An undergraduate degree in Sociology presents the graduate with a broad skill set desirable to many employers. As social behavior predicts how our global society will evolve, it’s only natural that this subject is one of the most popular social science disciplines at top universities around the world.
Many say sociology is the study of why we all don’t get along. With that in mind, we can say that sociology is a branch of the social sciences which is concerned with the causes and results of human behavior. Sociologists study societies at large, as well as smaller groups within societies. They analyze the inner-workings of groups of people through looking at factors like social interaction, social change, race and gender relations, and the division of labor, to name just a few.
If you have ever wondered how neighborhoods form, how cults come about, or why some groups of people are rich and some poor, sociology is for you. If you have an inquisitive nature and are eager to put this characteristic to work through field work within the very society in which you live, this may be your discipline.
You will have a great interest in the social sciences – like the very closely related political science, history, and psychology, for example. You may be fascinated by a more specific sociological issue, like crime or the judiciary system. If you are interested in such a specific field, however, it is important to know that an undergraduate degree in Sociology will focus on the greater spectrum. As a result, you may need to undertake further studies following graduation.
What skills will you need? Sociology courses are usually quite heavy on reading and writing, so if you are more of a technical person, it may not be the best choice. You should be able to engage in critical thinking at a high level and analyze texts and case studies. A basic statistics course is mandatory for sociology students at most top universities, but don’t let this scare you – such courses will be tailored for the social science student, taking into account the fact that a great proportion are conceptual learners and may not excel in math.
The curriculum of the undergraduate sociology degree is likely theoretically based, and may ask the student to apply the works of leading philosophers to issues affecting our societies. Courses may also require the student to conduct a research project in which she will make a hypothesis about a specific social issue, then go out into the ‘field’ and analyze the issue at large.
It is tough to find a top university that does not have a sociology department. Some of the factors you may wish to take into account when choosing a program are how an institution is ranked, statistics regarding alumni employment, and whether the course has the theory-practice balance you are seeking.
For example, the sociology department at the University of California, Berkeley, which ranks fifth in the THES-QS Guide to the World’s Top Universities ranking of social science departments, takes classic sociological theory very seriously. The sociology student at Berkeley will spend a fair share of her time analyzing the works of great sociologists and philosophers - from Plato to Marx to the more contemporary Chomsky, for example.
Four-year programs like the one at Berkeley are likely to be heavier on theory, while three-year programs like the BA in Sociology at the University of Bristol may require less theory. It’s important to check your prospective schools’ websites for course descriptions.
If you’re thinking of studying abroad, many top universities offer English-taught undergraduate programs in sociology. Exchange programs are particularly popular, and can vary in length from a semester to a year abroad. While some universities offer the student the choice to study at a specific university (for example, the University of Maryland, in the US, has a specific partnership with the University of Surrey, in the UK), others offer a very broad selection of study destinations and universities. As sociology in its very basic form is the study of societies, studying abroad couldn’t be more suitable for a sociology student!
Like many of the other social science disciplines, an undergraduate degree in sociology opens the doors to a plethora of careers, as it equips the graduate with a broad skill set desirable to employers. Social work is of course a popular career path of said graduates, but is by no means the required path to take. Graduates go on to a variety of careers – from journalism to marketing to law or teaching, to name just a few.
An undergraduate degree in sociology can also be a stepping stone. Many graduates go on to obtain graduate degrees. Law is a very popular one amongst the sociology group. But most of all, a degree in sociology will educate you to analyze your day-to-day activities, as well as the greater issues affecting the world population today. You will see the world from an educated view not accessible to many others, and will be glad you have obtained the skills to assess many important personal and professional situations that may come your way.