Sociology
Sociology Links:
What is Sociology?
Sociology is the study of many groups that humans form: families, communities, and states, as well as a variety of social, religious, political, business, and other organizations. Sociology studies the interaction of these groups, their origin and growth, and the influence of group activities on individual members. Sociologists may specialize in social organization, social psychology, intergroup relations, or research methodology, or by concentrating on the application of knowledge to areas such as Crime, Law, and Justice [see Crime, Law, and Justice description], education, industry, occupations, and regional and community planning.
Career directions with a B.A./B.S.:
Sociology graduates are highly competitive with other liberal arts majors for jobs in civil service (local, state, and federal governments), insurance companies, industry, business, retailing, and production. Sociology majors with training in social statistics may be employed as statisticians or researchers. For example: advertising representative, caseworker, child care worker, counselor, criminologist, fund raiser, human resources representative, labor relations specialist, management trainee, paralegal, probation, probation officer, public administrator, public relations specialist, and sales representative.
Career directions with a graduate degree:
In general, the PSU program prepares graduate students for careers in research, scholarship, or policy analysis [see Health Policy and Administration description]. This may include academic positions and research positions in government agencies. Therefore, with a graduate degree, one might teach, conduct research, administer programs, formulate policies, and advise policy makers. Practicing sociologists with advanced degrees may be called research analysts, survey researchers, gerontologists, statisticians, urban planners, community developers, criminologists, or demographers.
Last modified: 07/11/06 | Contact Webmaster
