The mission of the Sociology Department is to educate students as to the effects of social institutions and social processes on self and on groups of people, to enhance students' knowledge through the acquisition of sociological perspectives and research methods, and to empower students to become active citizens throughout their life at the local, state, national, and international levels.
The educational goals of the Sociology Department's B.A. Program are based on a liberal education and the mission statements of San Jose State University and the College of the Social Sciences. There are six distinctive goals:
| Goal 1: | Students will be able to know the discipline and its role in understanding social reality. |
| Learning Objective 1: Will be able to recognize the interaction of social institutions and social structures with the behaviors of individuals and social groups. | |
| Goal 2: | Students will be able to understand the diversity of American society. |
| Learning Objective 2: Will be able to evaluate the impact of social class, gender, race/ethnicity/immigrant status, age, and sexual orientation on people's chances in life, their practices, and attitudes. | |
| Goal 3: | Students will be able to understand the role of theory in sociology. |
| Learning Objective 3: Will be able to analyze, explain (orally and in writing), and apply key sociological theories, concepts and terms to social issues. | |
| Goal 4: | Students will be able to understand the role of research methods in sociology. |
| Learning Objective 4: Will be able to conduct research using sociological methods to study social problems, and will be able to communicate findings to a wider audience. | |
| Goal 5: | Students will be able to obtain the skills in communication and critical social inquiry. |
| Learning Objective 5: Will be able to communicate sociological knowledge using oral, written, and other technologically driven mediums. | |
| Goal 6: | Students be able to gain an understanding of - and potential solutions to - current social issues and social problems. |
| Learning Objective 6: Will be able to know how to become critically engaged as part of their roles as citizens in a democratic society. |
The educational goals of the Sociology Department's M.A. Program are:
| Goal 1: | Graduate students will be able to have an appropriate foundation for theory and research methods. | |
| Learning Objective 1: Will be able to evaluate theoretical contributions through historical and contemporary issues such as race/ethnic relations, social political and economic inequalities, work and corrections. | ||
| | Learning Objective 2: Will be able to critically interpret and evaluate published research, and conduct research by formulating theory-driven research questions. | |
| Goal 2: | Graduate students will be able to develop the skills in communication and critical social inquiry. | |
| | Learning Objective 3: Will be able to communicate sociological knowledge using oral, written, and other technologically driven mediums. | |
| Goal 3: | Graduate students will be able to have a deep understanding and knowledge of the major field in sociology. | |
| | Learning Objective 4: Will be able to participate in meaningful and thoughtful dialogues and conversations as educated people. | |
| Goal 4: | Graduate students will be able to gain an understanding of - and potential solutions to - current social issues and social problems. | |
| | Learning Objective 5: Will be able to participate in a democratic society as critically engaged citizens. |
B.A. Schedule (doc) M.A. Schedule (doc)
B.A. assessment reports: fall 2007 (doc) f07 attachment (doc) spring 2007 BA & MA (doc)
M.A. assessment reports: fall 2007 (doc) f07 attachment(doc)
this page last updated 2/18/08
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