The law and society emphasis is designed for students interested in the study of law, politics, and research. It offers a structured program of courses in law, criminology, deviance, and their relation to issues of societal order and change. Focusing on law in action, students will study how legal and criminal systems operate and theories of legal/criminal behavior. Students can expect to take courses in violence and inequality, delinquency, deviance, the criminal justice system, criminology and social problems.
As a sociology major, you can choose an emphasis in law and society, social services, comparative studies and world development, or general sociology. A sociology degree provides a broad background in sociological theory and valuable methodological training. Depending on your area of interest, you may study such topics as (to name just a few) race and gender discrimination, the interactional and institutional mechanisms enabling them to persist, and how to change them, patterns of immigration in contemporary society and how they intersect with labor markets, schools, and the health care system, the organization of the criminal justice system, the politics of health care, or why precarious employment has become so widespread.
The Sociology major provides students with a solid liberal arts education that will prepare them for graduate work in the social sciences as well as a variety of careers. Students who major in sociology often work in areas such as business, education, law, social work or counseling, data analytics, research, health services, community engagement, and global fields.