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Why major in sociology?

By Department of Sociology and Anthropology on September 4, 2014

Before I went to college, I had never taken a class in sociology. This is pretty common for Colgate students as well. So why major in sociology? There are a lot of reasons, but here are a few:

  • Sociologists study social problems in order to understand them, and to make the world a better place. Some of our big topics are inequality, crime, poverty, immigration, and environmental change.
  • Sociologists study social change and how it is affecting people. The discipline that gives you the skills to study the rise of social media, for example, or the social effects of our changing economy.
  • Speaking of skills, sociology teaches students to be adept in both quantitative (statistical) and qualitative data analysis.

To learn more, see Why a Sociology Major?:

“[Sociology] provides students with the intellectual tools needed to make sense of the shifting and conflictual social world we live in, and this in turn permits them to contribute to solutions for the most difficult social problems that we face.”

—Daniel Little, Huffington Post

Carolyn Hsu
Associate Professor of Sociology


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