Sociology Department

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Degree Programs

Sociology (SOC) is the study of how society organizes itself and how various groups interact with each other and the consequences of these processes. Sociology's subject matter includes marriage and family patterns, race and ethnic relations, demography, social change, class structure, formal organizations including bureaucracies, value systems, conflict, deviant behavior and the people and institutions of other societies such as China, the Philippines, Korea, or Japan.

Sociology uses a range of research techniques for studying social phenomena which can be applied to many areas, whether one is interested in the incidence of crime, client satisfaction, policy evaluations or demographic trends. In addition to preparing people as professional sociologists in academic settings, sociology is an excellent background for careers in law, social work, public health, urban planning, public administration, and other fields. The graduate program provides students with a foundation in basic theory and methods of research. In addition, faculty and advanced graduate students are involved in several broad areas of sociological interest: the comparative sociology of Asia; population studies; the study of crime, law, deviance, and human services in the United States; aging and medical sociology; and race and ethnic relations.

For a brief summary of the Department of Sociology degree offerings, you may check the UH Manoa catalog academic unit pages. You can also consult the Department of Sociology undergraduate and graduate program pages.