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The Sociology, Criminology, and Anthropology department offers four tracks tailored to the interests and goals of our students. Students needing maximum flexibility such as post-traditional students and transfer students are encouraged to select the general sociology major. Students interested in advocacy, social justice, and bettering their community will find the Social Inequalities Concentration to be a good fit. Those who want to enhance their understanding of globalization and cultural diversity should select the Anthropology concentration. The Criminology concentration is a good fit for students interested in a wide variety of careers in the criminal justice system. What unites these three areas of study is our faculty’s focus on the systematic study of social inequality and social change. Our program is unique in its multidisciplinary perspective, its intense focus on career-readiness courses, and its high-touch approach to student mentoring.
Winthrop offers the intimate faculty-student connection and quality of a private institution, but with a public university price-tage. The way that complimentary way that Sociology, Criminology, and Anthropology courses overlap in our program gives our students much more breadth than they get at other institutions. For example, Forensic Anthropology courses benefit our Anthropology concentrates AND our criminology concentrates. Racial and Ethnic Relations courses are good for those going into criminal justice AND those interested in advocacy and social change. Our small research methods labs benefit those wanting to analyze crime data AND those wanting to work in policy think tanks. Those who want to solve crimes need to understand the culture where a crime took place. Those who want to protect and serve need to first enhance their understanding of racial and ethnic relations. Those who want to solve social problems need to understand the globalized context surrounding the problem. Our interdisciplinary overlap and the close faculty mentoring is what really gives our students the competitive edge when they graduate.
All students complete their own research project in the major and are encouraged to present at a professional conference. Students wishing to take those research projects toward publication engage in independent research with faculty partners. Those working with faculty on research are eligible for free summer housing and to be paid through grants. Students have interned at law firms, with campus police, with local museums and in local non-profits to name a few. Service-learning courses and service learning trips are also frequently offered.
Sociology
Majors have the choice of a general sociology major which offers maximum flexibility for students wishing to transfer credits from another institution, including study abroad courses. General sociology (pdf-150KB) majors take 16 hours of core classes in the major (Principles, Career Development, Statistics, Theory, Methods, Senior Seminar) and then are able to choose from our wide variety of sociology electives for the remaining 18 hours. This is great for the student who loves ALL sociology!
Core classes include:
Learn More: Bachelor of Arts in Sociology (pdf)
Criminology
The Department of Sociology, Crominology, and Anthropology at Winthrop university offers a concentration on Criminology. This option provides training for a wide variety of occupations such as law enforcement and the judiciary. In addition to the course work listed below, the department encourages students to enroll in internships through any of the partnerships the department has formed with numerous organizations. The department also offers an 18-semester hour criminal justice minor.
Learn More: Sociology Concentration in Criminology (pdf)
Anthropology
The Department of Sociology, Crominology, and Anthropology at Winthrop university offers a concentration on Anthropology. Students are exposed to all areas of specialization: cultural, biological, archaelogy, and linguistics. Students will be well grounded in a variety of social science methods. Careers include teaching, research, and museum work. The department also offers an 18-semester hour anthropology minor.
Learn More: Sociology Concentration in Anthropology (pdf)
Social Inequalities
The Department of Sociology, Crominology, and Anthropology at Winthrop university offers a concentration on Social Inequalities. This option studies racial and ethnic relations, gender and sexuality, social class and economic analysis, as well as inequalities related to age and disability. In addition to the core course work in the major the concentration requires four inequality electives (including SOCL 213), one advanced-level inequality elective, and three additional elective hours from any sociology or anthropology course, totaling 34 creidt hours in the major.
Learn More: Sociology Concentration in Social Inequalities (pdf)
Students take a required Career Development course early in their career to explore career options and plan their path to success. At the end of their time at Winthrop, they take a Senior Seminar where they learn to communicate the skills that they've gained to future employers and begin their job or graduate school search. Our students learn ethics and social responsibility, critical thinking, analytic problem-solving, communication, collaboration, multicultural and global understandings, and how to communicate effectively in speech and writing. That prepares them for a wide variety of careers and gives them the flexibility to change careers if desired. Our majors work in social services and counseling, in human resources, in sales/marketing, as managers and administrators, as teachers, as researchers, in public relations, in museums, as urban planners or resource managers, as preservationists, and in a broad range of jobs in the criminal justice system including lawyers, police officers, probation and parole, and victims advocacy.
