Importantly, at Franciscan your studies will be shaped by both a liberal arts perspective and a Catholic understanding of the human person, which will help you discover how faith provides a framework for understanding the problems and potential of each community, as well as for devising solutions to the problems individuals and communities face.
Your course work in sociology will require you to complete 24 hours in sociology, 16 hours in social work, 6 hours each in history, psychology, and economics, plus 3 hours in math. Seniors must complete a thesis or a 400-level seminar.
Required courses for all sociology majors include Christianity and Society, Marriage and Family, Sociological Theory, Race and Minority, Juvenile Delinquency, Deviant Behavior, Domestic Violence, and Social Work With the Elderly. You also will be able to choose from a wide variety of electives, including Sociology of Religions, Communes and Covenants, and Philosophy of the Social Sciences.
By the time you complete your studies, you will be able to integrate your knowledge of sociology into your intellectual and spiritual life. You also will have received the undergraduate education you need for eventual administrative positions in social service agencies, businesses, and hospitals, as well as for further studies or careers in criminology, administration of justice, probation work, civil service, and regional and urban planning. Opportunities also exist for positions in child development and care for the aged.
Recent graduates have been employed in job and family services, child services, the mental health field, and criminal justice areas such as juvenile detention and adult probation departments. Others have gone on to study for a master’s degree in sociology or social work, or a PhD.