Sociology is the scientific study of society, social institutions and social relationships. A key contribution of the discipline is that social factors matter; our lives are not only shaped by personal psychology, but also by our place in the social world. Sociology’s areas of inquiry range from intimate family relationships to ties between nation-states; from divisions by race, class, gender and sexuality to shared ideas of common culture; and from understanding the influence of broad-scale social movements to analyzing how adolescents become productive adults. Sociologists help develop theories to understand how the social world works and also use analytic tools to craft policies and create programs that address important social issues, such as neighborhood and educational inequality. Few disciplines offer such a broad scope of relevance for understanding individual and collective relations in society.
The substantive breadth and skills in conducting and analyzing research that sociology majors obtain can be useful for a range of career paths including: business and marketing, criminal justice, education, environment and technology, graduate school, law, public health, leadership in faith communities, non-profit and social service organizations, public policy, social welfare and social work. Students will leave the major with research skills developed in conjunction with knowledge of substantive material relevant to a variety of social service and non-profit research positions. They also will have an excellent basis for pursuing graduate studies in law, sociology and other social and cultural studies programs.
For additional information on the Sociology major at UC Merced, please visit the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts website, or the Sociology website.
Sociology Four Year Major Plans
Below, please find four year plans for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. Students should choose the plan that corresponds to the catalog year in which they matriculated to UC Merced. For more information on catalog rights, please click here.
Community Studies Emphasis
Health, Medicine, and Society Emphasis
Justice, Law, and Society Emphasis
Race and Racial Justice Emphasis
Sociology Major Planning Guides
Below, please find planning guides for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. Students should choose the planning guide that corresponds to the catalog year in which they matriculated to UC Merced. For more information on catalog rights, please click here.
2014-2015
2013-2014
2012-2013
2011-2012
2010-2011
2009-2010
Sociology Breadth Courses
The following courses meet the requirement for "Upper Division Non-Sociology Breadth Course" for the Sociology major at UC Merced:
- ANTH 110: Transnationalism
- ANTH 112: Political Anthropology
- ANTH 116: Indigenous Activism in the Americas
- ANTH 170: Ethnographic Methods
- ARTS 115: Twentieth Century Drama: Theatre and Social Responsibility
- ARTS 120: Critical Popular Music Studies
- ARTS 125: African American Music of the 20th Century
- COGS 150: Language, Cognition and Interaction
- COGS 152: Services Science and Management
- COGS 153: Judgment and Decision Making
- ECON 111: American Economic History
- ECON 115: Economics of Industrial Organization
- ECON 116: Organizational Strategy
- ECON 120: Economics of the Environment
- ECON 140: Labor Economics
- ECON 141: Human Resource Economics
- ECON 142: The Economics of Gender and Poverty
- ECON 145: Health Economics
- ECON 150: Economic Development
- ECON 151: Public Economics
- ECON 152: Law and Economics
- ECON 155: Political Economics
- GASP 121: Ethnomusicology
- GASP 102: Asian American Art
- GASP 135: African American Music
- GASP 175: Race and Nationalism in American Art
- HIST 110: Climate Change and World History
- HIST 117: Topics in Regional or State History
- HIST 118: Topics in Environmental History
- HIST 119: Topics in the History of Migration and Immigration
- HIST 124: African American History from Slavery to Civil Rights
- HIST 128: The United States and the Vietnam War
- HIST 130: The Cold War
- HIST 135: Literature and History of the 1960’s
- LIT 132: American Protest Literature
- LIT 135: Literature and History of the 1960’s
- LIT 136: Literature and Culture of African Americans
- LIT 160: Hispanic Women Writers
- LIT 168: Chicano Literature
- LIT 169: US Latino Literature
- MGMT 150: Services Science and Management
- MGMT 152: Law and Economics
- MGMT 153: Judgment and Decision Making
- MGMT 155: Political Economics
- PHIL 107: Philosophy of Religion
- POLI 100: Political Process and Institutions
- POLI 102: Judicial Politics
- POLI 105: Interest Groups and Political Parties
- POLI 106: Urban Politics
- POLI 107: State Politics
- POLI 108: Direct Democracy
- POLI 111: Liberty, Equality and the Constitution
- POLI 120: Voting Behavior, Campaigns, and Elections
- POLI 125: Public Opinion
- POLI 127: Race, Gender and Politics
- POLI 145: Comparative Political Behavior
- POLI 150: Causes of International Conflict
- PSY 123: Alcohol, Drugs, and Behavior
- PSY 124: Health Disparities
- PSY 130: Developmental Psychology
- PSY 131: Social Psychology
- PSY 138: Development of Social Mind
- PSY 145: Human Sexuality
- PSY 150: Psychological Perspective on Cultural, Racial, Ethnic Diversity
- PSY 151: The Psychology of Stereotyping and Prejudice
- PSY 170: Industrial and Organizational Psychology
