Bachelor of Arts in Sociology online

Develop advanced critical thinking and research skills with a bachelor’s degree that increases your professional versatility and expands your career options. This online program prepares you to drive strategy and solve problems in real-world situations.

Apply by: 4/29/24
Start class: 5/20/24

Program Overview

Learn what the online bachelor’s degree in sociology program can do for you

$360 Per Credit Hour
120* Credit Hours

Identify and understand patterns in social behavior with the Bachelor of Arts in Sociology online program from William Paterson University. Our sociology core curriculum empowers you to lead social justice, diversity, and community outreach initiatives that are essential to modern organizations. The 100 percent online coursework increases your multicultural competency, as well as your ability to apply this knowledge to serve communities.

The bachelor’s in sociology online program develops your expertise in qualitative and quantitative analysis, research techniques, and communication. Additionally, this unique degree allows you to explore electives in relevant skill areas like the social organization of work or criminology. Designed for working adults, this program prepares you for a variety of professional opportunities.

Graduates of the BA in Sociology program will:

  • Explain social and historical processes through which sociology as a discipline developed
  • Show mastery of the core knowledge of sociology as a distinctive field of study
  • Describe and distinguish the various research techniques used in sociology
  • Critically evaluate the evidence presented in sociological research reports
  • Design research projects using various sociological data gathering techniques
  • Demonstrate competence in both quantitative and qualitative research methods, and be able to present the results of research projects in an effective manner, both orally and in writing
  • Explain social and historical processes through which sociology as a discipline developed
  • Show mastery of the core knowledge of sociology as a distinctive field of study
  • Describe and distinguish the various research techniques used in sociology
  • Critically evaluate the evidence presented in sociological research reports
  • Design research projects using various sociological data gathering techniques
  • Demonstrate competence in both quantitative and qualitative research methods, and be able to present the results of research projects in an effective manner, both orally and in writing

Also available:

William Paterson University offers a variety of specialized bachelor's degrees. Check out all of our online undergraduate programs. In addition, we have minors available to help you meet your undergraduate credit requirements by integrating coursework that enriches your educational experience.

$360 Per Credit Hour
120* Credit Hours
Apply Now
Need More Information?

Call 833-960-0139

Call 833-960-0139

Add a minor to help meet your credit hour requirement and enrich your educational experience.

Tuition

Affordable, pay-as-you-go tuition at WP

Online undergraduate programs from William Paterson University offer affordable, pay-by-the-course tuition. All fees are included in the total tuition.

Tuition breakdown:

$360 Per Credit Hour

Tuition breakdown:

$360 Per Credit Hour

Calendar

Important dates and deadlines to remember

William Paterson University online programs are delivered in an accelerated format ideal for working professionals, conveniently featuring multiple start dates each year.

Now enrolling:

4/29/24 Apply Date
5/20/24 Class Starts
TermStart DateApp DeadlineDocument DeadlineRegistration DeadlineTuition DeadlineClass End DateTerm Length
Spring II3/25/243/3/243/6/243/15/243/20/245/12/247 weeks
Summer I5/20/244/29/245/1/245/10/245/15/247/7/247 weeks
Summer II7/15/246/23/246/26/247/5/247/10/249/1/247 weeks
Fall I9/9/248/18/248/21/248/30/249/4/2410/27/247 weeks
Fall II11/4/2410/14/2410/16/2410/25/2410/30/2412/22/247 weeks

Now enrolling:

4/29/24 Apply Date
5/20/24 Class Starts

Have questions or need more information about our online programs?

Ready to take the rewarding path toward earning your degree online?

Admissions

Learn about the requirements for our online BA in Sociology program

At William Paterson University, we've streamlined the admission process to help you get started quickly and easily. Please read the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Sociology online, including what additional materials you need and where you should send them.

The requirements include:

  • Online Application
  • Transcripts from all colleges and universities previously attended
  • Minimum 2.0 GPA
  • Must be at least four years post high school

You must meet the following requirements for admission to this BA online program:

  • Cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale
  • Students must be 4 years post-high school or 2 years post-high school and have earned 60 or more college credits.
  • Official transcripts from each college or university attended
  • Applicants must be at least 2 years post high school to enroll in our WP Online accelerated programs.
  • Complete online applications and submit $50 application fee

Official transcripts, test scores, and other documents should be sent from the granting institutions to:

Email address: [email protected]

Mail address:

Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Enrollment Services
Morrison Hall 102
300 Pompton Road
Wayne, NJ 07470

Courses

Check out the online BA in Sociology curriculum

For the BA in Sociology online, you must complete 18 credit hours of sociology core courses and 18 credit hours of sociology electives. Additional University Core Curriculum and elective credits will be required to complete the 120-credit BA degree. You may transfer up to 90 approved credit hours to decrease cost and time to completion

Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Examines the structure and dynamics of human society and interprets social behavior within the context of modern society and culture. A prerequisite to all other sociology courses unless waived by the instructor.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course introduces students to the major theories and theorists in sociology through all historical periods. After an introductory consideration of the scientific method and its application to the study of human social life, it examines the principal categories of theory developed by sociologists. In addition to exploring the distinctive characteristics of each theoretical strategy, the course addresses such important issues as the relationship between theory and empirical research, the changing character of sociological theory over time, and the nature of theoretical controversies and debates in the field. Since this is a Writing Intensive course, students will engage in writing both as a means to learn sociological theories and as a way to develop proficiency in conventional styles of sociological writing.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course examines inequality in the U.S. focusing primarily on race, gender, class, sexuality, and ethnicity, among other dimensions of inequality. It examines the global origins and structural organization of inequality and how it works in and through institutions such as work, family, education, healthcare, media, and politics. By exploring the unequal distribution of power and privilege, this course also considers how social inequality shapes society, how and why inequality is created and persists, and how some people have worked to both challenge inequity while others to reproduce and maintain their positions of power in society.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course teaches students the process of social scientific inquiry. Students will learn the fundamentals of social science research methods, including the process by which research questions are formulated, relevant literature is reviewed, data are collected and analyzed, and results are written up. As this is a writing intensive course, students will learn methods in part through weekly writing assignments. The end product of the course will be a paper or proposal that has been improved through an iterative process of feedback by the professor and revision by the student.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course introduces students to approaches for assembling, analyzing and presenting qualitative and quantitative data. Students will become familiar with a variety of sociologically relevant data that are available online. Students will learn how to conduct basic data analyses in SPSS or Excel in order to address questions of sociological and criminological significance.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This research-based senior seminar course is an in-depth, critical analysis of the literature and social phenomena in the field of sociology. Each student is expected to select a specific social organization, problem, or policy, explore the current research literature, complete an original independent research project and make a presentation about the empirical findings. Topics vary in each course section according to each instructor’s pre-announced theme. This is a writing intensive course.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course seeks to provide students with an overview of intersectional inequalities such as race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexual identity in crime and the administration of justice, focused primarily in the United States. It also addresses differences in offending and victimization among disadvantaged populations. Students will examine historical and current criminal justice policies and the impact of such policies on community of color, poor people, women, the LGBTQ community, and other disadvantaged groups (e.g. persons with disabilities and the elderly). In addition, the course will examine theoretical perspectives on class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, and justice. Students will leave this course better understanding the role systems of inequality place in criminal justice policy and practice, and how criminal justice policies and practice impact marginalized populations."
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course provides a broad introduction to white-collar crimes: illegal acts motivated primarily by financial gain, business advantage or power, which are characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust, which are not dependent on the direct application or threat of violence. These crimes nevertheless result in great harm, from physical, economic, and emotional harm to environmental degradation and threats to democracy.  It provides students with an historical and sociological overview of such crimes, an understanding of the major types of white-collar crime, and the key theoretical tools developed to diagnose and explain the problem. It also delivers a critical overview of the scope and societal impact of white-collar crime both in the U.S. and internationally; an analysis of public responses to these crimes; and a discussion of the efficacy of strategies to prevent white-collar offenses from governmental and business organizations.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
An analysis of the nature of work, the individual’s relation to work, the organizations workers form to protect their interests, and the interactions among workers, their organizations, and other institutions. Course offered Fall and Spring Semesters.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course examines the actual and symbolic role of organized crime in American society. It begins with an overview of the distribution, structure and operation of organized crime over time, including patterns of ethnic succession in the control of organized criminal activities. The course goes on to explore the changing nature of organized crime in the global era. Theories of organized crime are presented and assessed, and the tactics used to combat organized crime are examined. Myths surrounding organized crime are scrutinized critically, and prominent role of organized crime in popular culture is considered. Special attention is paid to a critique of the stereotypes that link organized crime and ethnicity in the popular mind and to the consequences of these stereotypes for the groups involved
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
A sociological approach to the study of marriage and family living. The student is required to develop a critical evaluation of studies and research in the field.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Examines the concept of deviance in society through a study of the issues of value judgements, abnormality and eccentricity. Implications are found for the causes of the behavior of groups socially labeled as deviant.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course gives an overview of juvenile offending. It covers the nature, extent, causes, and patterns of juvenile delinquency and status offending. The course also gives an overview of juvenile justice. It covers the structure and functioning of the juvenile justice system and the role of the community in responding to juvenile offending. Included are discussions of major debates and controversies surrounding juvenile offending and justice.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course will use an interdisciplinary approach to examine the history of immigration in the United States. We will do this through the lens of our home state, New Jersey, because it is one of the top immigrant destinations in the United States. Although the United States is often described as a nation of immigrants, this description has been contested throughout its history. Nativist and xenophobic beliefs against immigrant communities have influenced and sometimes determined U.S. immigration policy and law. This course will examine the experience of New Jersey immigrant communities, intersectionality (such as gender, race, sexuality etc.) within these communities, and the impact of US policies of inclusion and exclusion. Community and Civic Engagement. This course fulfills UCC area 5.

Interested in adding a minor to your coursework?

Explore your options.

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