Outcomes

According to anonymous surveys of graduating seniors, our majors stand out from most students in their:

  • understanding of ethical problems
  • respect for all people, regardless of background
  • involvement in social and political issues
  • spirituality (not necessarily religiousness)
  • expectations for the faculty being met at a high level
  • experience with faculty discussing important ideas outside of class
  • expectations for sense of community being met at a high level
  • high rate of studying abroad
  • having often worked harder than they thought they could
  • rating of the quality of relationships with faculty in the Department
  • rating of the quality of discussions of ideas outside of class
  • positive orientation towards the following:
    a. helping others in difficulty
    b. developing a meaningful philosophy of life
    c. keeping up to date with politics
    d. volunteering and doing community service
    e. influencing social values

Every year about 25,000 students in the U.S. graduate with a major in sociology, and another 7,900 in anthropology. Students are attracted to this major because it provides a new understanding about social and cultural forces and individual relationships, and opportunities to discover ways to change society. In anthropology, there is also the added fascination of learning about cultural differences.

National surveys of sociology majors found that two years after graduation, about 60% of class of 2005 were working full time; 13% were in grad school full time; 22% were in both graduate school and working; and 5% were doing neither. Of those who were working, the largest single employment category was in the social services and counseling. Next in line were graduates involved in administrative and managerial support in either the profit or non-profit sector. Sixteen percent were working in marketing, social science research, or sales. Fewer than half of the sample wrote that their present jobs were “closely related” to their majors. This is not surprising since the primary focus of our department is an emphasis on learning in the liberal arts tradition.

Graduates of our department are probably more heavily involved in the non-profit sector than are the average college graduate. This is partly due to the emphasis which the College and Department put on service and our obligation to address human needs.

Other things that our graduates are doing include:

  • Americorps Vista (working with refugees, immigrants)
  • Teaching English to homeless Mexican children in San Diego
  • Study Abroad counselor at a Boston college
  • Teaching social studies in elementary, middle or high school
  • Case worker, administrator in American Refugee Resettlement Programs
  • Teaching English as a second language in many countries in the world
  • Human rights advocacy programs (Amnesty International) in the U.S. and abroad
  • Any number of social services and non-profits in the U.S. (homelessness, runaway youth, mental health services, AIDS/HIV education and case worker, elderly, immigrant services)
  • Social service work around peace and justice issues (Peace and Justice Center in Burlington, Vermont)
  • Working for Cultural Survival (non-profit that helps support the cultures of indigenous people all over the world)
  • Peace Corps
  • Overseeing a secondary school for war orphan girls in South Sudan