Sociology is the study of the various ways that people interact and organize themselves...in nations and families, cities and tribes, in offices, churches, neighborhoods, schools and gangs. The subject matter is the world around us. A sociologist might study the work life of waitresses, the role of men in raising children, health disparities, white-collar crime, poverty and injustice, how and why people oppose nuclear power, the way rumors spread or why the birth rate in the United States is declining. The perspective gained from sociology teaches us to look in a different way at the world we often take for granted. Introducing students to sociology as a social science, the department seeks to develop a critical understanding of the ways in which people relate to each other through the organization of society and the ways in which social structures influence our lives.

Department History/Overview

Undergraduate and Graduate students entering Loyola University Chicago's Department of Sociology become part of a distinguished program with a long history of teaching, research, and service to the community begun in 1914. With seventeen full time active sociologists our department supports both an active research agenda and a teaching program that grants personal attention to our students, small class sizes, and faculty student collaborations. Our expanding number of undergraduate majors is complimented by over eighty full and part-time graduate students working toward advanced degrees in a program which has a continuing commitment to quality teaching, a plurality of methodological and theoretical styles, and the application of sociological analysis to community problems.

Undergraduate Programs

Undergraduate Policies and Procedures

Please see Undergraduate Policies and Procedures for academic policies that supersede those of academic units within the University.

Sociology (SOCL)