 45 credit hours. If you have not completed at least 45 credit hours, you may not register for an Upper Division Sociology course. 

Maybe. Sociology uses the online Wait List System for many classes. If there is a waitlist for the class in question, please add yourself to the list and check periodically to see if you have received a clear path to add the class. We will not add students to a class ahead of others on the waitlist. 

If there is not an active waitlist for a class, it is simply closed. You will only be able to add it if enough students drop the class to return it to "open" status on the course schedule. 

Please note: some classes are cross-listed between multiple programs. If the Sociology listing of a class is closed, please check to see if there is a cross-listed section open. You can often find a seat this way, and your degree audit will read the course as equivalent regardless of the section in which you are enrolled.

SOC 322V, for example, is the same as AFR 360D. 

There are seats available, but they are reserved for officially declared Sociology majors. SOC 327M: Social Research Methods is required for all Sociology majors and is therefore open only to Sociology majors during initial registration. If there are any remaining seats, those will be made available to non-Sociology majors on the final day of the initial registrartion period.

 Some upper division courses, especially those with Writing Flags, may also be listed as "reserved" during early registration periods to allow Sociology students ample opportunity to register. Any remaining seats will be released to non-majors only after our students have had ample opportunity to register, which will be a period of not less than one week after registration opens. Non-majors may only enroll in these classes when the course schedule lists them as "open." If they are listed as "open; reserved" please check back later to see if any seats have been made available to non- Sociology students. 

Some courses, including SOC 379N, SOC 679HA/HB, and SOC 350M/N require additional approvals to add even for majors. Please speak with an advisor about the process for adding these classes. 

SOC 320C - Cancerland requires instructor consent to enroll; availability is very limited. For permission, please reach out to Dr. Osbakken directly (osbakken@utexas.edu).

That depends.

SOC 302 can be transferred in from another institution that offers introductory courses in Sociology.

SOC 317L can be substuted in many ways. If students have AP credit for Statistics, that credit can be claimed and used to satisfy this requirement. (Please speak with an Advisor before claiming Credit-by-Exam to make sure it makes sense for your circumstances.) Many Statisitcs courses taken at another college or university can be transferred in as well. There is also an extensive list of pre-approved alternatives that may be taken at UT. 

SOC 327M and 379M must be taken in residence at UT within the Department. There are no subsititions.

Elective courses in Sociology, and sometimes Criminology, can be transferred in from another insitution. However, at least 18 hours must be taken in residence at UT.

Students who have earned more than 12 hours of Sociology credit in transfer may not be able to count all of their coursework toward a UT Sociology major. Any hours not applied to the major, however, may still be counted as general electives toward the minimum total of 120 hours for any UT Austin undergraduate degree. 

• Sociology advisor(s) may add students to open Sociology courses from the 5th class day (Monday January 22nd) through the 7th class day (Wednesday January 24th) with instructor permission. For instructor permission, students should request faculty to forward their consent to gulliver@austin.utexas.edu. Please include EID and course unique number with any late add request.
• Please note, faculty permission does not apply to closed or waitlisted courses. If there is an active waitlist, students should add themself to the waitlist; they will only be added through the waitlist system. Permission does not guarantee enrollment if a class changes from open to closed or waitlisted. 

Unfortunately, we are not able to meet with students who have not already declared the major during registration advising season. Please meet with your current/major advisor and let them know that you are interested in switching to/adding Sociology. They can help you to select some courses that may be applicable. (Also see above; "What Classes do I Need for My Sociology Major?")

You can then meet with a Sociology advisor after initial registration has closed to look over your schedule and begin the process to declare the major. If we recommend any adjustments to your schedule, you will be able to make those changes during subsequent registration periods, including up to the first 4 days of the semester.

Read more about the process to declare the Sociology major on our Admissions page. 

The first step is not to panic. You may not get your ideal scehdule, especially during your first few semesters at UT, but you should be able to get useful and/or needed classes even without our help.

Consult a degree audit (see link in resources below) to check what degree requirements you still need to complete. Do your best to find courses that will satisfy those requirements, and be sure to enroll in enough courses. Generally, students need to be full-time, which is a minimum of 12 credit hours.

Register for classes using your best judgement, then make an appointment with your advisor as soon as you can. We will check them against your degree audit, answer any questions, and do our best to address any concerns you might have about the classes and your degree plan.