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 Course (Sociology 1000, or SOCIOL 1001-1089 by petition). Usually taken freshmen or sophomore year.
    • SOCIOL 1000: Introduction to Sociology introduces students to the intellectual insights and analytical tools of Sociology across the subfields of race, class, gender, politics, violence, culture, and inequality.
    • SOCIOL 1001-1089 are introductory level courses for students who want to focus on a specific topic or subfield in Sociology (e.g., SOCIOL 1023: Political Sociology, SOCIOL1024: Social Inequality, SOCIOL 1025: Management and Work, or SOCIOL1058: Sex, Gender, and Sexuality). If you would like to use one of these courses as your intro requirement, indicate so in your Plan of Study form when you declare.
  2. Sophomore 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. Students who plan to write a thesis must take SOCIOL 1128 in their sophomore spring.
  4. Quantitative Methods (Sociology 1156 or STAT 100, 102, 104, 139 by petition). Ordinarily taken sophomore or junior year.
    • SOCIOL 1156: Statistics for Social Science is the preferred course for concentrators and secondaries. It fulfills the QRD requirement.
    • In some cases, like for double concentrators, one of the other approved courses might be the best choice (STAT 100, 102, 104, and 139). If you would like to use one of these courses as your quantitative methods requirement, indicate so in your Plan of Study form when you declare.
  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 via a preference survey; efforts are made to place students in the tutorial of their choice. Ordinarily taken junior year. SOCIOL 1128: Models of Social Science Research is a prerequisite. Students who plan to write a thesis must take their junior tutorial during their 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, while others take courses covering a broad range of topics.

 

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 (Global Health and Health Policy) or EMR (Ethnicity, Migration, Rights) 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.

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.

 

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

  • Letter-graded courses must receive a passing grade of C- or higher in order to receive credit toward completion of the concentration (applies to those who declared their concentration in 2024 or later).
  • 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.