Bachelors of Arts In Sociology

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History

• Policy Number: SP.04.016
• Version: Original
• Drafted By: Renny Christopher, Harley Baker, Scott Frisch
• Approved By: Richard R. Rush
• Approval Date: August 2004
• Effective Date:
• Supersedes:

Purpose

Sociology is the study of the organization, dynamics and consequences of social life. The scope of the discipline is as broad and diverse as social life itself. The Sociology major is designed to give students the ability to analyze the world around them, its people and their institutions. Within this overarching goal, the program will stress interdisciplinarity and the multicultural, global perspective which is the hallmark of Channel Islands programs. The program at CSUCI has several goals:

• to meet the philosophical, educational and cultural objectives of the university mission statement and the university’s two institutional mission-based learning outcomes:
  •   Identify and describe the modern world and issues facing societies from multiple perspectives including those within and across disciplines, cultures and nations
  • Analyze issues, develop and convey to other solutions to problems using the methodologies, tools and techniques of an academic discipline
• develop students’ abilities to think critically
• develop students’ abilities to use the empirical methodology of the discipline to engage in the systematic study of human social interaction and institutions
• prepare students for further study and for entry into a variety of professional paths.

Background

Sociology is a foundation major as listed in Academic Programs and Resource Planning in the California State University, 1980, p. 33.

Policy

Accountability

Sociology Program

Applicability

N/A

Definition(s)

N/A

Text

List of other California State University campuses currently offering or projecting the proposed degree major program; list of neighboring institutions, public and private, currently offering the proposed degree major program.

• All other CSU campuses except the Maritime Academy, Monterey Bay (where it is offered as a concentration), and Cal Poly SLO offer BAs in Sociology; 11 campuses also offer an MA in Sociology.
• UCSB, UCLA and USC offer a BA, MA & PhD.
• California Lutheran offers a minor.
• Pepperdine offers a BA.

Differences between the proposed program and programs listed in Section 2a above.

• Among the nearby universities, the CSUCI program will most closely resemble the UCSB program which is also designed around a core set of courses covering the broad range of core topics from the discipline of sociology and emphasizes a diversity of perspectives, innovative approaches, and emerging aspects of the discipline.
• The CSUCI program is unique in that it will require students to take a number of interdisciplinary courses, consistent with the rich intersection of sociology with other disciplines.
• The CSUCI program requires a Capstone experience for graduation. This will encourage students to use the knowledge they have gained in the program to engage the world at large, while allowing them to obtain valuable job-related experience. The local community will also benefit by having students involved in service activities.
• The CSUCI program expects to draw on a different student population than other sociology programs in the area.

Professional uses of the proposed degree major program.

• A major in sociology can lead to career opportunities in law, management, journalism, social work, urban and environmental planning, public services, teaching, corrections, counseling and other service professions. Graduate study can also lead to careers within the academy doing teaching and research, as well as careers doing applied research in social service, public planning, education, mental health, and business
•  Community/Regional/Statewide need for the proposed program.
• There is a high demand for a Sociology major on this campus, as demonstrated by the enrollments in the former Northridge off-campus center’s Sociology program, and the number of inquiries CSUCI’s Admissions office has received from potential students.

• In Fall, 2001, the CSUNat CI Sociology program enrolled 185 students (135.5 FTES), which represented approximately 15% of the total CSUN enrollment in the major.

• The Sociology major will also equip CSUCI students to enter either the CSULB MSW program, currently offered on the CSUCI campus or the new MSW program at CSU Northridge.

• Since we have opened, we have received and documented 75 specific inquiries about sociology. Recruiters report that sociology is among the most requested majors in our immediate area and the data from the community colleges supports that. Of the students that we anticipate to be transfer-ready this spring (45+ units), we know that there are 111 Sociology majors and a possibility of a strong yield from the 515 Liberal Studies majors. This data is for the Ventura County system only and does not include either Santa Barbara or the LA communities.

The expected number of majors in the year of initiation and three years and five years thereafter. The expected number of graduates in the year of initiation and three years and five years thereafter.

Number of Majors Number of Graduates

Initiation Year 30 0

Third year 125 45

Fifth year 250 100

Resources Needs for the Proposed Degree Major Program (faculty, instructional, library, other)

• Existing.
  • Classroom space
  • Library: some resources exist which previously served the CSUN@CI program
  • Computer lab with standard suite of software for which CSUCI has licenses
• Future.
  • 1-2 faculty need to be hired immediately
  • 3-4 additional faculty need to be hired within 5 years., dependent upon enrollment growth
  • Additional classroom space and computer lab space will be needed

Exhibit(s)

N/A