Summer 2026
Why do social problems persist, and what can we do about them? This course teaches you to think like a sociologist—to dig beneath surface explanations and understand the structural causes of inequality, crime, environmental degradation, and other pressing issues.
You'll learn the research methods and analytical tools that sociologists use to study social problems, with special emphasis on interpreting statistics, evaluating evidence, and assessing competing claims. Whether you're reading news coverage, listening to political arguments, or encountering statistics online, you'll know how to ask critical questions and identify what's actually supported by data. Open to Main Campus students only.
Satisfies General Education: EP-Social Scientist
Health isn’t just individual—it’s social. Learn how systems, structures, and lived experiences influence who stays healthy and why. This course introduces key sociological perspectives on health, exploring how inequality shapes access to care, risk, and outcomes. Students will gain a deeper understanding of how social forces impact health across different communities.
Satisfies General Education: EP-Building Connections
Masculinity is something we all encounter, but its meaning shifts across cultures, communities, and everyday interactions. This course explores masculinity through a sociological lens, examining how expectations around gender shape behavior, identity, and social life. Through critical readings and discussion, you’ll learn how masculinity connects to power, inequality, and broader social structures. Great for students interested in gender, social justice, or understanding how identities are formed and experienced. Open to Main Campus students only.
Satisfies General Education: EP-Social Scientist
Fall 2026
Everyone grows older—but not in the same way. SOC/CHS 215: Sociology of Aging and Health takes a fresh look at how our health, families, and social systems shape the way we age. From ageism in pop culture to questions about caregiving and dying well, this course digs into the big questions we don’t always stop to ask.
Explore the impact of popular culture on the way we understand ourselves and society. This course examines the production and consumption of pop culture, its role in shaping social identities, and its influence on race, class, gender, and national belonging. Students will engage with cultural theory and apply it to real-world media and trends.
CHS 476 is an in-depth introduction to the quantitative analysis of health data with a focus on understanding health disparities. Students learn how to apply the scientific method to explore real-world patterns in health outcomes, from chronic disease to access to care. The course covers the logic of social research, literature review, research design, measurement, sampling, and survey methods, then moves into hands-on analysis of health data—including data processing, descriptive statistics, and interpreting statistical results.
Beyond technical skills, students critically examine how social determinants like race, socioeconomic status, environment, and policy shape health inequities. By the end of the course, students will not only be able to analyze and interpret data, but also connect their findings to broader public health questions and potential interventions. This combination of research skills and real-world application prepares students for careers in public health, healthcare, social policy, and research.
