The Sociology Department welcomes interested transfer students and we are committed to helping junior transfers complete the major in two years. Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to complete Introductory Sociology and Social Problems before transferring. Click here for a model 2-year plan that includes major-required courses and university general education requirements.
Why Come to SCU Sociology?
Here are six things our current transfer students have told us they love about our department.
- The student-faculty ratio at Santa Clara University is 11:1, and the school has 46.1 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. This means that many of your upper-division sociology classes will have less than 20 students in them. Any lower-division courses you take in the Sociology Department will be capped at 35 students.
- Job connections: The department puts a special emphasis on helping students find jobs after graduation. Every major in our department completes an internship to make real world connections and get experience in the local community. The department also runs workshops about how to market the skills you learn as a sociologist.
- Research with faculty: Are you interested in getting some hands-on experience with research? SCU is just the place for you. Our faculty regularly engage in research with students and mentor students on their own research interests.
- Students enjoy accessible professors who mentor their professional development.
- The department offers students the rare opportunity to publish in its journal The Silicon Valley Sociological Review and participate in its Annual Student Conference.
- The department supports the student’s educational experience with fellowships for internships, merit awards for graduating seniors, and membership in the AKD Honor Society.
Requirements and Advising
Before applying to transfer to Santa Clara, students who are interested in majoring in sociology are strongly encouraged to complete Principles of Sociology. This course is a prerequisite for several sociology courses and is offered online every summer and it serves as a prerequisite for three required sociology courses. Transfer students who are enrolling in the fall of the junior year and need Principles of Sociology should see the department chair. Incoming transfer students should contact the department as soon as possible to be assigned a department advisor. Advising will cover several topics, including selection of upper-division sociology courses.