COA 09-11 Catalog - Peralta Colleges

182social and behavioralsciencesSee listing for Liberal Arts with Emphasis in Social andBehavioral Sciences.SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES - SOCIOLOGYSOCIOLOGY(SOC)What is Sociology? It is the study of social life, socialchange, and the social causes and consequences of humanbehavior using the methods of social science. Sociologistsinvestigate the structure of groups, organizations, andsocieties, and how people interact within these contexts.The subject ranges from the family to organized crimeto religious cults; from the divisions of race, gender andsocial class to the shared beliefs of a common culture;and from the sociology of work to the sociology of theenvironment.Why study Sociology at College of Alameda? Thesociology program at COA provides marketable socialscience job skills, and prepares sociology majors totransfer to universities and four-year colleges. Studentsget marketable social science skills by:• learning how to conduct ethnographic interviewresearch on individuals and small groups;• doing service-learning projects with local policedepartments or nonprofit organizations; and• learning how to do written social science research ona problem that provides reliable data to back up one’sreport.What you can do with Sociology? The study of Sociologyassists students to critically and scientifically examinesocial forces that shape our personalities, institutions,culture, and the various social problems that emergefrom our social order. This training is ideal for studentsinterested in careers in: marketing, social work, business,criminology, government, law, law enforcement, andwith various nonprofit organizations that help peoplewith social problems. Sociology majors can shorten theirtime at the university by taking one or more sociologycourses before transfer.The AA degree in Sociology will be awarded uponsatisfactory completion of the major course requirementslisted below and the General Education requirementsfor the Associate in Arts Degree listed in the Degrees andPrograms section of this Catalog.Degree Major Requirements:Dept/No. Title UnitsSOC 1 Introduction to Sociology 3SOC 2 Social Problems 3Select one course (3 units) from the following:SOC 3 Sociology of Women (3)SOC 5 Minority Groups (3) 3Select three courses (9-10 units) from the following:ANTHR 3Introduction to Social and CulturalAnthropology (3)MATH 13 Introduction to Statistics (4)PSYCH 1A Introduction to General Psychology (3)PSYCH 1B Introduction to General Psychology (3)