<< Department of Sociology - U.W.S.P. >>
"It is the...task of the social scientist to translate personal troubles into public issues."...C. Wright Mills
Special Features
Academic: A 34-credit major in Sociology, an 18 credit minor in Sociology, a 31-credit minor in Native American and Rural Social Work, a 24-credit interdisciplinary minor in Gerontology, a 24-credit interdisciplinary Social Science in Health minor, a 15-credit Concentration in Adult Life and Aging and a 16-credit Concentration in Applied Sociology are available to students.
Teacher certification is possible in Sociology with a 34-credit major and a 25-credit minor for teacher certification, and a 15 credit concentration in Sociology for elementary school teachers in early childhood education are offered by the Department of Sociology. Within the liberal arts tradition, our major and minor programs have both required foundation courses and elective courses. This assures a solid background in sociology, yet allows students to pursue topics of special interest.
Facilities: Sociology classes and faculty offices are in the Collins Classroom Center. Frequent use is made of transparencies, slides, films, and tapes. Classroom and studio TV recording and playback is available. Academic computing at UWSP is now supported by micro- and macro-computing facilities. The software library includes major languages and packages such as MINITAB and SPSS. The sociology collection and related holdings in the library are very well suited to undergraduate needs. The Federal Documents Depository materials in our library are valuable for research and reference.
Employment Opportunities: Professional employment in sociology usually requires graduate preparation at the master's or Ph.D. level. Entry level positions for bachelor's degree majors in sociology are most numerous in the public sector and may involve case work, program planning, development and evaluation, agency-based or outreach services, survey research and statistical analysis. Employment opportunities are sensitive to changes in public funding and graduates may find narrow choice of location. Students planning to teach at the secondary level frequently find it helpful to obtain certification in additional teaching areas. Sociology is also used as a liberal arts foundation in combination with other specialties in such diverse fields as Advertising, Business, Counseling, Engineering, Journalism, Law and Criminal Justice, Medicine, Planning, Public Affairs, Radio-TV, Religion, and Social Services.
| PROGRAM NAME | TYPE | TCHR CERT? | MIN. CRDTS | LISTED ON TRANS.? | ADVISOR/ COORD. |
| Sociology | major | yes* | 34 | yes | Soc.Faculty |
| Sociology | minor | yes* | 18 | yes | Soc.Faculty |
| Native American
& Rural Social Work |
minor | no | 31 | yes | A.Smart |
| Gerontology | minor | no | 24 | yes | R.Enright |
| Social Science in Health | minor | no | 24 | yes | E.Clark |
| Small City Analysis | minor | no | 25 | yes | R.Wolensky |
| Adult Life & Aging | concentration | no | 43-49 | yes | R.Enright |
| Applied Sociology | concentration | no | 16 | yes | R.Enright |
| Deviance/Social Control | emphasis | no | 40-46 | no** | D. De Boer |
| Family/Socialization | emphasis | no | 40-46 | no** | Soc.Faculty |
| Community/Environment | emphasis | no | 40-46 | no** | R.Wolensky |
| Social Work | emphasis | no | 40-46 | no** | E.S.Bishop |
*To meet the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) certification standards additional credits in Education and other requirements must be completed. Contact the Office of Field Experiences in the College of Professional Studies for current information.
**If requested by the student, the Department will file a certificate of completion for an emphasis with the Office of Registration and Records and provide a copy of that certificate to the student.
Questions? If you have any questions about this website, or experience any difficulties or problems, please notify Dr. Doug Forbes. You can email him at dforbes@uwsp.edu