Sociology is the study of human societies, of the institutions, organizations, and groups that compose them, and of the way individuals and groups relate to one another. The discipline also offers comparative, cross-national, and cross-cultural perspectives throughout the curriculum. Sociological knowledge is vital to the understanding of contemporary social problems. Studying this field is highly relevant to careers in human services, research, non profits, and government that address these problems.To study the broad subject of sociology, a student needs to acquire information (what we know), methodology (how we know), and theory (how we explain). A major in sociology will require students to develop backgrounds and strengths in each of these domains. Sociology students also need to acquire critical thinking skills necessary to understand the underlying sources of and policy responses to contemporary social problems. Students may choose to concentrate in a particular content area of sociology, such as health, education, and welfare; aging and the life course; critical race studies; or children, youth, and families.Student Learning OutcomesThe primary aim of our curriculum is to provide students with the knowledge and analytical skills necessary to understand social life in an increasingly complex world. We want our graduates to be able to use the key insights and analytic methods of sociology to improve the social conditions in which they and others coexist. We expect holders of a California State University San Marcos bachelor’s degree in sociology to be able to address large- and small-scale social problems through constructive empirical inquiry, critical analysis, and strategic action. The Sociology Department’s curriculum cultivates the theoretical, methodological, and advocacy skills integral to meeting these goals. The list below summarizes the primary knowledge and skills students graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology will possess.Students who graduate with a B.A. in Sociology will be able to:Analyze and interpret the diversity of social experience using a sociological perspective, especially in relation to race, class, gender, age, sexual preference, religion and nationality.Assess competing theoretical approaches to societal problems of publics with differing and multiple interests; specify structural or institutional sources of these social problems; and propose and assess policies, interventions andor modes of advocacy that will enact positive change.Locate, analyze, assess, and communicate sociological scholarship.Articulate the applicability of and demonstrate ability to employ a range of research strategies—quantitative and qualitative—to particular research questions, theoretical orientations, and social contexts.Articulate the ethical and social justice implications of sociological inquiry.