Sage Sociology Exchange Continuation of Sociology

Question:

How can we provide more impact on the continuation of sociology both as courses and as potential majors/minors for students?  So many things can be done with a major or minor in sociology, yet many universities are scrapping sociology not only from graduate programs but also as a major for undergraduate degrees.  How can we make ourselves more relevant? 

Answer:

Provided by Sage Author: Stephanie Medley-Rath, Indiana University, Kokomo, USA 

How university leaders and others quantify a degree’s value is a challenge for sociology programs. Many leaders focus on credit-hour production, the number of students who have declared sociology as a major, and job placement and earning of graduates. Sociology, however, is a workhorse and supports general education and is frequently required or available as an elective option for dozens of other degree programs. Sociology’s value in non-sociology degrees is important and something departments can highlight. 

Sociology is a great degree to keep around for students that need to change their major. Many sociology programs have quite accommodating degree maps making it feasible for a student to still graduate close to on-time if they switch to sociology. These students can then still graduate on or near on-time with a flexible degree like sociology. 

Sociology is also an appealing major for underrepresented racial minority students, low-income students, first-generation students, and returning students. These are students that many university leaders are keen to attract and retain. Programs should compare their institutional data on these groups to their program on graduating and retaining these underserved groups. 

Finally, students should be able to study what they love. College is a time of exploration and spending time thinking deeply about important issues. Students should have access to majors and courses that support exploration and deep thinking. Sociology graduates get jobs and are an asset to their communities. Sociology changes and improves the lives of students.