WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH A DEGREE IN SOCIOLOGY?

Sociology graduates enter a variety of graduate and professional school programs. Some go to graduate school immediately after completing their degree, but most work for a few years before deciding on a program. A degree in sociology is excellent preparation for careers in fields such as:

• Human Services
• Criminal Justice
• Law
• Education
• Journalism
• Planning
• Public Health
• Public Relations
• Personnel Services
• Research
• Sales
• Management
• Marketing
• Social Work

Some of our graduates have chosen to work for non-profit organizations while others are employed in the for-profit sector by nursing homes, home health agencies, insurance companies, marketing and advertising agencies, publishing firms and others. There are also many opportunities in federal, state and local government. The graduate programs most often chosen by our alumni include:

• Sociology
• Criminal Justice
• Public Health
• Gerontology
• Public Administration
• Business Administration
• Social Work
• Art Therapy
• Education
• Counseling
• Family Studies

College of Charleston sociology graduates have attended institutions such as:

• Clemson University
• University of South Carolina
• Rutgers University
• University of Georgia
• Brown University
• University of Maryland
• Johns Hopkins University
• Medical University of South Carolina
• Boston University
• Jane Addams College of Social Work (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Professional programs selected by recent graduates:

• Yale University (law school)
• Wake Forest University (law school)
• University of South Carolina (law school)
• Catholic University (law school)
• Vanderbilt University (law school)
• University of Memphis (law school)
• The Pennsylvania State University (medical school)
• Medical University of South Carolina (medical school)
• Duke University (divinity school)

Active Learning Opportunities

Internships. Like a real-life laboratory within a supportive environment, internships give you extended opportunities to link theories and ideas to concrete situations. Internships can also help you become more marketable by providing experience and network contacts.

Our department maintains more than 70 active internship partnerships with agencies and organizations in the Charleston area, including more than 20 sites that are related to gerontology and more than a dozen sites that relate directly to the criminal justice system. A representative sampling of the types of placements available includes:

• Alzheimer’s Association
• American Red Cross
• Center for Women
• Area Agency on Aging, ElderLink
• Crime Scene Unit
• Charleston Area Therapeutic Riding
• Communities in Schools
• City of Charleston Police Department
• Crisis Ministries
• Family Court, Solicitor’s Office
• Department of Probation
• Department of Juvenile Justice
• Earth Force
• Department of Social Services
• Florence Crittenton Home
• Hospice of Charleston
• Lowcountry AIDS Services
• Mayor’s Office on Aging
• Ronald McDonald House
• MUSC Children’s Hospital
• South Carolina Centers for Equal Justice
  

Research. You will have many opportunities to engage in research, both in class and through special one-on-one projects under faculty supervision. Some examples of research topics explored by students include:

• The Economic Inequalities of State Lotteries
• Age Bias in the American Health Care System
• A Cross-Cultural Study of Bereavement: The U.S. and Spain
• Exposure to Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse
• Brownfield Redevelopment in Charleston and North Charleston
• Unequal Access to Childcare in the U.S.
• Variations in Suicide Acts among African Americans and Caucasians
• The Socialization of Prejudice
• King Street Stratification
• The Use of Medications to Treat ADD and ADHD Among College Students

Learning Resources

• Most classes are taught in “smart” classrooms with permanently installed computer and video equipment and connections to the Internet and to a closed circuit TV network.
• Faculty offices are located in two remodeled 19th-century residences that include a student-faculty lounge.
• The Language, culture, and media lab with audio-visual archive features state-of-the-art equipment including a digital video camera, recording/editing decks, and tape transcribers. It also has software programs that support faculty and student research and classroom instruction.
• The Media Resources Center houses approximately 200 sociological video offerings.

Other Special Opportunities

Professional presentations.Like many other sociology majors, you’ll also have the chance to present your research results at professional conferences, such as the Southern Sociological Society, the Southeastern Undergraduate Sociology Symposium and the Carolina Undergraduate Social Science Symposium.

Sociology and Anthropology Club. This active student group sponsors events such as an annual graduate school night and a career night, hosts guest lecturers, and arranges field trips.

Alpha Kappa Delta. The College of Charleston sponsors a chapter of this National Collegiate Honors Society for Sociology

“I have done two internships and found them both to be extremely helpful in focusing and directing my college career. The first involved co-facilitating counseling sessions for local jail inmates with substance abuse issues. I enjoyed it so much and found it to be so incredibly educational that I chose to work in the jail again for a second internship. I served as a recovery dynamics instructor for the inmates, giving presentations on topics to help them become productive citizens in society. These experiences provided me with an insider’s view of the workplace as well as direction for my future career.”

Caroline Lane ’06