College of Leadership and Public Service

Sociology (SOC)
Sociology is the study of human behavior in groups and institutions – family, religion, economics, government and education. It examines issues and topics such as wealth and poverty, deviant behavior, criminal justice, values, self-identity, social change, ethnic groups, war and peace, and the effects of social groups upon individual behavior and thought. This program is designed to provide basic skills and knowledge needed by professions that involve working with people; to prepare students for graduate study in the field of sociology; and to help students become competent participants in community and other societal activities.

Minor

Students who have a major in behavioral sciences must take six more hours in sociology for the sociology minor because courses may not be used in more than one major or minor, or for both a major and a minor.

Course Descriptions
152 Introduction to Sociology 3 hours F,S
This course is an introduction to the study of groups, institutions and interactional processes in human societies with an emphasis on the society of the United States.
General Education: Cultural and Global Awareness

154 Marriage and the Family 3 hours F
This course is an introduction to the sociological study of marriage and family relations in the United States and other cultures. Students will approach topics such as kinship, courtship, parenting, sexuality, gender issues, marital life, divorce and post marital adjustment sociologically, historically and comparatively.
General Education: Personal Growth and Maturity

200 Statistical Methods I 1-3 hours F,S
(Refer to MTH 200)

210 Introduction to Criminal Justice 3 hours F
(Refer to CRJ 210)

227/427 Introduction to Women’s Studies 3 hours F12
Students will examine the ways that society views women and the social and historical conditions that have shaped women’s lives. The course includes a look at women in the contexts of self, family relationships and society at large.
General Education: Cultural and Global Awareness

258 Criminology 3 hours F10
(Refer to CRJ 258)

299 Selected Topics – Basic 1-3 hours TBA

312 Methods of Social Research 3 hours F
This course is an introduction to the research process as applied to social and psychological subjects. Students will study problem formulation, research design, instrument design, project administration, data analysis and interpretation, report writing and issues in research. A research project is required. Students interested in obtaining a social work license in South Dakota or graduate study in sociology need this course.

317 Minority Groups 3 hours S
This course is a sociological investigation of minority/majority group relations and discriminatory practices; social-psychological analysis of individual prejudicial attitudes; historical and cultural study of specific minority groups, such as American Indians, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans and women; and religious, ethnic and racial groups in the United States and other countries.
General Education: Cultural and Global Awareness

321 Organizational Behavior 3 hours F
Students will study organizational behavior from an individual and institutional perspective, with particular focus on the management of human resources and related issues.

332 Social Psychology 3 hours F
Students will study individual attitudes, self-development and behavior as effected by group interaction. Attention is given to socio-biology, symbolic interactionism, Freudian psychology and experimental social psychology.

350 Adjustment to Aging 3 hours TBA
This course includes a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating psychological, sociological, physiological and human service perspectives on aging.

357 Corrections 3 hours S13
(Refer to CRJ 357)

359 Community 3 hours TBA
Students will analyze social structure, culture, institutions, change, settlement patterns, geography, ecology and demography of rural and urban communities.

411 Social Theory 3 hours F12
Students in this seminar class will study selected issues and theorists, past and present, in the field of social theory.

458 Seminar in Sociology 3 hours TBA
This reading course includes works of scholars in the fields of sociology, social philosophy, political thought, world literature, economics and religion. Student input and discussion comprises a major part of class time.