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Home : Undergraduate Program/Major/Honors

Sociology Honors Program

Graduating With Honors

The University Honors Program (UHP), provides unique opportunities and encouragement to highly motivated liberal arts majors and offers a broad range of benefits:

• small classes & group discussions & seminars
• independent studies
• interdisciplinary team research
• internships and apprenticeships
• special events groups that attend Twin Cities cultural events
• career guidance & graduate school information
• counseling on procedures that can lead to honors scholarships
• registration for courses ordinarily restricted to graduate students
• representation in the Honors Senate

You may be admitted to the University Honors Program on the basis of academic ability (minimum 3.5 GPA). It is recommended that students have at least three semesters remaining before graduation when they enter the Honors Program, and the Department of Sociology requires Honors participation beginning early in the junior year. Students must achieve a GPA of at least 3.5 in their final 60 credits to graduate with honors.

Honors students will complete four Honors experiences each year. Students are expected to maintain satisfactory academic standards and progress toward graduation. Students who do not meet this expectation will be placed on "Honors Probation" for the following term while they continue to participate fully in UHP. Students who fail to meet Honors academic standards for a second term will leave the program. All Honors students need a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5 to pursue Latin Honors.

Honors "opportunities" include honors colloquia for freshmen/sophomores, junior/senior college honors seminars, honors courses/sections arranged by individual academic departments, research/instructional experiences certified to be of high quality by an instructor for which credit or sufficient recognition was not received, and registration for courses ordinarily restricted to graduate students. Study abroad may also qualify as an honors opportunity as long as it fits within the general guidelines established by the Honors Program. Check with an honors advisor for details.

Occasionally, the Department of Sociology holds meetings for its honors students to meet one another, share common concerns and intellectual interests, and become acquainted with faculty. Sociology's Honors Faculty Advisor consults with prospective and active honors majors (see advising).

An additional benefit of the UHP experience in Sociology is that all UHP students in the Proseminar sequence present at Sociology Research Institute (SRI).  Students will get more details in the Proseminar classes, but the SRI presentation gives students practical conference presentation experience that will be the foundation of future professional and academic presentations.  Students typically do a 15 minute or so presentation on what their Major Project (Summa, Magna, or Cum Lade) is about and invite family members and close friends.

You must complete one major option (general sociology or law, criminology & deviance) in one degree track (BA or BS), and a Senior Honors Thesis. At least two of your upper division sociology electives must be at the 4xxx level or above. Inquire in the Department of Sociology office about the seminar schedule by August of your senior year.

You will complete the thesis through a 2 semester sequence (Soc 4977V and 4978V) in your last year of study. The sequence is taught by a sociology faculty member. Other faculty participate as mentors, advisors and readers for individual theses. In this sequence, you will define, refine and research a suitable topic and research question and then write the honors thesis. Before the thesis is complete, you will have formed a three-faculty committee composed of two sociology faculty and one related department faculty. The final review of the honors thesis includes a face-to-face gathering of yourself and your committee for a discussion of the research process and your individual research. For more information, please consult the Sociology Honors Faculty Representative.

The level of honors granted upon graduation is determined by your grade point average in your last 60 credits and your level of achievement on the honors thesis, as judged by your faculty committee after your final oral presentation. A GPA of 3.5 in your last 60 credits will earn Cum laude honors. If your GPA is at least 3.66, you may receive Magna cum laude, and if your GPA in your last 60 credits is 3.75 or higher, you may graduate Summa cum laude. You must satisfy all honors requirements to receive Latin honors. These honors, as described above, appear on the diploma. For more information about graduating with honors, contact the Honors Program (see directory).

Honors Major Program Guide

All sociology Honors majors must satisfy all of the following:

Soc 1001: Introduction to Sociology OR Soc 1011V: Introduction to Sociology Honors (4 cr.)

Soc 3701: Social Theory (4 cr.)
Soc 3801: Social Research Methods (4 cr.)
Soc 3811: Basic Social Statistics (4 cr.)

Soc 3xxx/4xxx: Five (5) Upper Division Sociology Electives (15 cr. total) At least two of the five soc electives must be at the 4xxx level.

Honors Thesis (6cr.):
Soc 4977: Senior Honors Proseminar I (see prereqs. below)
Soc 4978: Senior Honors Proseminar II (Prereq. Soc 4977)
Oral Defense Committee

General sociology students may select their upper division sociology electives from any 3xxx and 4xxx level courses offered through the Department of Sociology, including the LCD courses. Two of their Sociology electives must be at least 4xxx level.

Law, Criminology & Deviance students must take a required introductory course (Soc 3101 or 3102) and at least 2 of their remaining electives from the LCD Electives Course List (Soc 41xx). One of the remaining soc electives must be non-LCD.

Prerequisites for the Honors Proseminars are Soc 1001 or 1011v, 3701, 3801, 3811, and 9 additional upper division credits in sociology. You must also be in good standing with the Honors Program (meaning you have met their participation and grade point requirements). The Senior Honors Proseminars each count as ONE honors activity (for a total of two honors opportunities in Sociology).

Proseminar Oral Defense:  All UHP students in the Proseminar Series will do an Oral Defense in the Spring term.  This gives all UHP Sociology students an opportunity to practice and present in a serious academic setting.  It also ensures that those students hoping to graduate Summa have completed all requirements needed, as some may earn high enough grades in Spring term classes to push their overall GPA above what is needed for Summa.