Sociology (GC)

Catalog Year 2025-2026

The Sociology Graduate Certificate program provides opportunities to apply sociological perspectives and research to real-world issues. It serves students who want to extend their study of sociology to the graduate level, and it is designed specifically for high school teachers and community college instructors who need graduate-level coursework in sociology to expand their knowledge of the discipline and/or to gain Higher Learning Commission (HLC) faculty qualifications for accreditation.

Program Requirements

Common Core

A survey and analysis of major scientific approaches to human social behavior.

Prerequisites:
none

An overview of sociological theory that spans the classical and contemporary traditions within the discipline and focuses on current theoretical issues and controversies within the field.

Prerequisites:
none

This course is an analysis of the meaning, social construction and significance of race, class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and other boundaries within the pluralistic culture of the United States and in a global world. The course unpacks the mechanisms by which inequalities are maintained in organizations of education, politics, labor market, criminal justice system, sports, neighborhood boundaries, marriage and family, migration, nation, and citizenship. The course explores the matrix of domination and structural dimensions of life by considering sociological critiques of social institutional analyses.

Prerequisites:
none

Unrestricted Electives

Any 9 SOC credits at the 500 or 600 level

Policies

Admission to the program requires a grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all undergraduate work and eighteen semester hours of social and behavioral sciences courses.

Degree
Certificate

Major Credits
18

Total Credits
18

Locations
Mankato; Online

Career Cluster
Human Services