First of all, congratulations! We are excited that you will be joining us as a Sociology pre-major or major.

If you are a Freshman, you will primarily be given a block schedule with specific sections of sociology classes to enroll in. We believe this is a great way to meet your fellow majors and forge bonds that can last throughout and beyond your time at SDSU. You can fill in your remaining classes according to the degree map with general education requirements.

If you are a Junior:

1. Enroll in any requirements you may not have met before transferring (such as your foreign language requirement).
   
   
2. Next try to enroll in core sociology classes, particularly Sociology 301 (as you need to pass this class with a C or better before you can take 406, 407, or 408), if they are available. If you have a later registration date, there may be relatively few core classes left; please don’t worry, this will not put you behind!
   
   
3. Next try to enroll in upper division sociology electives (these are any 300, 400, or 500 level sociology classes that are not part of the core). As a major, you will need four upper division sociology electives to graduate.
   
   
4. If you still need additional classes, consider adding your upper division General Education Explorations. See the Graduation Requirements section of the catalog, starting on page 102. You will need a Natural Science, a Social Behavioral Science, and a Humanities GE class and at least one of those three should also be a Cultural Diversity course (noted with a star in the catalog). Keep in mind that you can double count sociology GE classes listed in the Social and Behavioral Science GE section as both GE and as a core/elective, so we recommend picking one of the sociology classes listed in the SBS section.
   
   
5. If you have exhausted these possibilities, you may also consider taking an additional class that interests you. This class may help you reach your required 120 units. This class could be any class that sounds interesting to you, or you could consider adding a minor or certificate and take a class that fulfills those requirements. You can review the catalog to see all of the available minors and certificates, but some of the more popular ones for Sociology majors are: Child and Family Development minor, Counseling and Social Change minor, Geography minor, Human Rights Certificate, LGBTQ+ minor, Public Law Certificate, Political Science minor, Psychology minor, Spanish minor, Sustainability minor, and the Women’s Studies minor. You would go to that department to request a minor or certificate add and receive advising on minor/certificate course taking.

If you are deciding to add a double major, keep in mind that the Department of Sociology is within the College of Arts and Letters, which has a foreign language requirement. To see how you may be able to fulfill it, please see the Graduation Requirements section (page 95) of the catalog.

CJ majors may double count lower division sociology classes for either the Sociology major or the minor, however upper division Sociology classes CANNOT double count. For the minor, you will need four upper division sociology classes unique from any sociology classes that count towards your CJ electives. For the major, you will need ten upper division sociology classes unique from any sociology classes that count towards your CJ electives.

Sociology classes that count as CJ electives will initially be counted towards your CJ major. If you prefer that a sociology class (or classes) count instead for Sociology, you would need to contact your CJ advisor and request a Request for Adjustment of Academic Requirement (“RAAR”) form to release the course to Sociology. Keep in mind that any sociology classes you move from CJ will need to be replaced with another CJ elective.

Your IS3D is authorized to sign off on any initial plan or changes to the plan, you do not need a signature from sociology.

For example: I took a similar course to a required sociology course in my previous major. Will it count?

Requests for readjusting your academic requirements can be determined on a case-by-case basis after speaking with Dr. Beck during an advising appointment. If approved, you will help fill out the appropriate form during your appointment. 

Please visit the Course Forgiveness page.

For additional advising on repeating specific sociology courses, please contact Dr. Beck.

Please visit Graduation FAQs page for the latest information on applying to graduate, university commencement ceremonies, diplomas, and other related information. The Academic Advising Center would be happy to advise you to ensure that you are on-track to graduate. Their phone number is (619) 594-6668. Please visit https://advising.sdsu.edu to view their phone hours and walk-in advising office hours. Additionally, Dr. Beck can advise you on Sociology-specific questions.

Information on the Sociology Department’s commencement ceremony will appear on the department website and announcements will be sent via email.