Sociology Minor

Sociology is offered as a minor field of study at Sul Ross State University. Students must complete 18 semester credit hours of sociology courses, including six semester credit hours of advanced coursework, for a sociology minor.

Undergraduate Courses in Sociology (SOC)

Subject course numbers in parentheses at the end of the course description represent the course equivalent in the Texas Common Course Numbering system.

1313 Juvenile Justice System (3-0)
Study of the juvenile justice system and juvenile crime and delinquency. Theories of delinquency. This course is cross-referenced with Criminal Justice 1313.

2303 Introduction to Sociology (3-0)
A survey of the field of sociology. Introduction to basic terminology and fundamentals of sociology; and the application of sociological knowledge to problems in human societies. (SOCI 1301)

2305 The Family (3-0)
Sociological analyses of the family as a social institution, its social-psychological processes, development and cross-cultural variations. (SOCI 2301)

3301 Introduction to Social Research (3-0)
The nature of social research, including research design, the preparation of data collection instruments, data analysis techniques and research report writing. Emphasis will be placed on development of computer competencies in behavioral and social science research.

3302 Victimology, Victims' Services and Victims' Rights (3-0)
The history of victims' rights, services, and the victims' rights movement; the provision of services to victims, relevant legal developments; victim precipitation and victim self-help; prevention of victimization. This course is cross-referenced with Criminal Justice 3302.

3308 Minority Groups (3-0)
The study of the processes and effects of social discrimination in the creation and maintenance of minority groups.

3309 The American Society (3-0)
A systematic study of current social institutions of the United States in terms of both structure and function as influenced by various aspects of our culture, including social changes. At times, a thematic approach may be employed with a detailed focus on one institution, such as education or religion.

3311 Rural Sociology (3-0)
A survey of rural problems and their relation to the increasing urbanization of America, the social organization of rural life and power structures in small communities.

3314 Sociology of Religion (3-0)
Topics covered include the reasons religion develop, religious organizations as institutions, the interplay between religion and societal values and the role of religion in societal change.

3316 Domestic Violence (3-0)
This course is designed to give the student a basic knowledge of the issues surrounding the victims and perpetrators of domestic violence. Topics covered will include victim and perpetrator charectoristics, explanations for the violence, and explanations for the victim's behavior. Criminal Justice responses to domestic violence situations both currently and historically will also be covered. This course is cross referenced with Criminal Justice 3316.

4304 Criminology (3-0)
A study of the factors that contribute to crime, criminological theories, criminal types, research methods, types of crimes and crime trends. This course is cross-referenced with Criminal Justice 4304.

4305 Social Deviance (3-0)
The study of nonconformity to social norms. The causes of deviance and the role the deviant plays in society.

4309 Readings and Research
Selected readings or research projects to be offered as individual study to meet student needs. May be repeated once for credit with departmental approval.

4310 Special Topics in Sociology (3-0)
Selected topics in sociology. May be repeated for credit when the topic varies.

Sociology is available to support such majors as Political Science, Education, Business Administration or History.

5303 Multicultural Society (3-0)
Analysis of the concepts of "culture" and "social system" as treated in sociological literature combined with the study of social behaviors of distinct culture groups in the United States.