Sociology Major

Sociology studies at EMU are unique in several ways. Professors take an applied-learning approach. Students focus through the lens of the Anabaptist tradition of social justice. Courses emphasize the dynamic intersection of systematic research and reflective practice. Sociology graduates are critical thinkers with real-world experience and a solid ethics and care for others around them.

What is sociology to you?

The field of sociology provides a well-established platform for the study of how social relations, institutions, and communities shape and transform us. In a contemporary environment where humans are acknowledged as interdependent and embedded in social systems, this major invites students to actively engage with a vision for just communities – social structures that foster equitable distribution, inclusive representation and sustainable living.

Unique opportunities

EMU’s sociology program offers students the opportunity to generate scholarship and activism that addresses significant and complex social problems facing our world today.

• Sociology majors become part of a learning laboratory that is rigorous and vibrant*, which provides the opportunity to:
• study interculturally in Washington Community Scholars’ Center
• learn alongside graduate students at the world-renowned Center for Justice and Peacebuilding
• benefit from cross-discipline study, a hallmark of EMU academics
• do internships in academic, clinical, applied and public sociology roles

Sociology careers and outcomes

The sociology major creates a pathway for students to enter graduate education as well as future work opportunities in careers related to law, management, education, health, media, community development, religious ministry, environmental planning, public policy and other human service-related professions.

Innovative collaboration

As part of the sociology major at EMU, students will be involved in an innovative collaboration between Mennonite educational institutions, having the opportunity to take courses from faculty members at Bluffton University (Ohio) and Goshen College (Indiana). These courses will be offered in various distance education formats.