Major in Sociology

You will learn to analyze structures of power and hierarchy, draw connections between your personal experiences and larger social and historical processes, as well as question preconceived ideas about the nature of society and representation of cultures around the world. Our graduates enter a wide variety of occupations well prepared with sharp analytical skills and as knowledgeable and engaged citizens.

The department combines a humanistic concern for the quality and diversity of human life with a commitment to the empirical analysis of culture and society. The sociology curriculum will give you qualitative and quantitative research skills to tackle pressing 21st-century issues. Courses draw attention to history, culture, and social structure and their effects on people’s lives. The anthropology curriculum focuses on human cultural experiences around the world, with an emphasis on the contemporary challenges wrought by globalization. Courses often highlight the geographical areas in which faculty work (Latin America, Asia, and Africa) and focus on a diverse range of topics.

The College of the Holy Cross was founded in 1843 by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in Worcester, Massachusetts. Holy Cross is a highly selective, four-year, undergraduate, liberal arts institution and is ranked among the nation's leading four-year liberal arts colleges.

As a liberal arts college, Holy Cross pursues excellence in teaching, learning, and research. All who share its life are challenged to be open to new ideas, to be patient with ambiguity and uncertainty, to combine a passion for truth with respect for the views of others. Informed by the presence of diverse interpretations of the human experience, Holy Cross seeks to build a community marked by freedom, mutual respect, and civility. Because the search for meaning and value is at the heart of the intellectual life, critical examination of fundamental religious and philosophical questions is integral to liberal arts education. Dialogue about these questions among people from diverse academic disciplines and religious traditions requires everyone to acknowledge and respect differences. Dialogue also requires us to remain open to that sense of the whole that calls us to transcend ourselves and challenges us to seek that which might constitute our common humanity.