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University of Southern California
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Undergraduate Degrees

Major Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Sociology

Nine sociology courses to include: SOCI 313, SOCI 314, SOCI 370, and may include one lower division course (SOCI 200). The elective upper division sociology courses are grouped into four theme areas: Theme Area I: Deviance, consisting of SOCI 350, SOCI 351 and SOCI 353; Theme Area II: Social Inequality, consisting of SOCI 342, SOCI 355, 356, SOCI 360, SOCI 364, SOCI 366, SOCI 376, SOCI 386, SOCI 432, SOCI 435, SOCI 437, SOCI 455; Theme Area III: Social Organization, consisting of AMST 357, SOCI 315, SOCI 331, SOCI 340, SOCI 345, SOCI 375, SOCI 408, SOCI 420, SOCI 422, SOCI 430, SOCI 445, SOCI 470, SOCI 475; and Theme Area IV: Population and Family Studies, consisting of SOCI 303, SOCI 305, SOCI 320, SOCI 335, SOCI 369, SOCI 385, SOCI 425, SOCI 460. Students must choose their sociology electives from a minimum of two theme areas. Honor students will complete all major course requirements and will take SOCI 494 and SOCI 495 in place of two theme area courses.

Sociology Minor Requirements

The department offers four emphases within the minor in sociology. There are no prerequisites before adding the minor. Students choosing the general emphasis take four upper division sociology courses (16 units), one course from each of the four theme areas. See Major Requirements for the theme areas.

Those pursuing the health and social welfare emphasis will take four upper division courses, three of which must be from the following cluster:

SOCI 305Sociology of Childhood4
SOCI 360Social Inequality: Class, Status and Power4
SOCI 369The Family in a Changing Society4
SOCI 475Medical Sociology4

Plus one other upper division course from any theme area.

Students selecting the industrial relations and human resources emphasis complete three courses from the following cluster:

SOCI 340Organizations: Bureaucracy and Alternatives to Bureaucracy4
SOCI 342Race Relations4
SOCI 360Social Inequality: Class, Status and Power4
SOCI 430Work and the Workplace4

Plus one other course from any theme area other than social organization.

Students in the deviant behavior and the law emphasis take four upper division courses, three of which must be from the following cluster:

SOCI 350Deviant Behavior4
SOCI 351Sociology of Juvenile Delinquency and the Juvenile Justice System4
SOCI 353Sociology of Crime and of the Criminal Justice System4
SOCI 360Social Inequality: Class, Status and Power4

Plus one other upper division course from any theme area other than deviance.

See an undergraduate advisor for further details on requirements for the minor.

Minor in Forensics and Criminality

The interdisciplinary minor in forensics and criminality was designed for students interested in the study of law, deviant behavior or careers in the criminal justice system. In this program, students study psychological and/or ethical issues related to criminal behavior, consider criminality in the context of social class analysis, and learn about the American system of criminal justice. Twenty units are required, 4 at the lower division and 16 at the upper division level.

Students should choose a curriculum for their minor based on their academic interests. Those students interested in white collar crime, for example, might choose POSC 130 Law, Politics, and Public Policy at the lower division level, REL 375 Conflict and Change and the Ethics of Business, SOCI 350 Deviant Behavior, PHIL 340 Philosophy of Law and PPD 342 Crime and Public Policy.

Those who are interested in the criminal justice system might choose LAW 200x Law and Society, REL 341 Ethics in a Technological Society, SOCI 351 Sociology of Juvenile Delinquency and the Juvenile Justice System, POSC 340 Constitutional Law and POSC 432 The Politics of Local Criminal Justice.

Those interested in individual and social determinants of deviancy might take PSYC 100 Introduction to Psychology, PSYC 360 Abnormal Psychology, or PSYC 463 Criminal Behavior, or PSYC 465 Introduction to Forensic Psychology; SOCI 360 Social Inequality: Class, Status, and Power, LAW 402 Psychology and Law and SOCI 353 Sociology of Crime and of the Criminal Justice System.

Lower-division requirement (4 units) Units
Choose one course from:
AMST 101Race and Class in Los Angeles4
LAW 200xLaw and Society4
PHIL 140Contemporary Moral and Social Issues4
POSC 130Law, Politics, and Public Policy4
PSYC 100Introduction to Psychology4
PSYC 155Psychological Perspectives on Social Issues4
PSYC 165LDrugs, Behavior, and Society4
SOCI 142Diversity and Racial Conflict4
SOCI 150Social Problems4
SOCI 200Introduction to Sociology4

Upper division requirements (16 units)Units
Choose one course from each group below:
The Individual in Society
PSYC 355*Social Psychology, or
SOCI 320Social Psychology4
PSYC 360*Abnormal Psychology4
PSYC 463*Criminal Behavior4
PSYC 465*Introduction to Forensic Psychology4
REL 341Ethics in an Technological Society4
REL 375Conflict and Change and the Ethics of Business4

* Prerequisite: PSYC 100

Social Class and Criminality
SOCI 350Deviant Behavior4
SOCI 351Sociology of Juvenile Delinquency and the Juvenile Justice System4
SOCI 360Social Inequality: Class, Status, and Power4

The System of Criminal Justice
LAW 402Psychology and Law4
LAW 403Mental Health Law4
PHIL 430Philosophy of Law4
PHIL 437Social and Political Philosophy4
POSC 340Constitutional Law4
POSC 426The United States Supreme Court4
POSC 444Civil and Political Rights and Liberties4
PPD 340The American System of Justice4

Crime and Punishment
POSC 432The Politics of Local Criminal Justice4
PPD 342Crime and Public Policy4
SOCI 353Sociology of Crime and of the Criminal Justice System4

Total requirements: five courses (20 units)

Interdisciplinary Minors

American Studies and Ethnicity (see American Studies and Ethnicity).

Bioethics (see Bioethics).

Children and Families in Urban America (see Social Work).

Education in a Pluralistic Society (see Education).

Law and Society (see Political Science).

Managing Human Relations (see Interdisciplinary Programs).

Race, Ethnicity and Politics (see Political Science).