What should I major in?

Major: Sociology

School: College of Liberal Arts

Department Chair: Associate Professor Ramon Guerra

Prerequisites: None

Total credit hours needed to graduate: 120

What is sociology? “Sociology, basically, is the study of society. Back in the early part of the 19th century, a French philosopher, he was considered the father of sociology. Auguste Comte coined this term: sociology. He took a couple of words, one from Latin and one from Greek, and he put them together to create this discipline that we now call sociology. What sociology does is [it] looks at the way in which individuals interact in groups. You take a look at patterns of relationships that extend over time. You take at look at things such as crime, health, institutions, religion, gender relations, race relations; they’re all part of the study of sociology. That’s what sociology is about. … Sociology wants us to open our eyes, so that way we can see what is really occurring.”

What classes can students expect to take? “Intro to sociology is a basic understanding of what sociology is and it covers all of these topics like I mentioned to you. It talks about culture, socialization, social institutions, organizations, gender, race, sexuality, deviance, etc. Intro to sociology course is a basic introduction to all the various aspects of sociology. … We have quite a few sociology courses that would really be helpful for individuals to take. … You might also like to take a course on stratification, because that also is an important thing for people to see, that our society is stratified. … It takes a look at the hierarchy that exists within our society and issues on gender, race and ethnicity. So, there’s a lot of really interesting courses in sociology that are pertinent to the things that are happening now within our society.”

What skills will students learn by the time they graduate? “Sociology provides you with certain kinds of skills. For example, all sociology majors have to take statistics; this means that they will be able to use statistics for understanding the kinds of complex problems that exist within our society. So, having that statistical background is really helpful, but it’s not just that. Also, just having that kind of a background and to be able to understand the kinds of complex problems. In other words, being able to see the big picture, not the small picture, but the big picture.”

What are some possible careers? “In the private sector and in the public sector, there are lots of jobs out there. … It’s not just working for FEMA, also for private sector organizations. … maybe Salvation Army … so sociology is very useful and versatile in a lot of different areas, because it’s the study of human behavior. It’s the way in which people interact with one another.”

What salary can a student expect to earn after graduation? “Well, it depends on the job that you get. It’s really hard for me to go over there and say what is the GS (general schedule) level, because it changes all the time. You can always look that up. … You can look up what a GS-9 might make as a sociologist. … Each position is different. Say, for example, you decided to go into education, it’s different. For example, La Joya, they start off people at $45,000 a year. Whereas, another school district might be $32,000 a year.”

Are there any student organizations related to sociology? “Of course, very much so. There’s Alpha Kappa Delta. That’s the honor [society] of the sociology club that has events every year. … There’s also the Sociology Club.”

For more information: contact Guerra at ramon.guerra@utrgv.edu.

–Compiled by Joahana Segundo