A minor in Sociology is a good way to apply the sociological imagination to a specific segment of social life. The department offers three concentrations that can serve as a guide to students.

• Our Health and Community Concentration allows students to focus their coursework on the substantive areas of healthcare institutions, medical sociology, and the social sources of health-related inequalities across communities, including attention to race, ethnicity, gender, social class and neighborhoods. This concentration is a great way to complement careers and graduate work in medicine, healthcare administration and policy, and work with populations facing health-based risks in the U.S. or overseas.
• Our Social Justice Concentration allows students to focus their coursework on the substantive topics of social inequality, social change, and social justice, in keeping with Loyola's mission. This concentration can help students prepare for careers in law, legal aid and advocacy, public policy and administration, social work and human services, and many other areas.
• Our Research Methods Concentration emphasizes both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, equipping students with the skills to design, conduct, and analyze studies in the social sciences. This concentration is well-suited for students thinking about careers in social science, market research, policy analysis, and related fields. 

Students can also create their own elective path through the minor. Those doing so may wish to consult the Department Chairperson or the Department's Undergraduate Program Director in deciding which electives to take.

Related Programs

Curriculum

Students minoring in Sociology complete five elective courses in Sociology in addition to SOCL 101 Society in a Global Age (or its equivalent). The Sociology Department's concentrations can serve as a guide to students, although they can also select their own course of electives. Students wishing to do this may want to consult the Department Chairperson or the Department's Undergraduate Program Director in deciding which electives to take.

Only one semester of SOCL 380 and one 100-level course in addition to SOCL 101 Society in a Global Age (or its equivalent) can count for the minor. Any courses taken for a minor in Sociology may be applied to the Department's major requirements, if the student should decide to take sociology as a major. In completing minor requirements, only three courses (nine semester credit hours) will be accepted in transfer from other colleges and universities.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses
SOCL 101	Society in a Global Age (or other 100-level class)	3
Elective Courses 1, 2
SOCL Elective		3
SOCL Elective		3
SOCL Elective		3
SOCL Elective		3
SOCL Elective		3
Total Hours		18

¹

May count only one semester of SOCL 380 Internship and one 100-level course. Only two courses (six semester hours) will be accepted in transfer credit toward the minor.

²

See Sociology Courses for a complete list.

Optional Concentrations

Students may use the below concentrations as a way to complete the minor while also enhancing their knowledge in a specific area.  Students are not required to choose a below concentration and can fulfill major requirements with elective courses of their choice.

Health and Community Concentration

The Health and Community Concentration gives students a broad background in the discipline overall while allowing students to focus their coursework on the substantive areas of healthcare institutions, medical sociology, and and the social sources of health-related inequalities across communities, including attention to race, ethnicity, gender, social class and neighborhoods. The Health and Community Concentration is well suited for students interested in a broad range of careers and courses of graduate study in health-related fields, including: medical school, medicine, and other careers in medical care (terrific MCAT prep); healthcare administration and healthcare policy; graduate study in medical sociology and/or gerontology; graduate study and careers in counseling; advocacy and/or non-profit work focused on populations facing health-based risks and inequalities both in the U.S. and overseas.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Intro Course		3
SOCL 101	Society in a Global Age
Health & Health Care
Select one of the following:		3
SOCL 225	Sociology of Health Care
SOCL 370	Undergrad Seminar-Special Topics 1
Populations (Gender, Race/Ethnicity, Immigration)
Select two of the following:		6
SOCL 122	Race and Ethnic Relations
SOCL 145	Religion & Society
SOCL 171	Sociology of Sex and Gender
SOCL 210	Gender and Work
SOCL 221	Sociology and Culture of the Life Course
SOCL 228	Sociology of the African American Experience
SOCL 230	Self & Society
SOCL 231	Childhood and Society
SOCL 236	Population Studies
SOCL 240	Families
SOCL 280	Topics in Contemporary Sociology
SOCL 380	Internship
Communities and Neighborhoods
Select one of the following:		3
SOCL 125	Chicago: Urban Metropolis
SOCL 234	City, Suburbs & Beyond
SOCL 235	Communities in a Global Age
SOCL 272	Environmental Sociology
SOCL 335	Urban Semester Seminar 2
Poverty and Inequality
Select one of the following:		3
SOCL 121	Social Problems
SOCL 222	Poverty & Welfare in America
SOCL 250	Inequality in Society
SOCL 252	Global Inequalities
SOCL 265	Globalization & Society 2
SOCL 306	International Development
Total Hours		18

¹

Indicates courses that are infrequently offered

²

Indicates experiential learning

Social Justice Concentration

The Social Justice Concentration gives students a broad background in the discipline overall, and in keeping with the centrality of social justice to Loyola’s mission, this concentration allows students to focus their coursework on the substantive topics of social inequality, social change, and social justice. The Social Justice concentration is well suited for students interested in a broad range of careers, advocacy, and courses of graduate study in fields including: law school and legal practice in areas such as civil rights law, gender-based violence, immigration law; public policy and public administration concerning issues for marginalized populations (e.g., homelessness, education, job training/placement, housing, residency status, post-incarceration reentry, voting rights, etc.); social work and human services; teaching and educational leadership and policy; higher education and student affairs; advocacy and non-profit management in organizations that serve marginalized populations; labor organizing and collective bargaining; research for labor unions, social service agencies, and/or non-profit organizations. 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Intro course		3
SOCL 101	Society in a Global Age
Stratification and Inequality
Select one of the following:		3
SOCL 247	Sociology of Culture
SOCL 252	Global Inequalities
SOCL 260	Power in Society
SOCL 306	International Development
Populations (Gender, Race/Ethnicity, Immigration)
Select two of the following:		6
SOCL 122	Race and Ethnic Relations
SOCL 145	Religion & Society
SOCL 171	Sociology of Sex and Gender
SOCL 210	Gender and Work
SOCL 221	Sociology and Culture of the Life Course
SOCL 228	Sociology of the African American Experience
SOCL 230	Self & Society
SOCL 231	Childhood and Society
SOCL 236	Population Studies
SOCL 240	Families
SOCL 280	Topics in Contemporary Sociology
SOCL 380	Internship
Deviance, Social Control, and Law
Select one of the following:		3
SOCL 215	Law & Society
SOCL 216	The Sociology of Violence
SOCL 255	Deviance and Social Control
Social Change
Select one of the following:		3
SOCL 234	City, Suburbs & Beyond
SOCL 261	Social Movements & Social Change
SOCL 265	Globalization & Society 2
SOCL 304	Global Civil Society and Social Movements
SOCL 335	Urban Semester Seminar 2
Total Hours		18

¹

Indicates courses that are infrequently offered

²

Indicates experiential learning

Research Methods Concentration

¹

Indicates courses that are infrequently offered

²

Indicates experiential learning

³

SOCL 265 is only open to sociology majors

Suggested Sequence of Courses

The below sequence of courses is meant to be used as a suggested path for completing coursework.  An individual student’s completion of requirements depends on course offerings in a given term as well as the start term for a major or graduate study.  Students should consult their advisor for assistance with course selection.

Plan of Study Grid

Freshman
Spring		Hours
SOCL 101	Society in a Global Age	3
	Hours	3
Sophomore
Fall
Elective 1		3
	Hours	3
Spring
Elective 2		3
	Hours	3
Junior
Fall
Elective 3		3
	Hours	3
Spring
Elective 4		3
	Hours	3
Senior
Fall
Elective 5		3
	Hours	3
	Total Hours	18

Undergraduate Policies and Procedures

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

Learning Outcomes

• Critical Thinking - demonstrate the ability to analyze and evaluate multiple and competing social, political, and/or cultural arguments.
• Sociological Imagination - the ability to articulate and evaluate how individual biographies are shaped by social structures, social institutions, cultural routines, and multiple of elements of social difference and/or inequality.
• Communication - the ability to formulate effective and convincing written and verbal arguments.
• Diversity – an awareness of how people of different cultural, religious, and political belief systems interpret the world around them through those beliefs.
• Sociological Theory - the ability to use and evaluate both classical and contemporary perspectives in sociological theory.
• Methodology - the ability to interpret and evaluate several of the major social science research methodologies, as well as the relationship between research questions and appropriate methods.
• Substantive Areas - the ability to demonstrate knowledge of multiple key substantive areas within the field of sociology and evaluate competing perspectives.
• Social Justice in the Jesuit Tradition - the ability to articulate and evaluate how sociological insights should inform a commitment to social justice.