In Sociology, we look at the relationships between individuals and social institutions. How do things such as race, gender, level of education, socioeconomic status, and neighborhood influence people’s ability to make choices and shape their life outcomes? Maybe you’ve noticed patterns in who is tracked into advanced courses at your high school and who isn’t and wondered, “What’s going on there?” Or maybe you watch the news and see stories that make you ask yourself questions about how this phenomenon varies between urban and rural areas or by race. If so, you already think like a sociologist, or have what sociologist C. Wright Mills referred to as a “Sociological Imagination.”

Beloit’s sociology majors develop the analytical skills necessary to make connections between social institutions and individual lives. Your experience with sociology at Beloit will make you want to put your sociological skills to work. We see both the learning you do in the classroom and the learning you do outside of it as major parts of your sociological education. Whether it’s participating in an internship or the Duffy Community Partnerships Program, Studying off campus at another college or university around the world, or doing a long-term research project with a faculty member, Beloit sociologists put their education into practice!