Major map compass icon
2020-2021

Bachelor of Science: Sociology

VCU

Community college:
Associate of Science: General Studies (Brightpoint Community College (program-specific pathway))
Brightpoint Community College
Program description

The Bachelor of Science in Sociology requires a minimum of 120 credits, with at least 33 of those credits in sociology and other approved courses. The baccalaureate curriculum in sociology seeks to ensure that each student develops a solid foundation in the basic principles, theories and techniques of analysis in sociology. It also encourages students to pursue an interdisciplinary approach by incorporating course credit from closely related subject areas in other programs. Since students majoring in sociology vary in their interests and career goals, the curriculum allows for a great deal of flexibility in developing individual courses of study. Students who are interested in pursuing graduate studies in sociology usually will take more than the minimum number of upper-level courses. The program provides opportunities for involvement in faculty research through its course offerings, which include independent study, internships and honors research.

Career opportunities

An undergraduate degree is sufficient for many entry-level positions in non-profit organizations, business, and government. A bachelor's in sociology can prepare students for graduate or professional education in sociology, law, counseling, psychology, social work, medicine, education, college student personnel, higher education administration, planning, and other related fields. Many transferable skills such as analytical, organizational, research, interpersonal, computer, leadership, teamwork, and oral/written communication are associated with the sociology degree. Internships, part-time jobs, summer jobs, and/or volunteer experiences are critical to reaching career goals. Research fields of interests and gain the right skills, experiences, and advanced degrees (if necessary).

Bachelor-level job titles
  • Community Health Worker
  • Human Resources Specialist
  • Loss Prevention Specialist
  • Probation Officer or Correctional Treatment Specialist
  • Research Assistant
  • Sales Representative
  • Social and Human Services Assistant
  • Social Science Research Assistant
  • Technical Writer
  • Training and Development Specialist
Graduate and professional level job titles
  • Counselor or Therapist
  • Higher Education Administrator
  • Researcher
  • Social Worker
Contact information

 

VCU Transfer Center

Telephone: (804) 827-1349

Email: transferinfo@vcu.edu

Transfer Advising Request

VCCS Transfer Planning Checklist


Office of Admissions

Telephone: (804) 828-1222 or (800) 841-3638

Email: ugrad@vcu.edu
Apply Here.

Guaranteed transfer admission requirements

Completion of associate degree
Minimum GPA of 2.5
All courses must be completed with a grade of "C" or better

Degree requirements in Bulletin
Plan of study in Bulletin
Highest level of math required
  • STAT 210
Science required
  • Core only
Foreign language requirements
  • Yes
Additional tuition/fees
  • No
GPA requirements (to progress/graduate in the major)
  • 2.0

Transfer major map
Visit majormaps.vcu.edu for the online version with links.
Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
Major map compass icon
2020-2021

Bachelor of Science: Sociology

Brightpoint Community College (program-specific pathway) (Associate of Science: General Studies)

MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
Explore Year 1
  • Attend Tyler Orientation.
  • Log into Navigate and view its features to help you on your pathway.
  • Register for SDV course.
  • Be prepared for academic challenges in your ENG and MTH classes. Visit the Academic Resource Center on either campus.
  • Schedule an appointment with your academic advisor each semester and cultivate relationships with your professors.
  • Attend diversity-focused events on campus or in your community.
  • Identify a mentor in a diversity organization.
  • Attend VCU’s annual Intercultural Festival or another community intercultural event.
  • Browse careers related to Sociology through the career coach.
  • Explore the community college’s iGrad Job Genius Search Engine to look into building a career and financial future.
  • Build a LinkedIn profile.
  • Use the career coach to take a career assessment.
  • Assess your preparation for a career by completing a Gap Analysis.
  • Familiarize yourself with the Career Services offered at Community College and VCU and explore Career Pathways on VCU Career Services’ Website.
  • Practice independent living skills (such as money management, self-care, time management, and personal responsibility).
  • Understand how you will fund your education. Take advantage of free Financial Aid counseling.
Experience Year 2
  • Take service-learning classes or volunteer to address a current issue through ConnectVA or HandsOnRVA.
  • Visit the VCU campus and attend a transfer admission session.
  • Attend a talk or other event sponsored by the Sociology department.
  • Learn about short-term, semester and year-long study abroad options.
  • Consider learning a foreign language to open doors to international organizations and future study.
  • Attend diversity-focused events on campus and in your community (i.e. international festival).
  • Find out about VCU REAL.
  • Attend Career & Internship Fairs at community college or VCU to explore your interests.
  • Create, upload and update your resume to the College Central Network.
  • Plan to complete at least two internships (job experiences) before your senior year of college.
  • Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.
  • Use the cost calculator to estimate your tuition/fees as an upperclassman at VCU.
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of career interest.
  • Using LinkedIn, connect to at least 10 people. Check out the VCU alumni page in My Network.
  • Take advantage of free Financial Aid counseling.

Explore
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
  • Attend Tyler Orientation.
  • Log into Navigate and view its features to help you on your pathway.
  • Register for SDV course.
  • Be prepared for academic challenges in your ENG and MTH classes. Visit the Academic Resource Center on either campus.
  • Schedule an appointment with your academic advisor each semester and cultivate relationships with your professors.
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Attend diversity-focused events on campus or in your community.
  • Identify a mentor in a diversity organization.
  • Attend VCU’s annual Intercultural Festival or another community intercultural event.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
  • Browse careers related to Sociology through the career coach.
  • Explore the community college’s iGrad Job Genius Search Engine to look into building a career and financial future.
  • Build a LinkedIn profile.
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Use the career coach to take a career assessment.
  • Assess your preparation for a career by completing a Gap Analysis.
  • Familiarize yourself with the Career Services offered at Community College and VCU and explore Career Pathways on VCU Career Services’ Website.
  • Practice independent living skills (such as money management, self-care, time management, and personal responsibility).
  • Understand how you will fund your education. Take advantage of free Financial Aid counseling.

Experience
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
  • Take service-learning classes or volunteer to address a current issue through ConnectVA or HandsOnRVA.
  • Visit the VCU campus and attend a transfer admission session.
  • Attend a talk or other event sponsored by the Sociology department.
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Learn about short-term, semester and year-long study abroad options.
  • Consider learning a foreign language to open doors to international organizations and future study.
  • Attend diversity-focused events on campus and in your community (i.e. international festival).
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
  • Find out about VCU REAL.
  • Attend Career & Internship Fairs at community college or VCU to explore your interests.
  • Create, upload and update your resume to the College Central Network.
  • Plan to complete at least two internships (job experiences) before your senior year of college.
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.
  • Use the cost calculator to estimate your tuition/fees as an upperclassman at VCU.
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of career interest.
  • Using LinkedIn, connect to at least 10 people. Check out the VCU alumni page in My Network.
  • Take advantage of free Financial Aid counseling.

Recommended courses
Major map compass icon
2020-2021

Bachelor of Science: Sociology

Brightpoint Community College (program-specific pathway) (Associate of Science: General Studies)

Brightpoint Community College (program-specific pathway) courses
Course Title Equivalent course Credits Requirements
SDV 100 College Success Skills UNIV 101 1 Elective
ENG 111 College Composition I Note: students with credit for AP English Language and Composition will only receive credit for UNIV 111 at VCU and should take ENG 112 to fulfill the VCU composition requirement. UNIV 111-112 3 General education
History elective History elective (select 1): HIS 111, 112, 121, 122 HIST 3 General education
MTH 154 Quantitative Reasoning MATH 131 3 General education
CST 100 or CST 101 Principles of Public Speaking or Introduction to Communication SPCH 121 3 Elective
Art elective Art elective (select 1): ART 101, ART 102, CST 130, CST 151, MUS 121 VCU equivalent 3 General education
ENG 112 College Composition II UNIV 200 3 General education
MTH 245 Statistics I STAT 210 3 Major
Social/behavioral Science SOC 200 Principles of Sociology SOCY 101 3 Major
ITE 115 Intro to Computer Applications INFO 160, 161, 162 3 Elective
Cultural Understanding Cultural Understanding/Civic Engagement (select 1): GEO 210, PLS 135, PLS 241, REL 230 VCU equivalent 3 General education
Laboratory Science Laboratory science (select 1): BIO 101, CHM 101, CHM 111, PHY 101, PHY 201 (ENV 121 will be accepted if Associate degree is completed) VCU equivalent 4 General education
Foreign Language Foreign Language 101 or Humanities elective (take elective course if successfully completed through the third level of a foreign language in high school). VCU equivalent 3 to 4 General education
ENG Any 200-level ENG literature course (select 1): ENG 241, 242, 243, 244, 251, 252 ENGL 3 General education
HLT 160 Personal Health and Fitness. Additional Course Options: BUS 100, ECO 201, ECO 202, ADJ 100, ENG 210, ENG 211. VCU equivalent 3 Elective
Laboratory Science Laboratory science (select 1): BIO 101, BIO 102, CHM 101, CHM 112, PHY 101, PHY 202 (ENV 121 will be accepted if Associate degree is completed) VCU equivalent 4 General education
Social/Behavioral Science Social/behavioral science (select 1): PSY 200, SOC 211 (PSY 230 will be accepted if Associate degree is completed) VCU equivalent 3 General education
Foreign Language Foreign Language 102 or elective (take elective course if successfully completed through the third level of a foreign language in high school). VCU equivalent 3 to 4 General education
Transfer elective Transfer elective (select two electives) VCU equivalent 6 Elective
John Tyler credits transferred to VCU 60
VCU courses
Course Title Credits Requirements
SOCY 202 Foundations of Theory 3 Major
SOCY 320 Research Methods in the Social Sciences 3 Major
SOCY 402 Contemporary Theory 3 Major
SOCY 406 Sociology Senior Seminar 3 Major
SOCY Sociology upper-level electives (300- or 400-level courses) 18 Major
Upper-level electives (300- or 400-level courses): consider a minor or a second major Note: Students must complete a minimum of 45 upper-level credits to graduate from VCU. 15 Elective
Open electives 15 Elective
Credits completed at VCU 60
Bachelor's degree total 120