First-Generation Sociology Majors

Sociology research methods students in 2013 and 2016 implemented a series of “real world” data gathering activities that enhanced their learning while assisting the department with ongoing program assessment and program review. In addition to the explicit collection of program assessment data on both students’ development of sociological concepts and skills while undergraduates and alumni’s use of such knowledge after graduation, an effort was made throughout the semesters to highlight key research methods knowledge using examples that focused on job searching and careers appropriate for baccalaureate-trained sociologists. Students reported that these real-world activities both increased their interest in and their learning about research methods. These explicit and implicit experiences with an employment focus also led them to increase their own thinking about their eventual careers and preparing job search materials, such as résumés, that include skills developed in their undergraduate sociology courses.

Section: Program Assessment Research Methods and Students’ Careersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Program Assessment and a Career Focus into a Research Methods Course

Senter

2017

“…Many enjoyed their first sociology course and want to learn sociology to understand themselves better and to change society. In addition, they choose sociology majors because they want to secure jobs (Spalter-Roth et al 2012). In combining an interest in learning with a desire for career success, sociology students do not differ from national samples of students entering college (Eagan et al 2017).…”

Section: Why Courses On Careers For Sociology Majors Are Neededmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementing a Careers and Professional Development Course for Sociology Students

Senter

2019

Sociology students are interested in having meaningful careers that use their sociological knowledge and skills, and higher education institutions are under pressure to show that their graduates achieve career success. A one-credit-hour course focused on careers, professional development, and resources for sociology majors can increase students’ confidence that multiple options exist for them in their postbaccalaureate lives. Sociology faculty can design a course that increases students’ ability to locate and apply for relevant jobs and graduate programs and to practice skills that employers say that want to see in college graduates. Detailed examples of assignments, readings, and class activities are presented that can readily be tailored to the unique circumstances of different institutions and their students.

“…Certainly the reaction to the Vietnam War and civil rights unrest played some role in the high level of interest in sociology in the early 1970s, and the rise of conservative politics in the 1980s might explain some of the decline. Recent opportunity shifts might explain some of the limited interest in the major today, evidenced by fewer sociology majors listing job preparation as a reason for selecting the sociology major in the wake of the Great Recession (Spalter-Roth et al 2012). But also observe that counter trends are not observed, such as during periods of relative liberalism in the 1990s.…”

Section: Enrollment Trends Market Shares and The Sociology Majormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, racial minorities are underrepresented in the sociology major relative to presence in other undergraduate majors ( Chronicle of Higher Education 2014; Spalter-Roth et al 1996). The American Sociological Association documented that, following the onset of the Great Recession, fewer students who majored in sociology did so with beliefs that it was preparing them for future careers (Spalter-Roth et al 2012). So it seems that economic context might influence perspectives on the utility of the major as well as the tendency to gravitate toward the major.…”

Section: The Impact Of Student Demographics and Student Interestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

2015 Hans O. Mauksch Address

Sweet

2015

While the popularity of the psychology major and the sociology major were comparable in 1970, sociology witnessed a decline while psychology witnessed expansion. This article considers strategies of expanding the popularity of the sociology major, considering data from a variety of sources. Primary recommendations are to configure programs to maximize prospects that students discover sociology early in their college careers and to limit the number of barriers that might prevent students from enrolling in sociology courses. Departments that expanded the number of sociology majors from 2008 to 2014 are identified. These departments prioritized expanding the major as an objective and developed a variety of methods to increase access, visibility, and vitality of the sociology program at their institutions.