Academic Advising

Faculty Advisers

Faculty Advisers are available to students to help create graduation plans, advise on course registration, review study abroad plans, go over major/minor requirements, and serve as a resource for any questions about the major/minor. All Sociology students are assigned an adviser. Students can locate who their adviser is by looking at the top of their Degree Evaluation. If you do not have an assigned Sociology adviser, contact the Program Assistant at sociology@usfca.edu to have one assigned.

What if my adviser isn’t available?

You are free to see any of the other faculty advisers if your adviser is not available. All faculty advisers back each other up.

Can I change advisers?

If you wish to change advisers, contact Sociology's Program Assistant; you’re free to switch advisers at any time.

Degree Requirements

Our degree requirements and program learning outcomes are available in the catalog.

Recommended Course Order

Take SOC 150 Introduction to Sociology before any of these courses: SOC 302 Global Inequalities and Social Justice; SOC 306 Sociological Theory; SOC 308 Research Methods; SOC 450 Sociology Capstone Seminar; and SOC 410 Senior Thesis Workshop.

Take SOC 306 Sociological Theory before SOC 308 Research Methods

Take SOC 306 Sociological Theory and SOC 308 Research Methods before SOC 450 Sociology Capstone Seminar or SOC 410 Senior Thesis Workshop.

If you are joining the Sociology Honors Thesis track, take SOC 308 Research Methods before SOC 409 Pre-Thesis Workshop.  Take SOC 409 before SOC 410 Senior Thesis Workshop.

Additional Advising Resources 

Graduation

How do I file for graduation/when is the Commencement ceremony?

Visit USF's Graduation Center page for more information. 

How many credits do I need to graduate?

Students need a total of 128 credits to graduate. The 128 credits include 44 Core Curriculum credits, 44 Sociology major credits, and 40 general elective credits (which includes three semesters of a language if you are in the social sciences).

Please note that if a student takes a class twice — passing both times — only one of those classes will count towards the 128 credits. For example, if a student takes a rhetoric class and gets a D, they will have to repeat the course as they need a minimum grade of C- to fulfill the Core rhetoric requirement. Only one of the rhetoric courses will officially count towards fulfilling the 128 credits requirement. This is automatically factored into the Degree Evaluation total credits information.

You can also view our Sociology Graduation Checklist here. 

Transfer Students

Transfer Courses

Students can contact Sociology's Department Chair to request to review Transfer courses as potential Sociology course substitutions.  Please send course syllabi to the Department Chair. 

Course Approved but not list in Degree Evaluation

Certain paperwork/procedures must be completed when a transfer class is approved for the major/minor, so there is often a lag between the Department approving a transfer course and it showing up correctly in your Degree Evaluation. If you are worried about a particular course, check with Sociology's Program Assistant. 

Courses transferred in at less than 4 credits per class

As long as you earn at least a total of 44 credits in the Sociology major (or 20 credits in the Sociology minor) and fulfill all of the Loading..., you will earn your degree.

Example of a course that transfers in at less than 4 credits:

If a Sociology major has an Introduction to Sociology course transfer in at 3 credits, then they will need to earn 41 more credits to fulfill the major’s requirements. Twenty of those 41 credits will be earned when they finish the major’s required courses:

  • Writing in Sociology (4 credits)
  • Global Inequalities and Social Justice (4 credits)
  • Sociological Theory (4 credits)
  • Research Methods (4 credits)
  • Capstone or Senior Thesis (4 credits)

The remaining 21 credits will be earned by taking enough Sociology electives to get to 44 total credits in the major.