Undergraduate Programs

Sociology

The Department offers a BA major, BA Honours, and minor in Sociology in an atmosphere encouraging an interdisciplinary approach to the social sciences.  As well as core courses in statistics for the social sciences, methods, and theory, the Department offers courses in three broad subject matter areas: social justice; development and the environment; and science, culture and knowledge.

For the major, students have considerable choice in building their programs to meet their intellectual interests, personal learning goals, and career aspirations.  There are seven required courses: Sociology 100 (Introduction), Social Studies 201 (Statistics for the Social Sciences), Social Studies 203 (Introduction to Social Research Methods); Social Studies 306 (Applied Methods: Quantitative Approaches) and Social Studies 307 (Applied Methods: Qualitative Approaches); Sociology 285 (Theories of Society) and Sociology 485 (Sociological Imaginations), the fourth year capstone course for majors.  Beyond that core of seven courses, students are required to choose three 200 level courses in the discipline, and two courses at the 300 or 400 level (other than 485).  This allows students to develop concentrations in one subject matter area, or to combine courses from all areas to achieve a more generalized perspective in the discipline.

In the Honours program students are provided a more concentrated exposure to the discipline, providing a stronger foundation for future graduate studies. 

For the minor, students have considerable choice, though all are required to take either Social Studies 201 or Social Studies 203.  Beyond that, students may choose four courses from at least two of the subject matter areas, and two of these courses must be at the 300 level or higher.  In addition, minors have one free elective in the discipline, which can be Sociology 100 or any other sociology course of the student’s choice.

For those interested in pursuing graduate studies the Department offers a MA degree in sociology.

Social Studies

The social studies undergraduate program serves two purposes: to provide interdisciplinary statistics and methods courses for the social sciences, and to house interdisciplinary social science undergraduate courses. 

The interdisciplinary statistics and methods courses include: Social Studies 201 (Statistics for the Social Sciences), Social Studies 203 (Introduction to Social Research Methods), Social Studies 306 (Applied Methods: Quantitative Approaches), and Social Studies 307 (Applied Methods: Qualitative Approaches).  In addition to serving the major in sociology, these courses serve a variety of disciplines which have incorporated some of these courses as program requirements or options. As a result, students in these courses will share learning experiences with students from a variety of disciplines.

The interdisciplinary undergraduate courses include: Social Studies 110 (Introduction to Mass Media), Social Studies 220 (The Status of Women in Contemporary Society) and Social Studies 377 (Concepts of Space and Time).

For students interested in pursuing graduate studies the Department offers an interdisciplinary MA in social studies.