Upper-division core courses. The following four sociology courses are required as the foundation of theoretical and methodological training in the discipline. Students are encouraged to take these courses early in their academic career.

Upper-division advanced course work. Six additional upper-division sociology courses are required, including at least one in each of three undergraduate areas of specialization clusters: institutional analysis, social psychology, and inequality and social change. Courses that qualify under each area of specialization are listed under specific headings below.

Comprehensive requirement. Prior to graduation, all sociology majors are required to complete one of the following comprehensive requirements.

Sociology Major Planner One

The following is a recommended academic plan for students to begin the sociology major.

Sociology Major Planner Two

The following is a recommended academic plan for transfer students entering the sociology major as juniors. It is assumed that Sociology 1 and 10 equivalencies were completed at the previous college.

All majors must complete the remaining six upper-division courses in their junior and senior years.

Requirements for the Combined Major

Students may choose to declare a combined major in sociology and Latin American and Latino studies. The requirements (listed below) should be examined carefully before choosing the combined major option. Both departments must approve a study plan before the major can be declared. Each department determines major and thesis honors separately.

Language Study

Students must demonstrate proficiency in Spanish or Portuguese equivalent to the completion of Spanish 6 or 56 or Spanish for Spanish Speakers 65 or Portuguese 65A-B.

For Spanish language instruction information, see Spanish and Spanish for Spanish Speakers. For Portuguese language instruction information, see Portuguese.

Sociology/Latin American and Latino Studies

Students are required to take a total of 14 courses and satisfy a comprehensive requirement. There are four lower-division course requirements, two each from the sociology and Latin American and Latino studies (LALS) majors. One of the lower-division LALS classes must be Latin American and Latino Studies 1 (no substitutions); transfer students may petition to replace the other lower-division class with an appropriate course from another institution. Students are assigned a faculty adviser from each discipline. Upper-division requirements include six core courses: Latin American and Latino Studies 100A, 100B; Sociology 103A, 103B, 105A, and 105B; and four additional elective courses, two from sociology and two from Latin American and Latino studies. At least one of the Latin American and Latino studies upper-division courses must be taught in Spanish or Portuguese, and at least one course in the sociology/Latin American and Latino studies combined major must be on Chicano/Latino issues. Up to three relevant courses taken through study abroad programs from which credits are transferable to UCSC may be credited toward the major when the content is deemed appropriate by the faculty advisers of both sociology and Latin American and Latino studies. Students can satisfy the comprehensive requirement in one of three ways: (1) writing a senior thesis, (2) passing an appropriate Latin American and Latino Studies Senior Seminar (194 series), or (3) completing the sociology course option of two additional sociology upper-division cluster III courses. If the thesis option is selected, it should be planned in consultation with an adviser from each department, completed under the supervision of a faculty member from either department, and read and approved by both advisers; one adviser is sufficient if this faculty member belongs to both departments.

Requirements for the Minor

Students who minor in sociology are required to take seven courses: at least one of courses 1, 10, and 15; at least two of courses 103B, 105A, and 105B; and at least four other upper-division sociology courses.

Major Disqualification Policy

Students who receive a D, F, NP, or W twice in any of the upper-division core courses (courses 103A, 103B, 105A, and 105B) will be disqualified from the major or minor. Students, their college, and the Office of the Registrar will be notified by the department no later than the first day of instruction of the quarter following the disqualifying failure. Students who feel that there were extenuating circumstances surrounding their failure of a course for the second time may appeal their disqualification by submitting a letter to the chair of the Sociology Undergraduate Education Committee. The appeal must be filed no later than 15 days after the disqualification notification was mailed, or the 10th day of classes in the quarter of the disqualification, whichever is later. For further information regarding the disqualification process, contact the Sociology Department.

Declaring the Major

Students who wish to declare the major are strongly encouraged to do so by the first quarter of the junior year. Junior transfer students should meet with the Sociology Department adviser when they arrive on campus to determine their status and begin the declaration of major process. Interested students should go to the department office after initiating a Proposed Study Plan and Declaration of Major/Minor petition at their college. The undergraduate adviser will go over the major requirements, complete the study plan section of the petition, and refer the student to a faculty adviser. The student’s Proposed Study Plan and Declaration of Major/Minor petition must be approved and signed by the faculty adviser and the undergraduate adviser prior to filing the petition with the Office of the Registrar.

UC Education Abroad Program Students

Academic year programs. Students must declare the major and pass the three lower-division course requirements (1, 10, 15) and three of the upper-division courses (103B, 105A, 105B) prior to study abroad. The student’s sociology faculty adviser must review and approve the courses intended to be taken abroad prior to departure. Up to three approved courses may be used toward the sociology major.

Semester programs. Fall semester: students must declare the major and pass the three lower-division course requirements (courses 1, 10, and 15) and one upper-division core course (105A) prior to fall semester study abroad. Spring semester: students must declare the major and pass the three lower-division course requirements (courses 1, 10, and 15) and two upper-division core courses (103B and 105B) prior to spring semester study abroad.

Transfer Students

Junior transfer students expressing an interest in sociology on their UCSC application for admission are admitted as proposed sociology majors. This status is considered undeclared. Transfer students must meet with the sociology undergraduate adviser when they arrive on campus in order to determine their status and begin the actual declaration of major process, which must be completed by the end of the second quarter of the junior year for transfer students. Declaring sociology early in the academic career will give a student priority for sociology course enrollment in subsequent quarters.

Graduate Program

The graduate program in sociology at UC Santa Cruz is an interdisciplinary program that leads to the Ph.D. in sociology. An M.A. degree may be taken en route to the doctorate, but a master’s program per se is not available. The program is designed to educate students in most major areas of sociology. It provides a general background in sociological theory and methods and also stresses independent work. After completing a group of required courses, students work closely with individual faculty members in designing their own course of study.

The sociology program is intended to lead to both academic and nonacademic careers, and the interests of the faculty reflect this twofold objective. Faculty specialties include comparative and historical sociology; criminal justice; cultural sociology; development, drug policy, deviant behavior; economy and society; education; emotions; environmental sociology; globalization; health; language and social linguistics; law and society; Marxist sociology; mass communication and public opinion; medical sociology; policy analysis and political economy; qualitative methodology; race, class, gender; science and technology; sexuality and homosexuality; social inequality; sociology of knowledge; and visual sociology.

When asked what they most appreciate about the sociology graduate program, most students cite the students’ and faculty’s activism and commitment to social change in combination with their dedication to teaching, scholarly research, and understanding of the social forces of our society. Research concerns cluster around environmental, racial, cultural, feminist, Latin American, peace, sexuality, and class issues. The Sociology Department’s colloquium series—as well as occasional national and international conferences on one or another of these concerns held on campus—enhance scholarship, practice, and collegial networks. The diversity in age, ethnicity, and work experience of the student body enriches this work.

The core curriculum is divided into two parts, (1) basic grounding in theory and methods, and (2) exposure to research in three areas of concentration: (a) economy, development, and environment; (b) inequality and identity; and (c) culture, knowledge, and power. Beyond the required series of core courses, students are expected to specialize in a particular area and to take additional course work offered in that area. Students use comparative and historical analysis, quantitative techniques, and interpretive and/or field research methods to study questions of human agency and social structure and the ways in which they are limited by and dependent upon one another.

Numerous sociology students present papers at professional conferences and publish articles during the course of their graduate studies. The sociology master’s paper is designed in part to prepare students to write for professional journals. Ongoing faculty seminars focusing on concrete research topics and problems are available for advanced graduate students working on papers and dissertations in related areas.

The program encourages interdisciplinary work. Many of the faculty in the Sociology Department have additional interests and are affiliated with other departments on campus. Seminars in the anthropology, environmental studies, history, history of consciousness, politics, psychology, and women’s studies programs are open to sociology students. Graduate students in sociology may obtain a parenthetical notation on the sociology Ph.D. diploma indicating that they have specialized in women’s studies, environmental studies, and several other areas of study. They must meet requirements spelled out by the relevant department and their committee members. Some fellowship and grant opportunities are available. Students also participate in research projects under the auspices of six interdisciplinary social science research centers: the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems; the Center for Global, International, and Regional Studies; the Center for Justice, Tolerance, and Community; the Chicano/Latino Research Center; the Center for Research on Educational Diversity and Excellence; and the Santa Cruz Center for International Economics.

The sociology program also emphasizes teaching experience because the skills required for good teaching—the ability to articulate ideas, to organize and present materials in logical sequence, and to listen attentively and discern someone else’s comprehension—are fundamental to many human activities and occupations. Therefore, the sociology program requires that graduate students serve as teaching assistants for at least three quarters in the departments core classes of the undergraduate curriculum, whether or not they plan to pursue an academic career.

Degree Requirements

The core curriculum is divided into two parts, (1) basic grounding in theory and methods and (2) exposure to research in the following three areas of concentration: (a) economy, development, and environment; (b) inequality and identity; and (c) culture, knowledge, and power.

In addition to the course requirements specified below, all first-year students are expected to attend the graduate colloquium series on a regular basis. The colloquium series, featuring UCSC faculty, advanced sociology graduate students, and visiting scholars, is an essential part of the curriculum and a valuable professional experience.

Required Courses

Students are required to take at least 12 courses as follows.

• A three-course core group:

• Two methods courses:

• Three area foundation courses:

• At least one writing course (208 or 250)

• A minimum of three elective seminar courses from any area or, with approval, from outside the sociology program.

Students with no background in statistics are required to take the undergraduate course, Statistical Methods, before enrolling in Methods of Quantitative Analysis.

Progress Toward the Ph.D.

• Beginning at least by the end of the first year, students initiate work on their master’s paper.

• Completion of the master’s paper is required at the end of the second year.

• Students are expected to take an oral qualifying exam at the end of the third year.

• Graduate students prepare field statements in two distinct areas of sociology and, in addition, prepare a detailed course outline and a grant proposal in one or the other of these areas.

• The qualifying examination is an oral examination and based on the student’s field statements.

• After passing the qualifying examination, a student is advanced to candidacy and begins work on the dissertation with the aid of a three-person dissertation committee.

Details of the policies for admission to graduate standing and of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree, as well as the program brochure, application, and information on financial support opportunities, are available from the Division of Graduate Studies. For more information, refer to the Graduate Studies section.