Sociology & Human Services Learning Outcomes

The following are learning outcomes for Sociology & Human Services courses and for students who complete the program.

1) Relationship Between the Individual and Society: Students should have the ability to demonstrate how individual and collective biographies intersect history within society and identify and illustrate how social structures, individual consciousness, and historical processes combine to produce social reality. Students will be able to:

  • define and apply the sociological imagination to her/his own life and the lives of others.
  • differentiate a personal trouble from a public social problem.
  • recognize the role of human beings in the construction of the social world.  

2) Theoretical Proficiency: Students should have the ability to articulate a variety of social theoretical perspectives to illuminate how the social world works.Students will be able to:

  • Identify and articulate foundational assumptions of social theory, consisting of critical theory, structural and post-structural theory, and symbolic interaction theory.
  • compare and contrast theoretical perspectives in relation to proposing solutions to real world problems.
  • evaluate the role of social theory to make sense of the human experience. 

3) Community and Civic Engagement: Students should have the ability to illustrate the importance of community development and civic engagement and the role of compassion in a commitment to the welfare of others. Students we be able to:

  • articulate the significance of community participation and development to the process of improving the quality of life for all.
  • develop ideas for progressive social change as they are related to specific social problems.
  • assess social problems from their historical context and identify intervention strategies.

4) Relations of Power: Students should be able to identify relations of power and illustrate the significance of power in shaping the human experience. Students will be able to:

  • assess varying levels of privilege and penalty related to race, class, gender and sexuality.
  • describe and evaluate systems of stratification and social inequality.
  • explain the value of diversity and its significance to our humanity.

5) Critical Thinking: Students should be able to develop and articulate unique understandings of complex social relations. Students will be able to:

  • understand and explain the complex and contextual relationships that exist between people, the natural environment, and society.
  • articulate historical processes and policies which shape and structure experience of individuals and groups in society.

6) Sociological Research, Methodology, and Analysis: Students should be able to demonstrate the basic knowledge of methodology and analysis and the role in creating sociological understandings of everyday life. Students will be able to:

  • conduct an ethnographic study.
  • compose an extensive research paper related to a specific social problem, which incorporates historical and theoretical analysis and ethnographic data.
  • create a community map which identifies social resources within a particular community and knowledge of strategies of intervention, and program analysis.
  • demonstrate through research and writing the historical, political, and economic interconnectedness of social problems.