Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What do sociology majors do for careers?
Many public or nonprofit agencies, governmental bureaus, and community programs hire applied sociologists, as do organizations that need people with skills in sociological methodology and social statistics. Often, sociology serves as a pre-professional background. Sociology is similar to other liberal arts degrees, such as philosophy and history, insofar as the skills you acquire are "transferrable" to many fields. People with bachelors degrees in history do not become historians, nor do sociology bachelors become sociologists without graduate training. However, our students go into a variety of fields because a liberal arts degree equips students to do research, write and read critically and analytically so they can be trained for any kind of work. Our students mostly work in human service agencies, but also go on to Masters in social work programs, law school, etc. One former student started her own business drawing upon her sociology courses in gerontology. Another former student became an investment advisor. Sociology majors generally leave with excellent people skills and presentation skills, which prepares them for any field of work.

For more information about the value of careers in sociology, click here.

Q. Can I do an internship for Sociology credit?
The internship coordinator for the department is Alice Fothergill. Presently, the only way for students to get sociology credit for an internship is through Professor Fothergill's spring semester course, Soc. 286: Applied Sociology (designated as a service-learning course). The course allows students to participate in a service-learning partnership with King Street Youth Center. This is a group project in which students volunteer and conduct an evaluation of King Street Youth Center's programs. Alternatively, students can choose and arrange their own internships in a local non-profit for the spring semester. Students can be supervised independently through enrollment in this course.
Students who want an internship experience but do not need sociology credit might consider earning course credit through the Service-Learning office of Career Services. Contact Mary Barritt for more information (Mary.Barritt@uvm.edu).
Generally internships require ten hours a week of service in the agency site for three hours of course credit. Sociology requires a rigorous scholarly component as well, including bi-weekly meetings, a sociological literature review, and a final paper.
To find out which non-profit internships are available locally, consult the Career Services page.

For more information on sociology internships, contact Alice Fothergill at 656-2127 or alice.fothergill@uvm.edu

Q. Does UVM offer a criminal justice degree?
No, but the sociology department offers the greatest range of courses related to criminal justice. For example, we offer courses on deviance & social control, the Sociology of Punishment, Criminal Justice, Crime, Juveniles in the court, and Corrections. One can certainly explore that interest and gain expertise within the sociology major.

Q. If I am a Psych major and have taken Psych 109 and 110 (their research methods courses), do I still have to take Soc. 100?
No, the Psych 109/110 sequence can substitute for our Soc. 100 methods requirement.  However, you will have to take another 100-level sociology course to take its place.  Also note that if you are a Soc. major, you will need to make sure you have at least 34 credits in Sociology, including the extra 100-level sociology course mentioned above.  Finally, if you are a psych minor and have only taken Psych 109, this alone does not count for our methods requirement.

Q. What do prerequisites mean to me?
Prerequisites for 100 and 200-level Sociology courses must be successfully completed before the start of the 200-level course in question. So, for example, you can be taking Soc. 101 in the spring semester and sign up for a 200-level seminar in the fall semester. But these are not co-requisites; you cannot fulfill the requirement by signing up for 100 or 101 at the same time as you sign up for a 200-level.

Last modified January 13 2012 11:52 AM