Sociology Major

Requirements for the Major

Students who wish to graduate with a full major in sociology must satisfactorily complete a minimum of ten graded courses:

• The introductory course: SOC 001 PZ  or SOC 001X PZ  
• One theory course: SOC 109 PZ  or SOC 110 PZ  or SOC 112 PZ  (we strongly encourage students who are considering graduate work in sociology or a related field, such as social work, to take more than one theory course)
• Two methods courses: SOC 101 PZ  and SOC 102 PZ  (students may use CASA 105 in place of SOC 102 PZ  and any statistics course can be used to fulfill SOC 101 PZ ). We strongly recommend that students take SOC 101 PZ /SOC 102 PZ  as soon as they declare the major or before senior year.
• Five additional sociology courses, at least two of which should be from Foundations.
• One Capstone course (SOC 199A PZ  or SOC 199B PZ  ), which are only offered during the spring semester.

No more than three courses can be counted to fulfill the requirements in another major or minor or be transferred from another institution. Independent studies cannot be used to fulfill these requirements.

CASA Pitzer Courses: Sociology will caccept both CASA 101 and CASA 105 for two courses towards the major.

Honors

Students who have a minimum GPA (cumulative and in sociology) of 3.5 may request that their senior thesis be considered for honors. Two faculty members (at least one of which must be in the sociology field group) must evaluate the research project and make a recommendation to the Sociology Field Group. In the case of combined majors, one faculty member from each field group must evaluate the project. Eligible students should begin thinking about an honors thesis at the end of their junior year and discuss their ideas for a thesis with two faculty members at the beginning of their senior year.