Wittenberg's Sociology Department offers courses in both sociology and anthropology. As social sciences, both disciplines seek to understand how people are affected by their social environment. You will examine such topics as social roles, social inequality, deviant behavior and cultural values as well as basic social institutions such as the family, religion and education. With a sociology degree, Wittenberg graduates have gone on to careers in business, education, public service and social work.

The department's international program participation includes Global Studies, East Asian Studies, and Russian Area Studies. The faculty also encourage study abroad and the experience of living and learning in another country.

At Wittenberg, internships and independent study are extremely valuable to your study. In addition to these opportunities, your sociology major emphasizes the development of a sound background in the theoretical understanding and the methodological skills needed for social science research.

Degrees offered
B.A.: Sociology
Minor: Sociology

Degree Requirements
Major: A total of 37 semester hours, including Sociology 101 or 110, 307 and 360. Students must receive at least a 2.0 grade point average in sociology courses, and majors must regularly attend Sociology Colloquia offered throughout each semester. Outside of the departments, students must complete a statistics course and must demonstrate a computing competency before taking Sociology 307. Students must also complete a senior thesis (Sociology 498) as their capstone experience in the major.

Minor: Students must complete Sociology 101 or 110 plus 16 additional semester hours in Sociology, eight at the 300 level or above.

Research

A hallmark of the Sociology program at Wittenberg is the individualized senior thesis project. Students work intensively with a faculty member to complete an in-depth sociological study and are encouraged to engage in research either by analyzing survey data or by collecting their own data.

The Senior Thesis requirement ensures that every sociology major will have acquired the skills needed to complete such a major project, and all students present their papers at a departmental symposium.

The success of this program is demonstrated by the acceptance of Wittenberg Sociology students to present at the National Undergraduate Research Conference. Topics from the class of 1998 include: