Undergraduate Programs

What is Sociology?

Sociology is the study of how groups and individuals interact in producing social systems. Sociologists study the norms, values, identities, power structures and institutions through which societies are organized. Sociologists have long been particularly concerned with the gap between the ideal of legal equality and the reality of social inequality.

Sociology at Brown

The Department of Sociology supports several undergraduate concentrations, tracks and certificates:

The Department of Sociology offers a comprehensive set of introductory and advanced courses through which students can acquire a range of research and theoretical skills. The department also offers a range of courses in 6 areas (pillars) where we have significant strengths: Globalization and Development; Race, Class, Gender and Inequality; Urban Sociology; Sociology of the Environment; Organizations and Economic Sociology; Population, Health and Family. (Pillars and courses can be found here.)

If you're interested in sociology, connect online with one of our undergraduate concentration advisors.

Life after Brown

Sociology prepares students for a variety of lives after graduation, including conventional careers from market research to social advocacy, and from journalism to program administration in government and civil society. It also prepares people for opportunities in the new economy, including those that address how people engage the environment and use information technology. Our graduates also continue their formal education in a variety of post-graduate areas, including law, social work, health sciences, and sociology.

  • Here's what some concentrators from the classes of 2012-2016 reported they were doing in their first year after graduation:
    • Employment
      • Co-Founder & Operations Manager, Uplift - Online Communities Against Sexual Violence
      • Alumni Coordinator, College Match
      • Digital Production Associate, Trilogy Interactive
      • Legal Assistant, Immigration Center for Women & Children
      • Sales & Analytics, Bloomberg LP
      • Account Executive, DigitasLBI
      • CEO, Co-Founder, Logim Solutions S.L.
      • Field Manager, The Fund for the Public Interest
      • Investments - Sales Coordinator, Hartford Funds
      • Junior Associate, Arkwright Consulting
      • Marketing Analyst, AthenaHealth
      • Research Associate, Abt Associates
      • Business Analyst, Deloitte Consulting LLP
      • Marketing Associate, DigitasLBi
      • Research Intern, Maternova Research
      • Impact Assessment and Impact Strategy, Teach for Bulgaria
    • Graduate School
      • Brown University, MAT, Education
      • Columbia University, PhD, Sociology
      • Columbia University Teachers College, Applied Physiology
      • Columbia University, MA, Sociology
      • University of Pennsylvania, PhD, Sociology
      • Warren Alpert Medical School, MD
      • University of California, Los Angeles Law School, JD
      • University of Kentucky Law School, JD
      • New York University Law School, JD