Optional Concentrations

Students who major in sociology have the option of declaring a concentration in one of the following three areas of study:

  • Medical Sociology: study of social and structural determinants of health and healthcare
  • Sociology of Work and Organizations: study of jobs, labor markets, and careers
  • Sociology of Crime, Law, and Justice: study of legal processes and systems of punishment 

Concentrations invite you to explore deeply a sub-discipline of sociology and to work closely with faculty mentors who are experts in that field. To complete an optional concentration, majors must take four or more courses from the options listed in each concentration below.  Additionally, capstone courses (SOCIOL 393, 490S, 495, 496) that complete research in Medical Sociology, Sociology of Work and Organizations, or Sociology of Crime, Law, and Justice can count as one of the four required concentration courses for that area.

Number Title Codes
SOCIOL 196FS Patient and Research Participant Activism and Advocacy STS, W, SS
SOCIOL 230S Embodied Blackness EI, CZ, SS
SOCIOL 242S Bodies at Work EI, SS
SOCIOL 250 Medical Sociology EI, SS
SOCIOL 255 Sociology of Immigration and Health CCI, SS
SOCIOL 257 From Madness to Mental Disorders: Sociology of Mental Health CCI, EI, SS
SOCIOL 263 Aging and Health EI, W, SS
SOCIOL 264 Death and Dying EI, SS
SOCIOL 265 Drug Use and Abuse: Getting High in the United States EI, SS
SOCIOL 335 Comparative Health Care Systems CCI, EI, SS
SOCIOL 351 Life and Death: Global Perspectives CCI, EI, CZ, SS
SOCIOL 361 Social Determinants of US Health Disparities SS
SOCIOL 364S Race, Gender, and Sexuality CCI, SS
Number Title Codes
SOCIOL 210 Contemporary Social Problems CCI, SS
SOCIOL 214 Politics of Policing SS
SOCIOL 219 Juvenile Delinquency CCI, EI, SS
SOCIOL 220 Causes of Crime EI, SS
SOCIOL 222 Inequalities in the US Criminal Justice System CCI, EI, SS
SOCIOL 228 Incarceration and Inequality in the United States CCI, EI, SS
SOCIOL 230 Just Laws: Inequalities in the U.S. Legal System EI, SS
SOCIOL 243 Controlling Women: Women, Crime, & Social Control SS
SOCIOL 256S Just Work: Restorative Justice Models and Applications CCI, EI, W, CZ
SOCIOL 265 Drug Use and Abuse: Getting High in the United States EI, SS
SOCIOL 272S Sexuality and the Law CCI, EI, CZ, SS
SOCIOL 283S Death, Burial, and Justice in the Americas EI, SS
SOCIOL 330S Bad Behavior EI, STS, CZ, SS
SOCIOL 365D The Modern Regulatory State EI, R, CZ, SS