UMass Boston

Want to learn more about our majors and programs? Click below to download one-page Fact Sheets with essential information.

Fact Sheet: Undergraduate Programs in Sociology
Fact Sheet: Criminology & Criminal Justice BA 
Fact Sheet: Sociology BA
Fact Sheet: Internships in the Sociology Department

Students who have completed the requirements listed below may submit the General Program Add/Change Form. The Registrar will update your program(s) within one week. If you have questions about our programs or your eligibility, you may contact Alison Moll, the Sociology department's Internship Coordinator and Academic Advisor.

Criminology & Criminal Justice major

Students wishing to declare the CCJ major must meet the following requirements:

12+ credits earned at UMass Boston
Overall GPA of 2.00 or higher
Completion of SOCIOL 104 or 262

Sociology major

Students wishing to declare the Sociology major must meet the following requirements:

12+ credits earned at UMass Boston
Overall GPA of 2.00 or higher

Criminology & Criminal Justice minor
and
Sociology minor

There are no prerequisites to declaring our department's minors. Students may declare the minors at any time.

Sociology and Criminology & Criminal Justice majors can receive an honors distinction or department award in the following ways:

• Department Awards for academic merit and/or sociology-themed essays
• Honors Major in Sociology or Criminology & Criminal Justice
• The Sociology and Criminal Justice Honor Societies 
• The University Honors College degree, an 18 credit curriculum that can be added to your major

Department Awards

The T. Scott Miyakawa Memorial Prize, named after a founding member of the department, is awarded to a graduating Sociology major with an outstanding record of academic achievement and community engagement. The Miyakawa Prize is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a Sociology major. The award includes a cash prize, recognition at the Sociology Department Honors Convocation and the College of Liberal Arts Honors Convocation, and a biographical blurb in the University Commencement program.

The Xiaogang Deng Award in Criminology and Criminal Justice recognizes an undergraduate CCJ major who has shown scholarly excellence within the major and who has interests in or experience with criminological research. Professor Deng, whose generosity made this award possible, was a committed instructor of many well-received courses on research methods, crime, and criminal justice. The award includes a cash prize and recognition at the Sociology Department Honors Convocation.

Departmental Distinction is conferred upon students majoring in Sociology and Criminology & Criminal Justice. The faculty selects recipients based on academic merit and usually gives out between 9 and 13 awards each year. These awards are presented at the Sociology Department Honors Convocation, which is held at the end of Spring semester. Awardees are invited to attend the College of Liberal Arts Honors Convocation and are listed in the University Commencement program.

The Sociology in Practice Award recognizes an outstanding junior or senior who demonstrates the application of sociological ideas and insights to a social problem or issue of importance. Students write essays reflecting upon their involvement with community-based organizations, social movements, public and nonprofit agencies, social policy, and practice activities. The winner of the award receives a cash prize and recognition at the Sociology Department Honors Convocation.

The Emerging Scholar Award is given to a first- or second-year student. Students write essays in which they apply a sociological theory to help interpret a social issue or personal experiences, thus exemplifying C. Wright Mills’ concept of “the sociological imagination.” The winner of the award receives a cash prize and recognition at the Sociology Department Honors Convocation.
 

Honors Major

The Departmental Honors Major provides Sociology and Criminology & Criminal Justice majors the chance to explore an intellectual passion by conducing independent hands-on research. Students pursuing an Honors Major write a Senior Honors Thesis under the supervision of a faculty member. Eligible students are those who have met the following criteria:

• 3.5 GPA in the major: Sociology or Criminology & Criminal Justice 
• 3.0 GPA overall
• Completion of:
  • Methods of Sociological Research (SOCIOL 202)
  • Social Theory (SOCIOL 201) or Criminology (SOCIOL 262)
  • Statistics (SOCIOL 350 or SOCIOL 352 or PSYCH 370)
  • 75+ credits

Download the guidelines and paperwork for a Directed Study in Sociology. Send the completed form and your brief proposal to the Sociology Department's Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Heather Zaykowski.

To be recognized as an Honors Major, the final grade for SOCIOL 478 must be B+ or higher, the student's major GPA must be 3.5 or higher, and the student's overall GPA must be 3.0 or higher. Additionally, the completed research project must be presented in an open forum to interested faculty and students, ideally during CLA Undergraduate Research Week.

Completion of an Honors Major is noted on the student's transcript. Students are recognized at the Sociology Department Honors Convocation, the College of Liberal Arts Honors Convocation, and in the University Commencement program.

Honor Societies: Sociology and Criminal Justice

Membership in an honor society provides a wonderful springboard for professional growth. Members have expanded opportunities for promoting their research, applying for conference funding, receiving national recognition, and interacting with leaders in their field. Active participation enables students to develop stronger professional and social networks among the Sociology Department’s faculty, students, and alumni. An Honor Society induction ceremony is held at the end of each spring semester.

Alpha Kappa Delta - The Sociology Honor Society

Alpha Kappa Delta was founded in 1920. It is affiliated with the American Sociological Association. Eligible undergraduates are sociology majors who have completed 75+ credits, have an overall GPA of 3.3 or higher, and have a GPA of 3.2 or higher in the major. The $50 fee pays for lifetime membership and a year’s subscription to the journal Sociological Inquiry. For recruitment questions, contact the AKD faculty advisor, Professor Heather Zaykowski.

Alpha Phi Sigma - The Criminal Justice Honor Society

Alpha Phi Sigma was founded in 1942. It is proudly associated with the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Eligible undergraduates are criminology & criminal justice majors who have completed 75+ credits with a minimum 3.2 GPA in Sociology courses and overall. The $70 fee pays for lifetime membership. For recruitment questions, contact the APS faculty advisor, Professor Heather Zaykowski.

The main goal of the UMass Boston Sociology department is to introduce students to the questions, perspectives and research methods that sociologists and criminologists use to examine the social world. We want our majors to understand what is distinct about a sociological perspective, as well as being aware of the diverse perspectives that have defined our discipline. We also want our students to be able to apply this knowledge to practical questions that are relevant to their own lives and to the well-being of society as a whole.

The following items provide a more detailed overview of the Sociology department’s learning goals. All of the following learning goals apply equally to the Sociology and Criminology & Criminal Justice majors.

1.  Knowledge of Sociology or Criminology & Criminal Justice as a specific discipline

• Ability to describe core questions and concepts in the disciplines of Sociology or Criminology & Criminal Justice and apply these concepts to the study of the social world.
• Knowledge of the varied perspectives on society that have defined the disciplines of Sociology or Criminology & Criminal Justice.
• An appreciation for the ways in which social science knowledge can be applied to pertinent career fields, and how sociological knowledge can be applied to important life choices, regardless of your career path.

2.  Knowledge of the role of theory in Sociology or Criminology & Criminal Justice

• Using social theory to foster critical thinking about the social world.
• Knowing the criteria that are used to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a theory.
• Understanding why we need theory to explain the social conditions we are examining with our research; and understanding the interactive relationship between research and theory.

3.  Knowledge of Sociological and/or Criminological research methods

• Knowledge of the principal categories of research design and methodology.
• Knowing how to construct a research hypothesis; and knowing the core components of a hypothesis.
• Knowing how to identify a research design that is appropriate to a given research question.
• Knowing how to assess the validity and reliability of research data.
• Ability to summarize research findings and use them to make an argument about “what’s going on” in the social world, and what should be done about it.
• Ability to identify similarities and differences in the way quantitative and qualitative researchers go about asking and answering research questions.
• Knowledge of basic concepts and formulae in social statistics.
• Awareness of the ethical considerations that must be factored into research.

4.  Knowing how to Access and Evaluate Scholarly Sources

• Knowing how to identify a scholarly (peer-reviewed) source and how to distinguish it from a non-scholarly source.
• Knowing how to access scholarly and non-scholarly sources using electronic resources and knowing how to effectively search for sources within a given e-resource. 
• Knowing how to properly cite sources.
• Knowing how to assess the empirical claims made by different kinds of sources.

5. Cultivating an Understanding of Social Diversity

• Developing empathy for people from social backgrounds different than your own.
• Being aware of how our moral and ethical value-commitments have been shaped by our culture and social background.
• Cultivating a tolerance for differing views on social issues and an ability to communicate effectively with perspectives that are different than your own.

6. Strengthening Basic Aptitudes

• Working effectively in groups.
• Strengthening basic verbal and writing skills.