Sociology is the study of social life, social organization, and social change. Students of Sociology study the causes and consequences of a wide range of human behaviors, interactions, groups, organizations, and institutions. Students of Sociology at Mesa State College can take courses on substantive topics ranging from inequality, to religion, to social movements, to families, to sociological theory (just to name a few). Sociology has a tradition of developing explanations for how social order can be maintained as well as how and why social change happens. Few fields of study are as far-ranging and relevant to the everyday world that we live in.
The Mesa State College Sociology program has three options for students. Students can major in Sociology with no concentration, or they can pursue a concentration in either Human Services or Anthropology.
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Anthropologists study culture in exotic places like Indonesia (pictured) and the United States. |
Human services majors help the Sociology Club conduct the prom dress donation drive. |
This option is the closest to a pure liberal arts degree, providing students with critical thinking skills, communication skills, and research skills that are applicable in a broad range of careers in non-profits, business and government. The subject matter of Sociology provides background useful in careers ranging from social services to business to education to law. The Bachelor of Arts in Sociology degree also provides excellent preparation for graduate work in Sociology or a related field. Beyond these opportunities, a degree in Sociology prepares students for responsible action in the social world and provides a foundation for lifelong learning.
The Anthropology curriculum at Mesa State College is designed to introduce students to the panorama of the human cultural experience, past and present. Accordingly, there are two introductory courses: Cultural Anthropology, which acquaints students with the tools anthropologists use to observe and understand human cultures, and World Prehistory, covering the anthropological subfields of biological anthropology and archaeology. While upper-division courses continue to stress the importance of anthropological theory, students are also encouraged to put their growing knowledge of anthropology to work, in such contexts as conducting their own field research (Ethnographic Methods), and developing their research skills for the job market (Applied Anthropology). Other upper-division offerings include North American Indians, Religion and Culture, Ethnopsychology, Medical Anthropology, Regional Study: Southeast Asia, Language and Culture, World Ethnicity and Nationalism, and U.S. as a Foreign Culture. Anthropology students are required to take one of the capstone courses, either World Cultures or Globalization and Culture Change.
Anthropology courses can be applied toward a Sociology major with an Anthropology concentration, a minor in Anthropology, a minor in Archaeology, or the primary or secondary area of a Social Science degree. Mesa State College Anthropology students have gone on to graduate study in Anthropology or related fields; they have also found positions in such fields as education and social work, both in the U.S. and abroad.
The concentration in Human Services provides students with a liberal arts degree with an occupational focus. The Human Services concentration provides much the same purpose as a social work degree would, but works more from an "applied sociology" perspective. In addition to the core Sociology courses, students with a Human Services concentration take courses in Psychology and Counseling Psychology. Human Services students also do an internship toward the end of their undergraduate education, which provides them with both important job skills and connections in the field. All this is in addition to the breadth of knowledge about the social world and the critical thinking, communication and research skills that are central to the core Sociology degree.
The Human Services concentration provides excellent preparation for careers in the social services (e.g., non-profit organizations, and criminal justice). This concentration also provides excellent preparation for graduate work in social work and applied sociology.
