Sociology

What will I learn?

You'll learn how society and culture interact with one another in ways you never imagined. You'll learn what micro- and macro-level groups and processes are and how to assess their important differences. You'll learn – through hands-on exercises – how to conduct various types of research, including data analysis, fieldwork/ethnography, documentary research and participatory/community-based research.

Will it be 100 percent class work?
No. At LaGrange College, we place a priority on hands-on research and application, so as a sociology and anthropology major you will learn about social and cultural phenomena both in the classroom and in the field.

We strongly encourage internships and do our best to help place students in situations that will offer them practical experience, situations in such diverse fields as:

• social services
• youth support organizations
• nonprofit and volunteer organizations
• poverty and minority advocacy groups
• government agencies
• shelters for women and families

Meet sociology majors:

Matt Mayfield
A junior sociology major, he recently completed a six-month stint as an intern with the LaGrange Police Department.
“Initially, I spoke with my sociology professor Dr. (Frank) O’Connor about it, and he encouraged me to talk with the Diana (Goldwire) in the Career Development Center,” he says.

“She was thrilled that I wanted to pursue an internship with the department and immediately helped me get things started.

Hannah Williams
Hannah, a junior sociology and Spanish major from Greenville, S.C., recently spent a year studying at the University of Valencia through a Rutgers University program.

“I had a month of orientation with a history and geography course of Spain that allowed us to travel to the major cities and see the main areas. We covered Spain from the 700s B.C. to present day. Then in September, we started classes at the university.”

She took a social work course and did an internship with a school.

What do graduates do?

Sociology and anthropology majors are not limited to one occupation after graduation, but rather are prepared for a variety of career choices.
Many LaGrange students have gone on to postgraduate work in sociology, social work, social-science education and public administration. Others began working right away in such diverse fields as:

• consumer behavior research
• environmental advocacy
• human relations
• insurance
• juvenile services
• missions
• social services/social work
• urban planning