Concentration Requirements

The A.B. degree in Sociology requires satisfactory completion of 12 courses. Information on courses you have that count towards your degree may be found on your Advising Report.

Sociology Concentration - Suggested Course Sequence

Five Concentrations Requirements


Note: The five concentration requirements must be taken for letter grade.

  1. Introductory Series (Sociology 1000, or SOCIOL 1001-1089 by petition). Usually taken freshmen or sophomore year.
  2. Tutorial in Social Theory (Sociology 97). An intensive introduction to classical and contemporary Sociological theory. Ordinarily taken sophomore year.
  3. Models of Social Science Research (Sociology 1128). A lecture/discussion course on the logic and reasoning of sociological thinking. Ordinarily taken spring of sophomore year. Offered Spring term only.
  4. Quantitative Methods (Sociology 1156 or STAT 100, 102, 104, 139 by petition). Ordinarily taken sophomore or junior year.
  5. Junior Tutorial (Sociology 98). Small research seminars offered by members of the department. Topics vary from year to year and all tutorials are assigned by lottery; efforts are made to place students in the tutorial of their choice. Ordinarily taken junior year.

 

Five Sociology Electives

All courses with the prefix SOCIOL count towards elective credit. Students can choose from a wide array of topics and courses to fulfill their elective requirements. Some students choose to focus their course work around a particular area of study.

 

Two Courses In a Related Field Or In Sociology

Courses count for related field if they have a course number in these departments: African and African American Studies; Anthropology; East Asian Studies (EASTD prefix only); Economics; Government; History; History of Science; Psychology; Social Studies; Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality.

Courses with a GHHP or EMR prefix will count for related field credit. Courses offered through these secondary fields that do not have the GHHP or EMR prefix will NOT count for related field credit.

We will accept up to two related field courses for concentration credit. Sociology courses can also be used for related field. Courses that are cross-listed with Sociology may count for Sociology elective credit or related field credit. You may double count one course for both primary and secondary field credit.

 

Grading, SAT/UNSAT, Pass/Fail, and Honors
 

  • Students must receive passing grades for concentration credit.
  • Students may take up to two of the Sociology Electives or Related Field Courses as Pass/Fail or SAT/UNSAT. This includes concentration credit issued for study abroad. Sociology 99A/B (Senior Thesis Seminars) are always graded SAT/UNSAT and do not count towards this limit.
  • Students wishing to graduate with Honors in Sociology must take SOCIOL 99A and SOCIOL 99B and write a thesis. More information about writing a thesis and receiving honors is available here.

 

Gen Ed and Divisional Distributions

For questions regarding Gen Ed requirements, please email gened_questions@fas.harvard.edu. For questions regarding Divisional Distributions, please email divdist@fas.harvard.edu.