The University of New Mexico

Undergraduate Program

College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Sociology Undergraduate Admission Requirements

A minimum of 26 credit hours; 23 credit hours must be in courses acceptable toward graduation.

A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 on all work.

  • Transfer students must have a 2.00 transfer GPA.
  • Continuing UNM students must have a 2.0 institutional GPA.

Demonstrated academic achievement by satisfying the following:

  • Completion of the University Writing and Speaking Core.
  • Completion of the University Mathematics Core.
  • Completion of the University Foreign Language Core.

Completion of Department of Sociology major admission course work with grades of "C" or better:

  • Criminology: SOC 101 and (205 or 213).
  • Sociology: SOC 101 and one SOC course at any level.

Major Study Requirements

Because double-majors are intended to substantially broaden students' education, students may not double major in Criminology and Sociology.

Major in Criminology

In order to be admitted to the Criminology major, students must complete SOC 101 and (205 or 213).

The Sociology Department offers a specialized program in Criminology, designed to give students a comprehensive introduction to the field. Courses focus on the characteristics and causes of crime and deviance and on the origins, nature and consequences of societal reactions to crime and deviance, giving particular attention to the criminal justice system. Basic instruction is also given in sociological theory and research methods.

A cumulative grade point average of 2.25 or better in all courses completed is required for regular admission to the Criminology major.

The program is particularly appropriate for students wishing to pursue one of the following career options:

  • graduate work in the social sciences with a special emphasis on criminology or criminal justice
  • a career in criminal justice (e.g., law enforcement, corrections, crime prevention), especially in agencies or departments involved in planning and evaluation
  • a career in law, social work or counseling

Students must complete 34 credit hours of course work in criminology–28 credit hours core and 6 credit hours of pertinent electives as advised.

Core courses: 101; 205; 213; 312; 371; 380; 381L; two of 412, 414, 416, 423, 424, 425, and 426. Generally, students should follow core courses in sequence, beginning with 100-level requirements, proceeding to 200-level requirements, and so on.

Electives: Students must choose 6 credit hours (two courses) from the approved list available from the Department of Sociology, or any upper-division Sociology course. Students may not count the same course as both a core course and an elective. Some upper-division electives require other courses as prerequisites.

Major in Sociology

The Sociology major requires 34 credit hours of course work, including the following 13 credit hours of required courses: 101, 380, 371, 381L. Students must choose 12 credit hours (4 courses) from the list of upper-division elective courses, available from the department, and select 9 credit hours (3 courses) drawn from all Sociology courses not specifically required.

The student may select from a number of designated courses that provide a concentration in one of the following subfields of sociology:

  1. Pre-Law. Provides background for careers or further training in police, correctional or legal institutions.
  2. Human Services and Social Policy. Appropriate for future work in public and private agencies, as preparation for law school or for graduate study in social work, public administration and business administration.

Concentration in Pre-Law

The concentration in Pre-Law is designed for students interested in law school or other careers in the legal field, and highlights those aspects of law that overlap with crime and criminal justice. The concentration provides students with an introduction to the causes of crime and deviance as well as social and institutional responses to this behavior. Students can choose from courses focusing on the personal and social forces that give rise to crime, as well as courses that examine the role of the legal and criminal justice systems in dealing with criminals and reducing crime rates. To complete this concentration, students must complete 12 credit hours from the following list (Note: 9 of these credit hours must be selected from the 300/400-level courses listed below.): 

SOC 205 Crime, Public Policy and the Criminal Justice System
SOC 211 Social Problems
SOC 213 Deviance
SOC 312 Causes of Crime and Delinquency
SOC 412 Sociology of Police and Social Control
SOC 414 Sociology of Corrections
SOC 416 Sociology of Law
SOC 423 Gender and Crime
SOC 424 Race, Class, and Crime
SOC 425 From Youthful Misbehavior to Adult Crime
SOC 426 Drugs, Crime, and Social Control
SOC 488 Field Observation and Experience
SOC 491 Directed Study in Criminology


Concentration in Human Services and Social Policy

The concentration in Human Services and Social Policy is designed for students interested in pursuing a graduate degree or a career in human services, social work, social policy, health care, mental health, or education (K-12 and post-secondary). The concentration aims to provide broad thematic coverage of these fields by drawing upon elective courses that address topics critical to understanding the context within which welfare, health, mental health, and educational institutions operate, including social problems, race/ethnic relations, and socio-economic inequality. Students must complete 12 credit hours from the courses listed below. (Note: 9 of these credit hours must be selected from the 300/400-level courses listed below.)

SOC 211 Social Problems
SOC 216 Dynamics of Difference, Power and Discrimination
SOC 300 Social Welfare: Programs and Policies
SOC 308 Sociology of Gender
SOC 310 Sociology of Aging and the Aged
SOC 325 Couples, Family and Friendship
SOC 340 Sociology of Medical Practice
SOC 345 Youth and Society
SOC 415 Inequality and Power
SOC 420 Race and Inequality
SOC 421 Sociology of Education
SOC *427 Sociology of Madness
SOC 441 Complex Organizations
SOC 488 Field Observance and Experience
SOC 490 Directed Study (limited to topics approved for the concentration)


Further details are available on each concentration from the Department of Sociology and undergraduate advisors in the Department.

The Department accepts the grade of "C" in required and elective Sociology courses as counting toward graduation but requires that the student achieve a minimum grade point average of 2.00 in the Sociology major or minor and a 2.00 overall grade point average. A cumulative grade point average of 2.25 or better in all courses completed is required for regular admission to the Sociology major.

Minor Study Requirements

Because minors are intended to broaden students' education, multiple degree components within the Department of Sociology are not permitted. Students may not major in Criminology and minor in Sociology, or vice versa.

Minor in Criminology

The Criminology minor requires a total of 21 credit hours (seven courses). The core courses are 101; one of 205, 213, 312; and two of 412, 414, 416, 419, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427 (two of these are required, but additional courses from the set may be used as electives). The 21 credit hours must also include 6 credit hours from the approved list available from the Department of Sociology, or any upper-division Sociology course. Students may not count the same course as both a core criminology course and an elective.

Minor in Sociology

The Sociology minor requires a total of 21 credit hours (seven courses). The core courses are 101, 380 and 371. The 12 elective credit hours (four courses) are drawn from all sociology courses not specifically required above but must include at least 6 credit hours (two courses) from the upper-division elective courses, available from the department.

Departmental Honors

Superior sophomore or junior students majoring in Criminology or Sociology with a GPA of 3.5 in the major and 3.25 overall are invited to apply for admission to the department's six-credit Undergraduate Honors Thesis Program, beginning in their junior year. Students participating in this program are eligible to graduate with departmental honors if recommended by the faculty on the basis of outstanding performance. Honors students are required to take SOC 399 (Advanced Workshop in Sociology) in the Spring term to be followed by SOC 499 (Senior Honors Thesis) in a subsequent semester. See the Department's Honors Coordinator for specific requirements.

Courses

SOC 101. Introduction to Sociology. (3)


SOC 205. Crime, Public Policy and the Criminal Justice System. (3)


SOC 211. Social Problems. (3)


SOC 213. Deviance. (3)


SOC 216. Dynamics of Difference, Power and Discrimination. (3)


SOC 221. Documenting Globalization and Human Rights. (3)


SOC 230. Society and Personality. (3)


SOC 300. Social Welfare: Policies and Programs. (3)


SOC 305. Environmental Sociology. (3)


SOC 307. Nonviolent Alternatives. (3)


SOC 308. Sociology of Gender. (3)


SOC 310. Sociology of Aging and the Aged. (3)


SOC 312. Causes of Crime and Delinquency. (3)


SOC 325. Couples, Family and Friendship. (3)


SOC 326. Sociology of New Mexico. (3)


SOC 328. Sociology of Native Americans. (3)


SOC 331. Social Movements. (3)


SOC 340. Sociology of Medical Practice. (3)


SOC 345. Youth and Society. (3)


SOC 346. Health and Social Inequalities I. (3)


SOC 347. Health and Social Inequalities II. (3)


SOC 351. The Urban Community. (3)


SOC 354. Introduction to Latin American Society I: Social Sciences. (3)


SOC 371. Sociological Theory. (3)


SOC 380. Introduction to Research Methods. (3)


SOC 381L. Sociological Data Analysis. (4)


SOC 398. Special Topics in Sociology. (3, no limit Δ)


SOC 399. Advanced Undergraduate Workshop in Sociology. (3)


SOC 412. Sociology of Police and Social Control. (3)


SOC 414. Sociology of Corrections. (3)


SOC 415. Inequality and Power. (3)


SOC 416. Sociology of Law. (3)


SOC 418. Selected Topics in Criminology. (3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)


SOC 419. Social Networks and Crime. (3)


SOC 420. Race and Inequality. (3)


SOC 421. Sociology of Education. (3)


SOC 422. Sociology of Religion. (3)


SOC 423. Gender and Crime. (3)


SOC 424. Race, Class and Crime. (3)


SOC 425. From Youthful Misbehavior to Adult Crime. (3)


SOC 426. Drugs, Crime and Social Control. (3)


SOC *427. Sociology of Madness. (3)


SOC 428. Sociology of Mexican Americans. (3)


SOC *430. Intersectionality: Race, Gender, Class for Social Policy. (3)


SOC 441. Complex Organizations. (3)


SOC 452. Community Organizing and the Struggle for Justice in America. (3)


SOC 461. Visualizing Global Change. (3)


SOC *478. Seminar in International Studies. (3)


SOC 481. Data Analysis. (3)


SOC 488. Field Observation and Experience. (3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)


SOC 490. Directed Study. (1-3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)


SOC 491. Directed Study in Criminology. (1-3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)


SOC 499. Senior Honors Thesis. (3)


SOC 500. Classical Sociological Theory. (3)


SOC 501. Knowledge and Power. (3)


SOC 506. Globalization and Transnational Sociology. (3)


SOC 507. Topics in Sociological Theory. (3, no limit Δ)


SOC 510. Social and Political Movements. (3)


SOC 511. Documenting Globalization, Human Rights and Social Change. (3)


SOC 512. International Political Sociology. (3)


SOC 513. Constructing and Analyzing Contemporary Sociological Theory. (3)


SOC 515. Criminological Theory. (3)


SOC 518. Special Topics in Criminology. (3)


SOC 520. Racial and Ethnic Relations. (3)


SOC 521. Sociology of Education. (3)


SOC 523. Proseminar. (1)


SOC 528. Sociology of Mexican Americans. (3)


SOC 531. Sociology Teaching Seminar. (3)


SOC 540. Medical Sociology and Health Policy. (3)


SOC 551 - 552. Problems. (2-3, no limit Δ; 2-3, no limit Δ)


SOC 570. Sociological Research: Special Topics. (3, no limit Δ)


SOC 580. Methods of Social Research I. (3)


SOC 581. Advanced Social Statistics I. (3)


SOC 582. Advanced Social Statistics II. (3)


SOC 583. Special Topics in Advanced Social Statistics. (3, no limit Δ)


SOC 584. Interdisciplinary Seminar on Problems of Modernization in Latin America. (3, no limit Δ)


SOC 585. Sociological Fieldwork Methods: Ethnography, Interviews, Focus Groups. (3)


SOC 595. Special Topics in Sociology. (3, no limit Δ)


SOC 596. Professional Paper. (1-6, no limit Δ)


SOC 599. Master's Thesis. (1-6, no limit Δ)


SOC 699. Dissertation. (3-12, no limit Δ)


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