About Sociology

Every year, more than 2200 students enroll in 40 to 50 undergraduate classes as well as the graduate seminars offered by the Department of Sociology.

Sociology courses help students develop the skills to:

• draw connections between their everyday experiences and the social, historical, and cultural contexts in which they live;
• analyze social institutions, including the economy, politics, education, the family, work, media, health care, sports, and religion, as they shape and are affected by larger social structures;
• examine the development, structure, and consequences of various forms of social inequality and difference in the United States and globally;
• identify and analyze social trends, changes, and movements;
• identify, analyze and understand the causes and consequences of different social practices, norms and values, ideologies, and world views; 
• use empirical research to answer complex questions about societies and the people in them.

The Sociology major provides a solid background for graduate study in sociology and other liberal arts disciplines, as well as for professional degrees in areas such law, public health, criminal justice, and social work. The BA in Sociology also provides students with a range of skills that can translate into successful careers that begin right after graduation: our graduates have the analytic and communication skills that enable them to succeed in a broad range of fields. After earning their BA, they work in the private, not-for-profit, and public sectors in a range of administrative and front-line positions.

The department offers an MA degree in sociology that gives students the opportunity to work closely with its outstanding faculty in small seminars and on research projects. Many of the students in the MA program are supported by graduate teaching assistantships that provide a tuition waiver and a stipend to students who work with the faculty in their large undergraduate classes.

The department has 16 faculty members, several adjunct professors, 25 graduate students and over 350 undergraduate majors. It offers the undergraduate major on two FAU campuses (Davie and Boca Raton).