The concentration in Sociology (leading to a Bachelor of Arts) provides a foundation in sociological theory and methods and the opportunity to cultivate more specialized knowledge in the discipline’s substantive interests. Students develop that focus through their coursework, taking courses in diverse areas such as social inequality, family and gender, organizations, environmental sociology, race and ethnicity and globalization. Students refine their interests during the senior seminar and through their completion of a senior thesis or capstone project.
Standard program for the A.B. degree
Ten courses are required to complete the concentration.
| Required core: | ||
| SOC 0010 | Social Forces: An Introduction to Sociology | 1 |
| SOC 1010 | Classical Sociological Theory | 1 |
| SOC 1020 | Methods of Social Research | 1 |
| SOC 1100 | Introductory Statistics for Social Research | 1 |
| or APMA 0650 | Essential Statistics | |
| or ECON 1620 | Introduction to Econometrics | |
| or CLPS 0900 | Statistical Methods | |
| SOC 1950 | Senior Seminar | 1 |
| Five (5) additional courses: | 5 | |
a) At least three of the optional courses have to be 1000 level and one of them must be a substantive seminar (1870-1873). | ||
b) Students can choose to take up to two lower level (0100 level) courses. | ||
c) Students can petition to take two courses outside of the discipline (this will be allowed only when the proposed course makes sense given the interests of the student, and there is no equivalent sociology course). | ||
| Total Credits | 10 | |
Organizational Studies Track
Ten courses to complete the concentration
| Required Core: | ||
| SOC 0010 | Social Forces: An Introduction to Sociology | 1 |
| SOC 1010 | Classical Sociological Theory | 1 |
| SOC 1020 | Methods of Social Research | 1 |
| SOC 1100 | Introductory Statistics for Social Research | 1 |
| or APMA 0650 | Essential Statistics | |
| or ECON 1620 | Introduction to Econometrics | |
| or CLPS 0900 | Statistical Methods | |
| SOC 1950 | Senior Seminar | 1 |
| Foundations of Organizational Studies (choose two of the following): | 2 | |
| Organizations and Society | ||
| Micro-Organizational Theory: Social Behavior in Organizations | ||
| Macro-Organizational Theory: Organizations in Social Context | ||
| Advanced Organizational Studies Course (choose one course). The following are approved EXAMPLES. Please consult Courses@Brown/Concentration Advisor for current offerings. | 1 | |
| Introduction to Economic Sociology | ||
| Focus Groups for Market and Social Research | ||
| Context Research for Innovation | ||
| Market and Social Surveys | ||
| Market Research in Public and Private Sectors | ||
| Micro-Organizational Theory: Social Behavior in Organizations (If not used to meet the "Foundations" requirement, above) | ||
| Macro-Organizational Theory: Organizations in Social Context (If not used to meet the "Foundations" requirement, above) | ||
| Sociology of the Legal Profession | ||
| Two (2) additional courses. Each of these courses must be either (a) offered by the Department of Sociology, or (b) drawn from the following list of interdisciplinary "Organization-Relevant Electives:" | 2 | |
| American Advertising: History and Consequences | ||
| Human Factors | ||
| Mechanisms of Motivated Decision Making | ||
| Psychology in Business and Economics | ||
| Principles of Economics | ||
| Financial Institutions | ||
| Business, Culture, and Globalization: An Ethnographic Perspective | ||
| Land Use and Built Environment: An Entrepreneurial View | ||
| History of Capitalism | ||
| Decision Theory: Foundations and Applications | ||
| Prosperity: The Ethics and Economics of Wealth Creation | ||
| Politics, Markets and States in Developing Countries | ||
| Market Liberalism: Origins, Principles and Contemporary Applications | ||
| Total Credits | 10 | |
Additional Restrictions to the Organizational Studies Track:
Lower-level Coursework: Students may count no more than two 0100-level courses toward the Organizational Studies and Concentration Elective requirements (combined).
Upper-level Coursework: At least three of the five courses counted toward the Organizational Studies and Concentration Elective requirements (combined) must be at the 1000-level, and at least one must be a substantive seminar (1870-1873).
Interdisciplinary Coursework: Students may petition to count non-Sociology courses beyond the Organization-Relevant Elective list toward the Concentration Elective requirement. This will be allowed only when the proposed course makes sense given the interests of the student, and the Department of Sociology offers no equivalent course.
“***See the Sociology website http://www.brown.edu/academics/sociology/ for details regarding Honors and Independent Studies”
The Senior Seminar SOC 1950
Sociology requires all concentrators to complete a thesis or capstone project in their senior year. The purpose of the thesis or capstone project is to allow students an opportunity to apply the knowledge they acquired through the concentration curriculum on a topic of their own interests. (Students in the Organizational Studies track are expected to focus their senior thesis or capstone project on an Organizational Studies topic.) To fulfill this requirement students enroll in SOC 1950 – Senior Seminar. Participation in this seminar allows each cohort of concentrators to discuss their diverse interests and expose students to the wide range of applications of Sociological knowledge.
A senior thesis must ask an original research question, answer it with appropriate evidence, and place that work within relevant scholarly literature in sociology. The thesis is supervised by a faculty member who serves as the primary advisor and one additional faculty member who serves as a reader. By the end of the sixth semester, students must submit a prospectus for the senior thesis (not more than four pages) accompanied by the signature of one faculty member indicating that he or she is willing to serve as the primary advisor on the thesis to the Director of Undergraduate Studies in their concentration. Only a senior thesis qualifies the student for Honors.
A capstone project is an independent, student-initiated project or experience developed during the Senior Seminar (SOC 1950) that connects in a meaningful way to learning in the concentration. A capstone project differs from a thesis in its scholarly content and form, and it depends only on the evaluation of the senior seminar instructor. Whereas the senior thesis follows the form of a conventional research paper, the capstone project allows a wider array of research and creative outputs, including but not limited to video documentaries, photographic exhibitions, and applied or policy-related reports for an off-campus organization. Projects are complemented by a poster presentation, literature review, and report that situates the central subject matter of the project within the context of sociological scholarship.
Independent Study
Students can use no more than one (1) Independent Study course (SOC 1970) to meet the concentration course requirements. This course counts towards a 1000-level substantive requirement and will not serve as a substitute for any of the core concentration requirements.
Honors
In order to be considered for honors, students must (1) be in good standing with the College, (2) have completed at least half of the concentration coursework, and have earned a majority of “A” grades in the concentration. Honors also require a senior thesis, with a recommendation of Honors by the advisor and reader, that demonstrates an understanding of empirical research.