The Sociology and Anthropology (SOAN) Department offers courses in both Sociology and Anthropology. Sociology is the study of groups, institutions, and interactions.  We study the ways people behave in groups and how an individual's attitudes and actions are influenced by them. These groups and institutions include families, schools, religious associations, peer groups, political parties, and work organizations. Anthropology is a holistic and comparative study of human diversity. Students examine cross-cultural examples to shed light on all aspects of human life and culture from race, gender, identity and ethnicity, to language and religion, to technology and medicine, to the study of human evolution and variation. Our department focuses on translating social and cultural differences and the multitude of human experiences with a particular attention to underrepresented and marginal groups. 

Together, Sociology and Anthropology strive to illuminate the ways people think, feel, and behave as agents of historically, culturally, and socially specific communities. SOAN students develop skills in writing, critical thinking, and quantitative and qualitative methods to address social and cultural research problems and learn to apply disciplinary skills and perspectives in diverse career settings. SOAN graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills to work professionally in a variety of fields including: public policy, public health, social work, nonprofit organizations, businesses and corporations, law, community organizing, education, healthcare, counseling, human resources, criminal justice and corrections.