Undergraduate Advising

• Option #1: Meet with a sociology peer advisor: Peer advisors can review SOCY requirements and begin an Academic Planning Form, then share it with an undergraduate advisor for review and final approval. Students will receive an email from socyadvising@ucsc.edu once the plan is approved and on file. Peer advisors are not able to access your records in MyUCSC. Be prepared to share your screen (Zoom) or log in to your account on one of our computer stations (in person) if there is a need to review your record.
• Option #2: Submit a request for an academic plan: Complete the Sociology Request for an Academic Plan online form. Plans are created by a sociology peer advisor and then shared with the undergraduate advisor for final review and approval. Expect an email from socyadvising@ucsc.edu within 5-7 days of submitting the request. This process may take longer if you submit a request during holidays and campus closures such as the Winter Holiday or Spring Break.
• Option #3: Meet with the sociology undergraduate advisor: For plans that may be more complicated, or if you are adding sociology as a second major, schedule an appointment with the sociology undergraduate advisor through Navigate Slug Success. Appointments must be made at least 24 hours in advance. 
• Option #4: Create your own plan and share it with an undergraduate advisor: Find the appropriate sample plan for your selected major, and make a copy to your drive. Fill out the top of the form with personal information and update the SOCY courses taken or in progress, including all substitutions and electives. Adjust the remaining SOCY requirements. Share the plan with socyadvising@ucsc.edu, who will review the plan you provided and create a version that will be placed on file (accessible by all campus advisors). Expect a follow-up email from an undergraduate advisor. 

Students who select this option must pass (C or better or Pass grade) one SOCY 196S seminar course in the fall, winter, or spring of their senior year. Seminars focus on advanced topics in sociology and often emphasize skills like close textual analysis, critical and analytical thinking, active learning, field research, advanced research methods, or advanced theory. Enrollment is by application and permission code. View the SOCY Archive of Senior Seminars.

How to sign up for the senior seminar option

• Step 1: Review the senior seminar topics, descriptions, and prerequisites.
• Step 2: Submit the senior seminar application. To be considered for the first round of seminar permission codes, students must apply by the priority deadline. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis afterward, but seats may be limited. Graduating seniors are given priority. Once the quarter begins, applications close, and all enrollment inquiries must be sent directly to the instructor.
• Step 3: Expect an email update from socyadvising@ucsc.edu. Students who apply by the priority deadline will have their applications reviewed and responded to within a week. Applications received after the priority deadline will be reviewed and responded to on a rolling basis, typically within 4-5 business days. 

Sociology majors may be invited or approved to join a sociology graduate-level course. A five-unit sociology graduate course, numbered between SOCY 200-290, can be used to satisfy the comprehensive senior exit requirement. In many cases, this option is for students who excelled in an upper-division undergraduate course with the same instructor. Admission into a graduate-level course must be discussed with the course instructor. Students may reach out to the instructor and include the following information:

• Whether you have previously taken a course with the instructor
• Relevant courses you have taken
• Why you are interested in the topic
• Why it would be beneficial for you to take this graduate course
• Readiness for a graduate level course – include a statement of your interest, willingness, or ability to do graduate level work on the order of reading 4-5 scholarly articles a week and providing written commentary
• Recommended: include/attach a writing sample, especially if you have not taken a course with the professor in the past
• Any other relevant information you may want to provide

If an instructor approves, they will provide you with a permission code for enrollment. Alternatively, they may have their own waitlist and will let you know if they will be able to admit you later.

A senior thesis is a large, independent research project that students may choose to complete in order to fulfill the comprehensive requirement in the major. The thesis should be a project that can be feasibly completed in 7-10 months. If considering writing a senior thesis or starting the process, review the following resources:

• Sociology Department Guide to Writing a Senior Thesis
• Sociology Senior Thesis Information Session (Zoom Recording)

For information on GPA requirements for honors and highest honors, see the course catalog. The sociology major GPA includes all major requirements taken at UCSC or through a UCSC sponsored program. Transferred courses are not included in the major GPA. If additional sociology electives were taken over the minimum requirements, the Degree Progress Report (DPR) will not list these extra courses, and they will not be included in the major GPA, but students may request to change the electives listed in their DPR (such as selecting the higher grades) through the undergraduate advising office (socyadvising@ucsc.edu). 

The sociology major GPA is calculated automatically in a student’s DPR under the Major GPA section. Students should check if the correct courses are being applied to the major, especially in cases of a double major or major/minor. Any questions or discrepancies should be sent to the undergraduate advising office (socyadvising@ucsc.edu). Review and final verification of major GPA is completed through the Sociology Advisors upon graduation.

Comprehensive honors are awarded to students who perform exceptionally well on their senior thesis, if that option was chosen to satisfy the comprehensive requirement. To receive honors, the student’s thesis must be reviewed by both the thesis faculty advisor and a second faculty member (a second reader). Both faculty members must recommend honors. The undergraduate advisor coordinates with thesis faculty sponsors for each student to determine whether the student is being awarded honors on their thesis. 

Major and thesis honors are determined separately and granted only when both departments concur. Each department calculates GPAs for their own requirements, based on their own GPA criteria. For LALS GPA criteria, see their catalog. Honors on the thesis can be granted if both department thesis faculty advisors agree to award honors on the student’s senior thesis.