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Lancaster Campus    
2015-2016 USC Lancaster Bulletin (Archived Copy) 
    
 
  Mar 28, 2024
 
2015-2016 USC Lancaster Bulletin (Archived Copy) [Archived Catalog]

Sociology, B.A.


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Learning Outcomes

  • Sociology majors will demonstrate their ability to understand and apply theories and principles regarding population dynamics and to compute population measures. Demographic theories, principles, and computations may include, but are not limited to: fertility, mortality and migration; crude birth rate, general fertility rate, and age-specific fertility rate; crude death rate, age-specific death rate, and infant mortality rate; estimating net migration through the vital statistics method and census survival ratio method; and computation of rates of population change during a specified period of time.
  • Sociology majors will demonstrate their ability to analyze social structures through identifying their component parts and explaining the impact of those structures on pre-specified human behavior and/or on a particular social structure. Social structures may include, but are not limited to: social networks, social strata, social organizations, and social institutions.
  • By the completion of the undergraduate degree sociology majors should be able to express what a sociological perspective is, what sociological problems are and how to study them.
  • Upon completion of the program student should demonstrate general knowledge of the sociological perspective and what the value of that perspective is.
  • Sociology majors will demonstrate their understanding of and their ability to analyze, interpret and apply significant results, perspectives, principles, and theories in a variety of substantive, sociological areas.

Basic Degree Requirements for Bachelor of Arts Degrees (120 Hours)


Note: Bachelor of Arts degrees require 120 hours. Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees require additional hours; see Program of Study  for major requirements.

  1. Carolina Core Plus General Education Requirements
  2. Major
  3. Cognate or Minor Requirements
  4. Electives

1. Carolina Core Plus General Education Requirements


Note: Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degrees follow General Education Requirements for the BA except where specified in Programs of Study for major requirements.

CMW: Carolina Core Effective, Engaged and Persuasive Communication: Writing (6 Hours)


  • Must be passed with a grade of C or higher.

ARP: Carolina Core Analytical Reasoning and Problem-Solving (6-8 Hours)


SCI: Carolina Core Scientific Literacy (8 Hours)


Specified or additional College of Arts and Sciences Requirement:

  • Two 4-credit hour laboratory science courses.

GFL: Carolina Core Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Communicate Effectively in More than One Language (0-9 Hours)


Specified or additional College of Arts and Sciences Requirement:

  • Demonstration of proficiency in one foreign language equivalent to the minimal passing grade on the exit examination in the 122 course is required for all baccalaureate degrees. Students can demonstrate this proficiency by successfully completing Phase II of the Proficiency Test or by successfully completing the 122 course, including the exit exam administered as part of that course.

It is strongly recommended that students continuing the study of a foreign language begin college-level study of that language in their first semester and continue in that language until their particular foreign language requirement is completed.

GHS: Carolina Core Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Historical Thinking (6 Hours)


Specified or additional College of Arts and Sciences Requirement:

  • Two courses in History (HIST) at the 100 level, one U.S. History and one non-U.S. History.

GSS: Carolina Core Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Social Sciences (6 Hours)


Specified or additional College of Arts and Sciences Requirement:

AIU: Carolina Core Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding (3 Hours)


Carolina Core Stand Alone or Overlay Eligible Requirements:

  • Up to two of these requirements may be met in overlay courses. At least one of these requirements must be satisfied by a course not applied elsewhere in general education. (3-9 Hours)

CMS: Carolina Core Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Speech (3 Hours)


INF: Carolina Core Information Literacy (0-3 Hours)


VSR: Carolina Core Values, Ethics, and Social Responsibility (3 Hours)


Other Required General Education Courses from the College of Arts and Sciences


Fine Arts and Humanities Requirements (9 Hours)


  • Bachelor of Arts degrees require 3 Hours in the fine arts. (May be taken as Carolina Core Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding.)
  • Bachelor of Arts degrees require an additional 9 Hours in the fine arts or humanities.

2. Sociology Major


Major Prerequisites (6 Hours)


A minimum grade of C is required in all major prerequisite courses.

Note:


SOCY 101  may also apply as a College General Education Requirement; however, SOCY 220  must be taken as an Elective.

Major Requirements (27 Hours)


A minimum grade of C is required in all major courses.

Required:


    Sociology Electives (21 Hours)


    • Select 5 additional courses from SOCY 300 or above
    • Select 2 SOCY courses from the 500-level

    B.A. with Distinction in Sociology


    The Departmental Undergraduate Research Track (BA with Distinction in Sociology) is available to students majoring in Sociology who maintain a minimum GPA of 3.50 in the major and 3.50 overall and who wish to plan and conduct an individual research project under the supervision of a faculty committee.

    A student seeking to graduate with Distinction in Sociology must select a faculty member to chair the committee that guides and evaluates the research project. At least two other faculty members will be appointed by the committee chair to serve as members of the committee. A written sponsorship agreement signed by the committee chair must be filed with the departmental chair. The student must successfully defend a research proposal and final paper to the committee. Ideally, the project should be finished within two semesters.

    Research projects must conform to the University’s policy on the treatment of human subjects. Proposals must additionally be subjected to the scrutiny of the Department of Sociology ethics committee.

    Requirements:


    • Overall GPA of 3.50 or higher and a GPA of 3.50 or higher in the major;
    • Successful completion of requirements for the Sociology major;
    • Research proposal approved by faculty committee;
    • Successful completion of 3-6 hours SOCY 599  including written and oral presentation of research project.

    Students who successfully complete these requirements will be awarded their degree with “Distinction in Sociology” upon graduation.

    3. Cognate or Minor Requirements (12-18 Hours) for B.A. Degrees


    Cognate


    The cognate is intended to support the course work in the major. The cognate must consist of twelve  (12) hours of courses at the advanced level, outside of but related to the major. The cognate may be taken in one or more departments or programs, depending on the interests of the student and the judgment of the advisor.

    Courses offered by departments and programs that are acceptable for cognate credit are outlined in the section titled Courses Acceptable for Cognate Credit in Degree Programs in the College of Arts and Sciences .

    For cognate course offerings in other colleges, consult the appropriate sections of this bulletin. Some major programs have specific cognate requirements.

    It should be emphasized that the cognate is not a second set of elective courses to be chosen at random by the student. The cognate must be approved by the major advisor as being related to the major field of study. Students are urged to consult their major advisors for specific requirements in their major.

    Courses applied toward general education requirements cannot be counted toward the cognate.

    For Bachelor of Arts degrees, all cognate courses must be passed with a grade of C or higher.

    Minor


    In place of the cognate a student in the College of Arts and Sciences may choose a minor consisting of at least 18 credit hours of prescribed courses. (Some minors in the sciences require a minimum of 16 hours.) The subject area of the minor may be related to the major. Students pursuing interdisciplinary minors who wish to use courses in their major department for minor credit must petition the College Committee on Scholastic Standards and Petitions for permission to do so.

    The minor is intended to develop a coherent basic preparation in a second area of study. It differs from the cognate inasmuch as the courses must be concentrated in one area and must follow a structured sequence. Interdisciplinary minors can be designed with the approval of the assistant dean for academic affairs and advising.

    Courses applied toward general education requirements cannot be counted toward the minor. No course may satisfy both major and minor requirements. All minor courses must be passed with a grade of C or higher. At least half of the courses in the minor must be completed in residence at the University.

    A list of minor programs of study can be found at Programs A-Z .

    4. Electives for B.A. Degrees and B.F.A.


    No courses of a remedial, developmental, skill-acquiring, or vocational nature may apply as credit toward degrees in the College of Arts and Sciences. The College of Arts and Sciences allows the use of the Pass-Fail option on elective courses. Further clarification on inapplicable courses can be obtained from the College of Arts and Sciences.

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