Santa Clara University

Sociology at SCU

Sociologists study social organization (structure) and shared meaning (culture) in human groups. We most often study the United States, but we do our work all over the world. Besides the United States, Sociology faculty at Santa Clara have lived and worked in Latin America, Asia, and Europe. At its conceptual heart, sociology studies the way in which patterns of shared meanings and systems of social organization are created, maintained, and transformed over time, and the consequences which result from those particular patterns of shared meaning and systems of social organization.

Mission Statement

The Sociology program at Santa Clara University is rooted in the tradition of cultivating a sociological imagination that emphasizes critical analyses of the relationships between individual actions and social structures. The major provides our students with rigorous theoretical and methodological training. Our program emphasizes the need to apply sociological analyses to understand our everyday lives in ways that embody the Jesuit commitment to building a community of scholars who are concerned with ethical and social justice issues in a diverse society.

• Major
• Minor
• Student Handbook