Students majoring in Sociology at New College will acquire competence in content knowledge, written and oral communication skills and critical thinking skills.
VIEW SOCIOLOGY ACADEMIC LEARNING COMPACT
VIEW SOCIOLOGY COURSES OFFERED IN LAST 5 YEARS
Students majoring in Sociology at New College will acquire competence in content knowledge, written and oral communication skills and critical thinking skills. These competencies are gained by mastering the fundamental tools of the discipline through a set of core courses, one empirical Independent Study Project (ISP) and five elective courses.
In addition to these activities, students are encouraged to engage in internships, group research projects, and off-campus educational activities (e.g. service learning projects, community engagement projects, and volunteering) that provide important opportunities to gain direct experience of social issues explored in courses and tutorials.
The five required courses for Sociology AOC and Joint-Disciplinary with Sociology listed first are:
In addition, students are required to complete:
Our elective courses address three broad subfields in sociology:
We require you to take at least one course in each of the three. Below are examples of electives regularly offered that fall within each subfield. Some courses fit more than one category.
Declaring a Sociology Area of Concentration
In order to declare a Sociology AOC, students are required to submit a portfolio for review. Prior to submitting a portfolio students must have satisfactorily completed four sociology courses. The portfolio must include a “Sociology Portfolio Review Worksheet,” 2-3 papers written for sociology courses, a copy of the students narrative evaluation for the Introduction to Statistics course, a printout of the unofficial transcript (available through the Student Evaluation System), the signed “Provisional Area of Concentration” form and a plan for completing the remaining sociology requirements. Students will generally submit a portfolio for review in their fifth contract.
The Joint-Disciplinary (Slash) AOC with Sociology listed second has a slightly reduced set of requirements:
Note: In accordance with regulations in the Faculty Handbook, students with a joint -disciplinary AOC where Sociology is listed second must have one faculty member from the sociology discipline in their thesis committee. Furthermore, the thesis should make substantive use of sociological theory, literature, and analysis.
Double AOC
Students must complete the same requirements as the Disciplinary AOC. In accordance with regulations in the Faculty Handbook, students completing a double AOC with Sociology must have two faculty members from the sociology discipline on their thesis committee. Ideally, one of the sociology faculty members would serve as co-sponsor with a faculty member from the other discipline or be consistently consulted with by the student to ascertain progress in the thesis qualifies for a Sociology AOC. The thesis should make substantive use of sociological theory, literature, and analysis.
| Year | Fall Term | January / ISP | Spring Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | Introduction to Sociology (LAC1) | ISP #1 | Sociology Elective 1 |
| (Recommend Dealing with Data or similar intro to math course) | (Recommend Dealing with Data or similar intro to math course) | ||
| LAC 2 | LAC 4 | ||
| LAC 3 | LAC 5 | ||
| Collegewide Elective 1 | Collegewide Elective 2 | ||
| Year 2 | Sociological Research Methods or Social Theory | Empirical ISP (after research methods) | Statistics |
| Sociology Elective 2 | Sociology Elective 3 | ||
| LAC 6 | LAC 8 | ||
| LAC 7 | Collegewide Elective 3 | ||
| Year 3 | Social Theory/ or Sociological Research Methods | Empirical ISP (if previoius one did not work out) OR ISP 3 | Sociology Elective 5 |
| Sociology Elective 4 | Collegewide Elective 6 | ||
| Collegewide Elective 4 | Collegewide Elective 7 | ||
| Collegewide Elective 5 | (Pre-thesis workshops) OR Thesis Tutorial for 7 contract graduation | ||
| (Portfolio review) | |||
| Year 4 | Senior Seminar | (Thesis research) | Thesis tutorial |
| Thesis tutorial | Collegewide Elective 10 | ||
| Collegewide Elective 8 | Collegewide Elective 11 | ||
| Collegewide Elective 9 | (Thesis & Bac for 8 contract graduation) | ||
| (Thesis & Bac for 7 contract graduation) |
| Year | Fall Term | January / ISP | Spring Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 3 | Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (or transfer credit) | ISP #1 | Ethnography: Theory and Practice |
| Upper Level Cultural Anthro Course #1 | Human Origins or Language, Culture, and Society | ||
| Introductory Language 1 (or transfer credit) | Introductory Language 2 (or transfer credit) | ||
| Upper Level Cultural Anthro Class #2 | |||
| Year 4 | Survey of Archaeology (or transfer credit) | ISP #2 | Method and Theory in Archaeology |
| History of Anthropological Theory | Upper Level Archaeology Class #2 | ||
| Upper Level Archaeology Class #1 | Intermediate Language 2 | ||
| Intermediate Language 1 | Thesis |
This two-year pathway is only a representation of what would be the ideal path for transfer students who come in with an Associate Degree or equivalent transfer credit. Yet students’ individual interests and needs may lead them to different pathways. Students should consult with sociology faculty to determine best pathway. Although we list college wide electives, that should not preclude students from taking more sociology courses instead.
Students who transfer with an Associate’s degree do not have to complete the LAC requirements.
Items in parenthesis are non credit activities that must be done to graduate with a Sociology AOC.