2019-2020 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog
Sociology - Program Description
For additional information about opportunities your college offers, please refer to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences section in this catalog.
Website: www.gvsu.edu/soc-dept
The Sociology Department is a community of critical scholars who analyze the intersection of race, class, gender, and sexuality as the context of social interaction and the construction of difference in society. Faculty utilize qualitative and quantitative methods to develop insight into a wide range of substantive areas and to understand vital issues of the day.
The department seeks to 1) engage students in critical examination of their own social world and those beyond their personal experience, and 2) examine how society reproduces itself in the individual and how individuals think and behave within institutional contexts.
Departmental teaching and scholarship strive toward three main outcomes: 1) affirmation of pluralistic and democratic visions of society; 2) development of critical thinking and analytical skills in students, which are essential in governmental, corporate, and academic settings; and 3) empowerment of community development and participation in civic society.
Minor in Aging and Adult Life
The sociology department participates in a multidisciplinary minor in aging and adult life. See section on Aging and Adult Life for further information.
Honors Organization
The Grand Valley State University Theta chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta, the International Sociology Honor Society, promotes excellence in scholarship in the study of sociology, research of social problems, and such other social and intellectual activities as will lead to an improvement in the human condition.
Membership in Alpha Kappa Delta is awarded each year to sociology majors who are juniors or seniors, have an overall GPA of 3.0 or above, and have maintained a 3.0 GPA in a minimum of 12 hours of sociology courses at Grand Valley.
The following programs are available: