Sociology (BA, BS)

A sociology degree at Ohio State provides students with the scientific skills and social perspective necessary to analyze and understand the complexities of modern societies and to address challenging social problems. Sociology is distinct in its integration of a broad perspective on social life with real-world applied skills that allow students to identify and solve problems across a range of professions and careers. Students learn how to:

  • think critically about human social life
  • conduct empirical research and analyze data using statistics
  • help others understand the social world
  • become problem solvers and leaders in enacting positive social change

The American Sociological Association notes that "few fields have such broad scope and relevance for research, theory and application of knowledge. Because sociology addresses the most challenging issues of our time, it is a rapidly expanding field whose potential is increasingly tapped by those who craft policies and create programs."

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David Martinez

martinez.83@osu.edu
(614) 292-1175
141 Townshend Hall
1885 Neil Ave.

Susan Van Pelt

vanpelt.2@osu.edu
(614) 292-1175
141 Townshend Hall
1885 Neil Ave.

Cecilia Johnson

johnson.2668@osu.edu
(614) 292-1175
141 Townshend Hall
1885 Neil Ave.

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Faculty RESEARCH

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A New Look at Anti-Semitism

William Brustein, professor of sociology, and Louisa Roberts, sociology graduate student, are co-authors of the new book, The Socialism of Fools? The Leftist Origins of Modern Anti-Semitism (2015).

This book shows how, and why, the 19th-century European left played an important role in developing and disseminating modern anti-Semitic ideas. They draw upon a range of sources to trace the relationship between the political left and anti-Semitism in France, Germany and Great Britain from the French Revolution to World War II, ultimately concluding that the relationship between the left and anti-Semitism has been much more profound than previously believed.

Purple cogs

Adolescent Health and Development

Sociology Professor Christopher Browning is the director of The Adolescent Health and Development in Context (AHDC) project, which focuses on the impact of multiple social contexts — neighborhood, home, school, and peers — on risky behavior (including substance use and delinquency), and mental/physical health outcomes.

Collecting data on a large sample of adolescents, ages 11-17 years, in Franklin County, this innovative project combines in-home surveys with a week of smartphone-collected GPS and real-time mini-survey data. This research will develop our understanding of how the actual places youth go and the people with whom they interact on a daily basis influence their health and behavior.

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College Student Loans and Graduation Rates

Sociology Professors Rachel Dwyer, Randy Hodson and Laura McCloud looked at whether student loans increase the likelihood of graduation or represent a drag on completion.

The authors find that the relationship between the likelihood of graduating and student indebtedness forms an inverted U curve; as debt goes up, graduation possibilities increase and then flatten out at around $10,000 a year. Once beyond $10,000, increasing amounts of debt even decrease graduation probabilities.

This study suggests that the ways college attendance is financed should be re-evaluated as student loan investments do not pay off for students who drop out with debt.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Sociology is the study of group life. Sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organizations and societies. The goal is to understand the characteristics, causes and consequences of human behavior and social relationships in various kinds of groups and settings. Because human behavior is diverse, the field of sociology covers a diversity of subjects.

Department of Sociology More Sociology Courses

Major sectors of employment for undergraduate sociology majors include: health and social services (in family planning, substance abuse, group work with youth or the elderly, recreation, or administration); community work (in fund-raising, social service organizations, or child welfare agencies); criminal justice and corrections (in law enforcement, probation, parole); the business community; and the federal, state, or local government (in transportation, housing, agriculture and labor).

courses you might take:

SOCIOL 3463: Social Stratification: Race, Class, & Gender

This course challenges the conventional wisdom that individuals are responsible for their own poverty, that racial inequality has been eradicated by Civil Rights era legislation and that gender inequality is caused primarily by natural differences between the sexes. Students will learn to understand how inequality is socially created and maintained.

SOCIOL 2309: Introduction to Law and Society

Students learn about legal institutions and how they relate to other aspects of society, such as the socioeconomic environment, intergroup relations and politics. Attention is given to basic legal concepts, such as the principles of criminal liability, criminal procedure, reading court cases and writing legal briefs.

SOCIOL 4506: Drugs and Society

This course uses a sociological perspective to critically examine why people use drugs, why some substances are criminalized while others are not, how race and class influence the adoption and enforcement of drug laws and how the proliferation of drug laws have influenced a range of social institutions.

SOCIOL 4000S/E: Social Science Business Collaborative: A Service Learning Approach

This service learning course helps students develop research projects by familiarizing them with: the process of collaboration with a local business or non-profit organization to work on a service project; hands-on data collection; project management; present research in both academic and applied settings; and learning through bettering the local community.

SOCIOL 629: Health Disparities in Social Context

Introduces students to the important role of a sociological perspective in understanding and improving health in the U.S. and across the globe. Attention is given to the ways in which macro-level social, economic and political factors influence individual mental and physical health and health disparities.

Beyond the Classroom

AKD Sociology Honorary


Alpha Kappa Delta acknowledges and promotes excellence in scholarship in the study of sociology, the research of social problems and other social and intellectual activities that lead to improvement in the human condition.

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Sociology and Criminology Club


The Sociology and Criminology Club is an academic and social club for all students interested in sociology or criminology.

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Warsaw Summer School


Students earn 12 credit hours in this summer program taught by Ohio State faculty in Warsaw, Poland: SOC 3549: Statistics in Sociology; SOC 4699: Undergraduate Research in Sociology; and SOC 5503: Social Change in Central and Eastern Europe. 

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Undergraduate Research


There are many ways to directly experience the excitement of conducting sociological research at Ohio State, including participating in an Independent Study with a faculty member, writing an Honors thesis (open to non-Honors students), or enrolling in the department's Service Learning Business Collaborative course (SOC 4000S/E).

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Sociology Internship Program


The Sociology Internship Program promotes hands-on career-related experiences in a variety of work environments. In addition to receiving course credit for an approved internship, students receive one-on-one mentoring and career preparation from our internship staff.

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