Internships

Internships are strongly encouraged for majors, and are available to majors of junior or senior standing who have completed the core courses and GPA requirements. More than half of sociology majors graduate with internship experience from local social service, hospice, justice, and counseling agencies, as well as business, research, and academic internships.

Internship in Teaching Sociology

Qualifying students will be mentored in effective teaching techniques and will gain teaching experience by presenting brief, supervised in-class lectures, leading supplemental instruction sessions to help students prepare for examinations, tutoring at-risk students, and holding regular office hours.

Research

Student will benefit from a variety of research opportunities that are either individual or faculty-led. Students also have the opportunity to participate in many local, state, national, and international research conferences.

Hands-on, original research

100 percent of our majors complete and present independent research projects, which prepares our students for strong graduate schools and a variety of career paths. Our students leave confident in their ability to read scientific literature, collect and understand data, write extensively, and present in large public venues: all necessary and valuable skills.

• Undergraduate research experience and training in a broad range of analytical and theoretical skills.
• Many of our students present at regional and national conferences. Recent conference presentations include New Orleans, Boston, Chicago, and Indianapolis.

Faculty-led research

Students have the opportunity to work one-on-one with faculty to assist them in their own research. For example, Dr. Mari Plikuhn has had numerous student collaborators on projects, leading to publications in The Social History of the American Family and the International Social Science Review, and presentations at conferences for the Gerontological Society of America, the Midwest Sociological Society, and the Indiana Academy of the Social Sciences.