BA in Sociology

Sociology Program Overview

Our online Bachelor of Arts in Sociology program was designed for students who have a strong interest in social studies and social justice and who are concerned about inequality among diverse populations.

This program explores human interactions within group settings, the diversity of cultures and societies on an international scale, and factors that influence social behavior in various subgroups of society. In addition, it examines how social and political identities impact the way some subgroups are viewed or treated by society as a whole. You’ll review the leading theories on human interaction and hone critical thinking, communication, and research skills that can benefit you in many professional settings.

This convenient, fully online program enables you to complete coursework on your own schedule from any location. Once you successfully finish your studies, you’ll receive the same valued degree that’s awarded to all online and campus-based students from the program.

Alumni Outcomes 

Not many people understand the nuances of human behavior, but those who do hold a distinct advantage in today’s job market. For example, graduates of our online BA in sociology program, possessing foundational knowledge of culture, social structures, and social institutions, flourish in a wide variety of roles. Below are just a few of the recognizable and respected companies our alumni work for:  

  • AT&T
  • Honeywell
  • USAA
  • Aetna
  • National Children’s Advocacy Center
  • Accenture
  • RE/MAX
  • Exeter Finance

Potential Career Paths for BA in Sociology Graduates

A BA in sociology from The University of Texas Permian Basin can prove valuable in a variety of careers, including:

Required Core Courses

The Bachelor of Arts in Sociology online requires a minimum of 34 hours of sociology core courses. The following courses are required of all majors (16 hours). NOTE: SOCI3317, SOCI403, AND SOCI4399 need to be taken in this exact order.

Courses
Duration
Credits
SOCI 1301 - Introduction to Sociology
8 weeks
3
Students are introduced to the basic concepts and theories used to study the nature of social processes and the structure of society.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered: Fall A 2024 Fall B 2024
SOCI 3317 - Introductory Statistics
8 weeks
3
Measures of central tendency and dispersion, elementary probability theory, the binomial and chi-square distribution, tests of hypotheses, and parameter estimation and simple correlation and regression. Emphasis is on the application of statistical methods to research in the social sciences.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered: N/A
SOCI 3327 - Sociological Theory
8 weeks
3
This course involves the study of the development of sociological thought and perspectives through the examination of the ideas of classical and contemporary theorists. These may include Marx, Durkheim, Du Bois, Martineau, Parsons, Gramsci, or Lukacs among others. Substantive theories of social organization are examined.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered: N/A
SOCI 4399 - Senior Research Seminar
8 weeks
3
A scientific research study under the supervision of a member of the sociology faculty. The integration of theory and research is emphasized through basic or applied social research.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered: Fall B 2024
SOCI 4403 - Social Research Methods
8 weeks
4
The course provides a comprehensive overview of social science research methods, with emphasis given to the concepts used in the conduct of research, measurement strategies, and research designs. This course includes a one-semester credit hour lab that focuses on the steps undertaken in the completion of a research paper.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered: Fall A 2024
Elective Courses

For the 34 hours required in Sociology, the student must also complete 18 hours from the elective SOCI courses listed below. It is recommended that SOCI 3327 be completed as soon as possible. The maximum number of sociology credits allowed is 47. Credits beyond this maximum will not count toward the 120 credit hours necessary to graduate.

Courses
Duration
Credits
SOCI 3326 - Modern Europe
8 weeks
3
Europe from the French Revolution to the present. Emphasis on social and political trends. This course is cross-listed with HIST 3326.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered:
SOCI 3347 - Sociology of Work
8 weeks
3
Analyzes dramatic changes occurring in the work lives of Americans and considers the future of American workers within the global economy. Explores emerging labor markets and technology in shaping contemporary American work settings.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered: N/A
SOCI 3351 - Music in Society
8 weeks
3
Music in Society is a multicultural course that explores local, national, and global perspectives on the importance of music in performance art and culture, religion and spirituality, health and healing, politics, and the economy. Students will explore how music and society are transformed by the beliefs, norms, values, and ideas from music in history and music today.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered: Fall B 2024
SOCI 3389 - Multilisting Course
8 weeks
3
Undergraduate courses which will be offered only once, will be offered infrequently, or which are being developed before a regular listing in the catalog. This course is available when there is a student need for it.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered:
SOCI 3391 - Contract Study
8 weeks
3
Students who are pursuing independent study or research as described in the contract study format. This course is available when there is a student need for it.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered:
SOCI 4305 - Drugs and Behavior
8 weeks
3
Pharmacologic basis of psychotropic drugs and their associated abuses are explored. Theories of cause and treatment of abusers are reviewed. This course is cross-listed with PSYC 4305 and CCJO4372.
Prerequisites: SOCI 1301 - Introduction to Sociology
Semesters Offered:
SOCI 4316 - Energy and Society
8 weeks
3
This course will consider the social consequences of the economic and environmental impact of energy choices in the U.S. and globally and how they shape societal norms and values. It will develop a critical understanding of the social attitudes, norms, values, and behaviors toward energy consumption.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered: N/A
SOCI 4317 - Women's Studies
8 weeks
3
This course introduces students to the range of ways in which societies are organized according to gender. It critically examines and analyzes the complex and multiple questions related to women’s lives taking into consideration social, economic, political, psychological, and historical realities. To be able to achieve a holistic analysis, men’s experiences are fully integrated in the exploration of issues
Prerequisites: SOCI 1301 - Introduction to Sociology
Semesters Offered: Fall A 2024
SOCI 4320 - Social Stratification
8 weeks
3
Focuses on theories of social inequality as applied to the exercise of power and large-scale social control. Issues of class, race and gender, and other inequalities are considered in the U.S. and globally.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered: N/A
SOCI 4324 - Political Sociology
8 weeks
3
Relationship between political and social structures with emphasis on the concepts of power, ideology, elites, class, and politics.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered: N/A
SOCI 4351 - Contemporary Social Problems
8 weeks
3
Applying sociological approaches to major contemporary social problems and their causes and their consequences. Topics may include ISIS, Syrian Refugees, Bass Regime, terrorist organizations, world population and global inequality, threats to the environment, demographic changes in the United States, including the health care system and national security in the 21st. century.
Prerequisites: SOCI 1301 - Introduction to Sociology
Semesters Offered: Fall B 2024
SOCI 4352 - Culture and Society
8 weeks
3
In this course, we will build a deep understanding about cultural variation, answering the following questions: what is the meaning of culture? How is it defined? Is it static? Is it real? To what extent do cultures undergo changes?
Prerequisites: SOCI 1301 - Introduction to Sociology
Semesters Offered: N/A
SOCI 4353 - Art in Community
8 weeks
3
This course is a multidisciplinary analysis of art from a sociological perspective. Cultural identity and understanding will be studied through analysis of art in community, architecture, performance art, visual art, and contemporary art.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered:
SOCI 4362 - Sociology of Health and Illness
8 weeks
3
Social and cultural factors associated with the definition, occurrence, and experience of health and illness. An examination of the social determinants that affect the etiology and distribution of illness and the social organization of the medical profession and the hospital.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered: N/A
SOCI 4370 - Family Dysfunction and Substance Abuse
8 weeks
3
The role of substance abuse in family violence, child rearing, and marital discord. Various ways of intervening to moderate the effects of substance abuse in families will be discussed.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered: Fall B 2024
SOCI 4389 - Selected Topics
8 weeks
3
Undergraduate courses which will be offered only once, will be offered infrequently, or which are being developed before a regular listing in the catalog.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered: N/A
SOCI 4391 - Contract Study
8 weeks
3
Advanced independent study or research (equivalent to senior-level course).
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered:
SOCI 4393 - Internship in Applied Sociology
8 weeks
3
A supervised program to utilize and develop sociological skills, as they apply to natural social settings. Students will be placed in a community organization. Variable credit of 3 or 6 hours depending on the number of hours worked and the academic requirements as established by the instructor. In the event of fulfilling 6 hours, only 3 will apply to the course, while the other 3 will be used as elective hours. This course is available when there is a student need for it.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered:
SOCI 4394 - Independent Research in Sociology
8 weeks
3
Study and research under supervision of a member of the sociology faculty. Students wishing to enroll should prepare a short plan for this coursework and present it to the instructor at the beginning of the semester. This course is available when there is a student need for it.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered:

Admission Requirements

The SAT and ACT Exams are optional. Test scores will be used as supporting documents to determine admission and scholarship opportunities.

Transfer Student Admission Requirements

  • Minimum of 24 transferable credit hours from a regionally accredited college or university
  • GPA of 2.0 or higher in previous college-level coursework
  • Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended
    • Dual-credit high school courses must be included
  • Completed application

Use our transfer calculator to find out how your classes will transfer to UT Permian Basin and which classes will count toward your degree.

Incoming Freshman Admission Requirements

If you have completed less than 24 hours of transferable college-level work from a regionally accredited college or university after graduating from high school or receiving your GED, please provide the following:

  • Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended (including dual-credit work while in high school)
  • Official high school transcript showing GPA, class rank, and expected graduation date or GED scores
  • SAT and/or ACT scores from within the last five years (see below for minimum score requirements)
  • Completed application

Official Transcripts

Official copies of transcripts must come directly from the school in a sealed envelope and should be mailed to:

UT Permian Basin 
Office of Admissions 
4901 E. University Blvd. 
Odessa, TX 79762

Official transcripts in electronic format can be sent to admissions@utpb.edu.

Minimum Score Requirements for Freshman Admission

High School Graduation Class Rank SAT ACT
Top 25% No minimum score No minimum score
2nd Quarter 1020 20
3rd Quarter 1160 24
4th Quarter 1280 27

Application Fee

The application fee is $40.

If you are a freshman applicant, you may request a fee waiver when you apply by sending us your official college application fee waiver form provided by the SAT or ACT. You may also request a fee waiver if the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) listed on your Student Aid Report is zero.

Professor of Sociology
Sociology Program Coordinator
College of Arts and Sciences
hadjicostandi_j@utpb.edu

Born in Alexandria, Egypt of Greek parents, Dr. Joanna Hadjicostandi-Anang is a sociology professor at UTPB. She earned her BA in sociology at Greenwich University, and her MA and PhD in sociology at Northeastern University. She has taught sociology at Clark University, Northeastern University, and Bridgewater State in MA and served as a diversity consultant. She met her late husband Frederick, who was from Ghana, West Africa, in Boston, Massachusetts and they proudly raised talented and beautiful children: Anima, Nana-Ama, and Michaela.

Her multifaceted research in International Development and Migration, Gender, Race, Ethnicity, Social Class, Oral Histories, Community Development, and Drug Use and Abuse has been published in many journals, including The International Journal of Education, The Greek Review of Social Research, Agradecidas Senas, National Forum of Multicultural Issues Journal and The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse and has been presented in numerous national and international conferences and symposia. Her working knowledge of Arabic, Greek, and French and progressive learning of Spanish and Italian has helped her emphasize multicultural learning and international solidarity through her travels and research.

Dr. Hadjicostandi-Anang’s primary enthusiasm, besides her family, is teaching and community involvement. Her dedication has led to several awards over the years at UTPB, including the prestigious statewide 2021 Minnie Steven’s Piper Outstanding Teaching Award, the UTPB President’s Outstanding Service Award, the UTPB President’s Award for Student Success, the Dos Mundos Outstanding Hispanic Community Award, the UT System Chancellor's Council Outstanding Teacher Award and the UTPB La Mancha Research Award. She has also been the recipient of several grants, including funding to put her entire undergraduate sociology program online and to develop an Introduction to Sociology course as a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) for the edX Harvard/MIT platform, which is available free to thousands of students worldwide.

Her activism led her to involvement in several professional and community organizations locally, nationally, and internationally, including the American Sociological Association, Association of Black Sociologists, Association of Humanist Sociology, and International Sociological Association. She has also been active in local community organizations as a trustee, including the Odessa/Midland Symphony, LINKS (homeless family support, where she served as president of the board), the Black and Hispanic Chambers, and the ECISD school system Tri-Ethnic Committee. She also advises many UTPB student-award-winning clubs and organizations, including the Black Leadership Council, Sociology Club, International Student Organization, and Environmental Justice Club.

Associate Professor
College of Arts and Sciences
ziyanak_s@utpb.edu

Sebahattin Ziyanak, Associate Professor of Sociology, received his BA with honors from Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul, Turkey, where he was named outstanding student in sociology in 1999. Dr. Ziyanak earned his MA in sociology from the University of Houston in 2007 and his PhD in sociology from the University of North Texas in 2013.

Dr. Ziyanak received Outstanding Instructor Recognition in Teaching from the Thank a Teacher program for Commitment to UNT Student Success in 2012 and 2013. He was awarded the La Mancha Society Golden Windmill Research Award in 2018, the Outstanding Excellence in Teaching Award with the National Society of Leadership and Success in 2018, and the President's Research Award in 2020.

Dr. Ziyanak has contributed the following books:

  • Understanding Deviance, Crime, Social Control, and the Mass Media: The Construction of Social Order (2022)
  • The Native American Contest Powwow: Cultural Tethering Theory (2021)
  • Political Sociology (2020)
  • Sociological Studies of Environmental Conflict (2019)
  • Introduction to Sociology (2019)
  • Turkish Immigrants in the Mainstream of American Life: Theories of International Migration (2018)
  • Analyzing Delinquency among Kurdish Adolescents: A Test of Hirschi's Social Bonding Theory (2015)
  • Crossroad: A Grassroots Organization for the Homeless in Houston (2008)

He has seventeen book chapters and has published in a variety of publications, including: The Qualitative Report, Elsevier, The Extractive Industries and Society Journal, Frontiers in Sociology, the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, and the Race, Gender, & Class Journal.

Since 2016, Dr. Ziyanak has been a member of the Advisory Board of the Odessa Links for Odessa Homeless Coalition. He was the President of the Peace Academy of West Texas from 2018 to 2019. His fields of research are in the subjects of delinquency, deviance, social organization, social movement, sociology of education, environmental studies, and race and ethnicity.

LengthApplication DeadlineDocument DeadlinePayment DeadlineCourses BeginCourses End
Whole Spring12/30/241/6/251/10/251/13/255/9/25
Spring A12/30/241/6/251/10/251/13/253/7/25
Spring B3/3/253/10/253/14/253/17/255/9/25
SemesterApplication DeadlineDocument DeadlinePayment DeadlineCourses BeginCourses End
Whole Summer5/19/255/26/255/30/256/2/258/8/25
Summer A4/28/255/5/255/9/255/12/256/27/25
Summer B6/16/256/23/256/30/256/30/258/15/25
LengthApplication DeadlineDocument DeadlinePayment DeadlineCourses BeginCourses End
Whole Fall8/11/258/18/258/22/258/25/2512/12/25
Fall A8/11/258/18/258/22/258/25/2510/17/25
Fall B10/6/2510/13/2510/17/2510/20/2512/12/25

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