Link to the University of Waterloo home page
2008-2009

The Undergraduate Calendar

 

 

Arts Departmental Academic Plans

Sociology

Sociology - Overview

Three-Year General Sociology

Continuation in this academic plan requires an overall cumulative average of 60% and a cumulative Sociology average of 65%.

Eligibility for graduation in the Three-Year General Sociology academic plan includes successful fulfilment of the following requirements:

  1. Appropriate BA Program-level requirements. See "BA Degree Requirements."
  2. Sociology Plan-level requirements:
    • at least five academic course units (ten courses) in Sociology with a minimum cumulative average of 65%, including:
      • SOC 101, 202, 321
        Note: Students are strongly encouraged to select SOC 280 (sociological statistics), although this is not required.

Four-Year General Sociology

Continuation in this academic plan requires an overall cumulative average of 60% and a cumulative Sociology average of 68%.

Eligibility for graduation in the Four-Year General Sociology academic plan includes successful fulfilment of the following requirements:

  1. Appropriate BA Program-level requirements. See "BA Degree Requirements."
  2. Sociology Plan-level requirements:
    • at least ten academic course units (20 courses) in Sociology with a minimum cumulative average of 68%, including:

Honours Sociology

Continuation in this academic plan requires an overall cumulative average of 60% and a cumulative Sociology average of 75%.

Eligibility for graduation in the Honours Sociology academic plan includes successful fulfilment of the following requirements:

  1. Appropriate BA Program-level requirements. See "BA Degree Requirements."
  2. Sociology Plan-level requirements:
    • at least ten academic course units (20 courses) in Sociology with a minimum cumulative average of 75%, including:

Recommended Course Sequences


Year One
SOC 101
One other course in Sociology
Eight course equivalent electives


Year Two
SOC 202, 280
Three or four courses in Sociology
Four or five course equivalent electives


Year Three
SOC 302, 321
One of SOC 322, 410
Three courses in Sociology
Four course equivalent electives


Year Four
Two fourth year seminars, one of which must be in theory (from SOC 401, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 409, 410, 414, 416)
SOC 499A/B
Two courses in Sociology
Four course equivalent electives


Honours Sociology Co-op

Sociology is a participating Department in the Co-operative system of study in the Behavioural Sciences. Students may be admitted into Honours Co-op at the start of the winter term of their second year. Students interested in applying for admission to Co-op should consult with the Department's Co-op advisor sometime in their first year so that they may select their courses to maximum advantage.

Honours Sociology (Arts and Business Co-op and Regular)

A student may combine Honours Sociology with Honours Arts and Business Co-op or Regular. The requirements in Sociology are identical to the Honours requirements listed above except only 16 courses in Sociology are required. See Arts and Business for the Arts and Business requirements.

Joint Honours Sociology 

A Joint Honours academic plan with Sociology may be taken in combination with most Arts disciplines in which an Honours academic plan is offered or with many Honours majors in other Faculties. See the department for the most recent list of approved combinations.

Continuation in this academic plan requires an overall cumulative average of 60% and a cumulative Sociology average of 75%.

Eligibility for graduation in Joint Honours Sociology academic plans includes successful fulfilment of the following requirements:

  1. Appropriate Program-level requirements for the Home Faculty, including at least 20 academic course units. If the Home Faculty is Arts, see "BA Degree Requirements."
    Note: In practice, depending on the number of courses required by the second discipline (e.g., overall and for the major) and the number of electives that students choose to take, more than 40 courses may be necessary for graduation.
  2. Sociology Plan-level requirements:
    • at least 7.5 academic course units (15 courses) in Sociology with a minimum cumulative average of 75%, including:
      • SOC 101, 202, 280, 302, 321, Note: For the Joint Sociology-French Honours academic plan requirements, SOC 280 may be replaced by an elective in Sociology.
      • one of SOC 322, 410
      • one of SOC 401, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 409, 410, 414, 416
      • SOC 499A/B or two SOC electives if the equivalent senior honours thesis is taken in the other discipline
  3. Plan-level requirements for the second Major.

Joint Honours Sociology/Legal Studies, Criminology Specialization

Eligibility for graduation in the Sociology/Legal Studies with Criminology Specialization academic plan includes successful fulfilment of the following requirements:

  1. Appropriate BA Program-level requirements. See "BA Degree Requirements."
  2. Plan-level requirements:
    • at least 15 academic course units (30 courses) in both Legal Studies and Sociology core and approved courses with a minimum cumulative average of 75, including:
      • at least five academic course units (ten courses) in Sociology including:
        1. SOC 101, 202, 280, 302, 321499A/B
        2. one of SOC 322, 410
        3. one of SOC 401, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 409, 410, 414, 416
      • at least five academic course units (ten courses) in Legal Studies core and approved courses including:
        1. LS 101, 401, 402
        2. four additional courses from the following Foundation Courses: AFM 231 or MTHEL 100; ENGL 210I; ENVS 201; HIST 277, 329; ISS 350E; LS 201/WS 206; PHIL 215, 327; PSCI 291, 363; PSYCH 230; SOC 370
        3. three additional courses from the balance of the Foundation Courses above and the following approved courses: ACTSC 458; CLAS/HIST 210; ENGL 213; ENVS 401; HIST 236; ISS 350G; PACS 323; PHIL 226; PLAN 471; PSCI 225, 226, 260, 333; SOC 249, 325
        4. a minimum of four courses (in addition to LS 401 and LS 402) must be at the third-year level or above
      • at least five academic course units (ten courses) in Criminology for the Criminology Specialization, including:
        1. LS 102; SOC 227
        2. four of the following Legal Studies courses: ENGL 212; PACS 202; PSCI 292, 459; PSYCH 330
        3. four of SOC 201, 222, 223, 226, 228, 229, 327, 369, 428

Sociology Minor 

Students enrolled in Honours or Four-Year General Majors in the Faculty of Arts, or in Honours Majors in other faculties may pursue a Minor designation in Sociology.

The Sociology Minor requires successful completion of a minimum of five academic course units (ten courses) in Sociology, with a minimum cumulative average of 65%, including:

Honours Area Specialization in the Sociology of Business, Industry, and Technology

The BIT specialization allows Honours students in Sociology to develop a concentration of courses in the sociological analysis of aspects of the worlds of business, industry, and technology, that will be noted on their degree transcript.
Open to any student doing an Honours Sociology degree.

Requirements:

  1. Successful completion of four academic course units (eight courses), including:
    • at least four courses from:
      SOC 232 Technology and Social Change
      SOC 234 Symbolic Interaction: The Study of Human Knowing and Acting
      SOC 241 Introduction to the Sociology of Work
      SOC 243 Occupational Sociology
      SOC 254 Sociology of Health Systems
      SOC 312 Sociology of Science
      SOC 339 The Knowledge Society and Waterloo Region
      SOC 345 Cyberspace and Social Life
      SOC 459 Sociology of Work and Occupations
    • and the remaining courses from:
      SOC 221 Social Change in Canadian Society
      SOC 246 Mass Communication
      SOC 250 Contemporary Japanese Society
      SOC 253 Demographic Change in Canada
      SOC 286 Environment and Behaviour
      SOC 310 Seminar in Group Dynamics
      SOC 410 Symbolic Interaction and Ethnographic Research
      SOC 414 Power, Persuasion, and Management
      SOC 421 Quantitative Methods
      SOC 498 Directed Studies (in a topic related to BIT and approved by the Department)

Honours Area Specialization in the Sociology of Crime, Deviance, and Regulation

The CDR specialization allows Honours students in Sociology the opportunity to develop a concentration of courses in the areas of criminology, deviance, and social control that will be noted on their degree transcript.
Open to any student doing an Honours Sociology degree.
Note: Students who elect to obtain a Legal Studies and Criminology Option are not eligible for this Specialization.

Requirements:

  1. Successful completion of four academic course units (eight courses), including:
    • at least five courses from:
      SOC 201 Victims and Society
      SOC 222 Juvenile Delinquency
      SOC 223 Deviance
      SOC 226 Juvenile Justice
      SOC 227 Criminology
      SOC 228 Sociology of Corrections
      SOC 229 Selected Topics in Criminology
      SOC 327 Policing
      SOC 370 Sociology of Law
    • and the remaining courses from:
      SOC 249 Sociology of Mental Disorder
      SOC 262 Cults and New Religious Movements
      SOC 325 Sexuality and the Law
      SOC 372 Good and Evil in Social Relations
      SOC 410 Symbolic Interaction and Ethnographic Research
      SOC 421 Quantitative Methods
      SOC 428 Sentencing as a Social Process
      SOC 498 Directed Studies

Office of the Registrar
University of Waterloo
2nd Floor, Needles Hall
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
519 888 4567