Sociology
UW-Eau Claire’s sociology degree provides you with tools for understanding human behavior and social inequalities, and skills for succeeding in business or non-profit careers.
Pursue Your Passions
A broad, rigorous curriculum includes a variety of electives, giving you the freedom to personalize your education and pursue multiple passions. Explore courses in social movements, social change, inequality, sexuality and gender, gerontology, race and ethnicity, family, the environment, and more.
Opportunities to travel, study abroad, or intern will allow you to build awareness of the world around you. And unique research projects and presentations will build your problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, leadership, data collection, and analytical skills.
Because the major covers so many different topics, students are able to take their degree in many different directions — help people to overcome addictions, improve worksite wellness, help veterans find housing, or coordinate trainings and conferences. With a degree in sociology, your job opportunities are endless.
Program Details
UW Eau Claire's sociology program is known for providing exceptional mentorship to students. Our passionate, caring faculty go out of their way to offer guidance, support, and unique learning opportunities. Small class sizes allow you to form meaningful relationships with your professors and peers.
A wide range of sociology courses and immersion trips will help you to learn about various cultures and societies around the world. You'll enhance your understanding of intercultural and international issues, demographic changes, and causes and consequences of social inequality.
Discover new data and ways of thinking through student-faculty research projects and a capstone project. These experiences are highly sought after by employers and can help you to network and narrow down your career path.
Gain real-world experience through a sociology internship. The program's strong ties to the community and local employers can help you find an experience that fits your career goals. Past students have interned at places like the Bolton Refuge House, Chippewa Valley Youth Symphony, Hope Street Ministries, Volume One, and the Western District of Wisconsin Probation and Pretrial.
Blugold Stories
Within the Sociology Department, I found a community of peers and professors that supported curiosity, critical thinking, and deep discussion. I was challenged, my view on the world expanded, and I left continuing to crave knowledge and to always seek out the “why”.
UW-Eau Claire's sociology degree can help you find a career path you love. Faculty and advisors act as mentors, introducing you to new areas of study and job opportunities. This unwavering support is what led Alyson Sundby to discover a career path she had never considered: public health.
From helpful faculty to accessible resources for those hard of hearing, Jaden feels she received the best possible education at UWEC. Now, Jaden has a full scholarship to study higher education leadership and policy in graduate school. With her sociology major as a foundation, Jaden is looking forward to representing and helping students like her in the future.
This campus has a million different resources that we can take advantage of. Having an organization like Student Support Services to guide me through certain opportunities like getting scholarships or finding tutoring help. It really made a big impact in my first couple of years on campus.
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Where can the sociology program lead me after graduation?
A degree in sociology opens many doors. Graduates have gone on to pursue graduate school or successful careers in higher education, nonprofits, private businesses, social service agencies, and hospitals.
Example Careers
- Health care advocate
- Employment and training counselor
- Youth engagement coordinator
- Advising outreach coordinator
- Recovery facilitator
- Social researcher
- Marriage and family therapist
Recent Graduates
Founder and CEO
Power of Perception
Employment Counselor
Community Involvement Programs
Minnesota
Family and Community Specialist
Lutheran Social Services of WI and Upper MI
Wisconsin
Firstsource Professional
UW-Eau Claire
Wisconsin
HR Solution Specialist
Midwest Dental
Wisconsin
Juvenile Probation Officer
Florida Dept. of Juvenile Justice
Florida
Director of Partnerships and Expansion
Ampact
Minnesota
Director of Learning and Development
The ALS Association
Client Services Specialist
Wisconsin State Public Defenders Office
Sociology majors are required to complete five core courses in the major, allowing you to complete the major requirements in as few as four semesters. The areas of study you choose beyond those courses can help shape your degree to better fit your career or graduate school goals.
Sociology students are required to complete a secondary program, either a minor or certificate in another discipline, to satisfy graduation requirements.
Here are a few courses in Sociology at UW-Eau Claire.
SOC 164
Family and Intimate Relationships
An introduction to dating, cohabitation, family formation, and marriage. Addresses the family as a social institution as well as changes in families. Attention to current issues in relationships and families.
SOC 301
Environmental Sociology
The course reviews sociological theories that explain environmental changes; it concentrates on sociological causes, consequences, and responses to such environmental challenges as climate change, ozone depletion, acid rain, land-air-water pollution, deforestation, desertification, and interstate and intrastate conflicts.
SOC 314
Social Class and Inequality
Examination of the extent, causes, impact, and theoretical explanations for social inequality with an emphasis on social class; includes examinations of power relations, social mobility, poverty, race, and gender.
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