# Undergraduate ## expand\_more ## What is Sociology? Sociology is the scientific study of human relationships, groups, and institutions. It is the study of social life at every level: from the rise and fall of nations and civilizations to two-person relationships such as those between two friends, romantic partners, or even two strangers on the street. Sociologists examine how cultural and social structures come to shape and are shaped by human action and consciousness. Sociology is highly interdisciplinary, drawing insights and methods from statistics, history, anthropology, economics, political science, medicine, physics, and computer science. ## Preparing Students for a Variety of Careers It should come as no surprise that our concentrators find themselves well-prepared for a wide variety of “real world” occupations. Sociology is excellent training for careers in law and public administration, medicine and public health, advertising and marketing, politics and public policy, business, banking, and consulting, to name just a few. ## Mastering Multiple Modes of Inquiry Our undergraduate program is also unique in its emphasis on mastering multiple modes of inquiry. Students get training in quantitative analysis, ethnography and in-depth interviewing, and comparative-historical analysis. The concentration also offers courses in a wide array of substantive topics, allowing students to create a customized curriculum suited to their particular interests. Some concentrators choose to focus their studies around a single topic—race and ethnicity, for example, or culture and the arts—while others prefer to sample a broad mix of topics. A quick look at our course offerings will show the large number of subjects and perspectives covered in our department. Our faculty includes among it the world’s foremost experts in areas such as poverty, immigration, race and ethnicity, corporate management, crime, politics, intellectual and social history, work, gender, and culture. We host scholars with area expertise in many, if not most, of the major regions of the world. Sociology crosses with many of our sister disciplines, but it is unusual in its concern with the interrelation of social forces studied in isolation elsewhere. Economics and politics are common concerns of sociologists, for example; the difference is that we tend to approach these issues as part of a complex whole rather than independent features of humanity—Sociology is concerned foremost with social interactions. Sociology’s breadth seems particularly valuable in our increasingly global, inter-dependent world. ## Sociology 1000: Introduction to Sociology Interested in learning more? Check out Sociology 1000: Introduction to Sociology! In Spring 2025 the course will be co-taught by professors Jocelyn Viterna and Christina Ciocca Eller. Below is a video overview of the course. ## Undergraduate Office **650 William James Hall** **617-495-3713** **Director of Undergraduate Studies** [Mary C. Waters](https://sociology.fas.harvard.edu/people/mary-c-waters) **Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies** [Emily Fairchild](mailto:///efairchild@fas.harvard.edu) **Undergraduate Advising and Program Administrator** [Rebecca Russell](mailto:///rrussell@fas.harvard.edu) ## Undergraduate News [### 2026 Sociology Undergraduate Thesis Prizes and Academic Awards ](/news/2026/05/2026-sociology-undergraduate-thesis-prizes-and-academic-awards) May 26, 2026 The department would like to congratulate the following students for their outstanding thesis work and academic achievements during the 2026 academic year: Fulton Prize Each year the Albert M. Fulton, Class of 1897, Prize is presented to the senior who... description [### 2025 Sociology Undergraduate Thesis Prizes ](/news/2025/05/2025-sociology-undergraduate-thesis-prizes) May 23, 2025 The department would like to congratulate three students for their outstanding thesis work. Fulton Prize Each year the Albert M. Fulton, Class of 1897, Prize is presented to the senior who submits the best thesis ". . .judged by its contents," research... description [### Six Class of 2024 students receive prestigious Hoopes Prize ](/news/six-class-2024-students-receive-prestigious-hoopes-prize) May 02, 2024 The department would like to congratulate six graduating seniors who received the 2024 Thomas Temple Hoopes Prize. The Hoopes Prize is awarded to undergraduates on the basis of outstanding scholarly work or research, usually in the form of a senior thesis... ![Hoopes Prize Winner Samantha Maroshick](/sites/g/files/omnuum1481/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2024-07/Spotify%20Picture_Samantha%20Maroshick.jpg?h=f547e6a9&itok=wdE4SSPT) [### Zoree Jones, Class of '24, named member of the Phi Beta Kappa Senior 48 ](/news/zoree-jones-class-24-named-member-phi-beta-kappa-senior-48) December 01, 2023 The Department of Sociology congratulates Zoree Jones on being inducted into the Alpha Iota Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest academic honor society. Zoree is part of the 'Senior 48' from the Class of 2024. Zoree S. Jones, ‘24, is a double... ![Zoree Jones Headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum1481/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/sociology/files/zoree_jones_headshot_2_12.1_cropped.jpg?itok=ProQr1ZL) [ More arrow\_circle\_right ](/news)