Sociology

Why choose sociology at North Central College?

You’ll use your knowledge and experience to promote social justice while exploring careers in public service like social work, criminal justice and community activism. Working closely with our outstanding professors, you can conduct research here and abroad and have the chance to witness urban issues first-hand during Chicago Term. You'll be ready to make a difference in the world around you after you study topics like family, poverty, urban life, juvenile delinquency and race/ethnicity.

You can also:

Choose a concentration in criminal justice, community studies or general sociology.
Learn more about the community through service-learning projects and volunteer opportunities.
Join Uncommon Life, a campus group that helps settle refugee families.
Apply for a Richter Independent Study Fellowship to fund your research anywhere in the world.
Pair your interest in sociology with anthropology and complete a single combined major in sociology and anthropology.
Join the Alpha Kappa Delta sociology honor society.

Douglas Engelman earns 2012 Outstanding Major in Sociology and Anthropology Award

Douglas Engelman of Naperville was awarded the 2012 Outstanding Major in Sociology and Anthropology Award during Honors Day May 15.

Emily Rademaker receives academic and service awards

Emily Rademaker of Cary was awarded the 2012 Outstanding Major in German and Outstanding Service to Student Life awards at North Central College.

Rachel Garthe earns 2012 Outstanding Major in Psychology Award

Rachel Garthe of Peru was awarded the 2012 Outstanding Major in Psychology Award during Honors Day May 15 at North Central College.

more news

Internships

Mental health services intern, Wheaton, IL
Intern, Illinois State Police, Downers Grove, IL
At-risk youth mentor, Metropolitan Family Services, Wheaton, IL
Intern, HHS Planning and Consulting, Chicago
Refugee resettlement intern, World Relief, Aurora, IL
TLC youth advocate, Hesed House, Aurora, IL
Adult probation service intern, 19th Judicial Circuit, Waukegan, IL
Exploring diversity intern, Bardwell School, Aurora, IL
Not-for-profit management, Appalachia Service Project, Johnson City, TN

Graduate Schools

Recent graduates in sociology have been accepted at:

University of San Diego
Northwestern University, Evanston
Thomas Cooley Law School
Eastern Illinois University

Careers

Recent graduates in sociology include:

Project coordinator, Alzheimer’s Disease Clinical Trials at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago

Feature

Sam Schooley

Sociology major

When she arrived at North Central, Sam expected to major in Spanish—but her first sociology course hooked her on a new field. While completing her concentration in community studies, she worked on a team research project that combined her interests in gender and women's studies. "We needed to construct a survey and get approval from the ethics committee," she says. "It was a very valuable experience, especially since I plan to go to graduate school." She also conducted research in the Chicago neighborhood of Andersonville as part of Chicago Term.

Sam hopes to become a professor of sociology. To help her achieve that goal, she volunteered for a campus search committee that interviewed candidates for a position at North Central. "That gave me a lot of great insight into what colleges look for," she says. "I know I wouldn’t have had that experience at a larger school."

Feature

Mike O'Connor

Sociology

Mike wants to work in law enforcement. As preparation, he majored in sociology with a criminal justice emphasis and took advantage of many experiences outside the classroom.

“From exploring various city neighborhoods during my Chicago term classes to my internship with the Illinois State Police Department to volunteering with an ex-con reentry program to challenging course work and projects, I feel I’m ready,” says Mike.

His course-work included research projects and presentations at North Central’s Rall Symposium for Undergradute Research and a Midwestern psychology conference. Mike even focused his College Scholars Honors thesis on a criminal justice issue.

“I feel I’ve had outlets to practice the lessons I’ve learned from my classes on race and ethnicity, criminal justice, juvenile delinquency and urban problems. I even found myself questioning some of the things I heard in class. But after time, I began to look at situations with an open mind and recognize sociology in new situations.”

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