Welcome to the Department of Sociology website. Sociology has been taught at the University of Utah since 1896, the third University in the United States to offer regular courses in the discipline.
The UNIVERSITY OF UTAH is a 25,000 student campus located on the eastern edge of Salt Lake City along the western front of the Wasatch Mountains. Salt Lake City has a population of 170,000 in a metropolitan area of slightly more than one million. The nearby mountains provide hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking and, of course, world class skiing opportunities. Salt Lake City was the host of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and the University was the site of the Olympic Village. This is a wonderful place to live as well as to pursue higher education.
Over the years the DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY has been combined in departmental form with economics, anthropology, and social work, each now independent academic entities at the University of Utah. Now in its second century of service to students of the University, the Department defines its responsibilities as follows:
- to offer challenging and stimulating courses to a broad spectrum of undergraduates, introducing sociological and social science thinking to students in the department, college, and university.
- to offer a high-quality program for undergraduate majors leading to a diverse array of post-collegiate options.
- to provide the best possible training experiences for graduate students, preparing them for careers as researchers and/or teachers in a diverse range of employment institutions.
- to support a productive research enterprise of quality.
- to contribute to the development of policies and practices that benefit
the human condition, not only locally and statewide, but also in the
national and international arenas.
The basic principle underlying the UNDERGRADUATE ACADEMIC PROGRAM is that understanding society -- its organization and the processes by which it changes -- should be viewed as an essential capacity of the educated individual. Sociology should be recognized as a critical element in the liberal education, and a majority of undergraduates will pursue the sociology degree from this perspective. Others will pursue the degree as a foundation for graduate work, not simply in sociology or other behavioral sciences but also in the professions: teaching in the K-12 system, social work, law, and medicine, as examples. Those who strive to pursue an advanced degree in sociology will be identified and nurtured to develop the skills necessary to compete for entry into outstanding graduate programs and to succeed in those programs.
The GRADUATE PROGRAM in sociology at the University of Utah specializes in quantitative macro-comparative sociology, focusing on quantitative analysis of the global processes that shape the social, economic, environmental, and political dimensions of the world-economy. The goal is to provide students with both the theoretical background and the statistical tools necessary to conduct informed, empirical research in academic and policy related careers. A Masters of Statistics in Sociology, an interdisciplinary degree administered by the University Statistics Committee, is also offered.
For detailed descriptions of the undergraduate and graduate programs as well as the department faculty, student organizations, and scholarship opportunities, choose from the menu items at the top of this page. The "About the U" menu item provides access to information about the community, city, state, and the university in general.