MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
All students in the program must complete all 42 credits of the AUCA General Education requirements. See section “General Education Requirements.”
SOCIOLOGY MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
First-year students should take SOC 101 (Rus) or SOC 106 (Eng) Introduction to Sociology I (first semester), SOC 103 (Rus) and SOC 107 (Eng) Introduction to Sociology II (second semester), and the General Education requirements CTL 107 Critical Skills (in English) and PHL 102 Introduction to Philosophy. These courses are prerequisites to further Sociology major courses.
The remaining courses first-year students take should be General Education courses, in particular English language courses because most of the required courses in the second year of studies are in English.
Throughout four years, 17 courses (49.5 credits in total) must be completed to earn a major in the Department of Sociology.
Required Courses
Introduction to Sociology I - 3 credits
Introduction to Sociology - 1.5 credits
Classical Social Theory - 3 credits
Contemporary Social Theory - 3 credits
Qualitative Research Methods - 3 credits
Quantitative Research Methods - 3 credits
Internship for Sophomores - 2 credits
Internship for Juniors - 4 credits
Applied Social Statistics and SPSS - 3 credits
Advanced Social Theory - 3 credits
Senior Thesis Seminar I, II - 6 credits
Sociology track courses - 15 credits
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
Students need to choose from two options in order to receive a bachelor’s degree in Sociology: pass the TOEFL Examination (550 or higher), History of Kyrgyzstan Examination and the State Examination; or pass the TOEFL Examination (550 and higher), History of Kyrgyzstan
Examination, and pass the honors senior thesis defense.
In the first case the student receives a standard bachelor of arts in sociology degree, if the following are fulfilled:
• 42 credits of General Education requirements
• 49.5 credits of departmental requirements (without the senior thesis)
• 52.5 credits of electives that can be taken within or outside of Sociology.
In the second case the student receives a bachelor of arts with honors, if the following are fulfilled:
• 42 credits of General Education requirements
• 49.5 credits of departmental requirements (including senior thesis)
• 52.5 credits of electives that can be taken with in or outside of Sociology.
HONORS SENIOR THESIS REQUIREMENTS
Students with a GPA of 3.2 or higher at the end of the junior year are invited to write an honors thesis under faculty supervision. Upon successful thesis defense and TOEFL examination, students earn a degree with honors.
OPTIONS IN SOCIOLOGY
Second-, third- and fourth-year students should choose one of the two specialization options: Economy, Polity, and Society; or Culture and Society. Students are advised to closely follow changes made to track courses as they are offered in odd and even years. It is student’s responsibility to make sure that University and departmental requirements are fulfilled.
Economy, Polity and Society
Market Society - 3 credits
State and Society - 3 credits
Urban Sociology - 3 credits
Social Divisions in Society - 3 credits
Political Economy - 3 credits
These 300-level additional courses below are designed to replace 6 credits of senior thesis seminar courses within the Economy, Polity and Society track if one plans to take a state examination option:
Comparative Sociology - 3 credits
Transformations in Post-Communist Countries - 3 credits
Culture and Society
Social Deviance - 3 credits
Gender Studies - 3 credits
Sociology of Culture - 3 credits
Identity and Difference - 3 credits
Sociology of Religion - 3 credits
These 300-level additional courses below are designed to replace 6.0 credits of senior thesis seminar courses within the Culture and Society track if one plans to take a state examination option:
Youth Culture - 3 credits
Cultural and Moral Economy - 3 credits
STATE EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS
Graduates with a GPA of less than 3.2 need to prepare for the State Examination. It includes three sections: 1) social research methods and methodologies; 2) social theory, and 3) elective courses. Students choose two questions from each section and answer overall six questions in essay form within five hours of prearranged time. The program organizes faculty consultations with students on all three sections during the eighth semester. Failure to take the State Examination leads to taking the examination one academic year later.
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