The Department of Sociology and Anthropology is a diverse, multidisciplinary department that offers undergraduate degrees in Sociology, Anthropology, and Health Administration & Policy and undergraduate minors in Sociology and Anthropology. It also offers a Master of Arts degree in Applied Sociology that may be taken as a separate degree program or as a combined B.A./M.A. degree with many undergraduate majors. A graduate certificate in the Non-Profit Sector is offered by the department and may be taken as part of the M.A. program or as a separate program. The department has strong participatory relationships with three Ph. D. programs (Public Policy: Gerontology: and Language, Literacy, and Culture). Several faculty members are affiliated with the UMBC Erickson School, which focuses on integrated studies of aging, aging management, and aging policy. The department has 18 full time faculty members with over 350 undergraduate majors, 70 graduate students, and currently over $3 million in funded research projects.

Three core themes represent long standing strengths of the department in terms of academics and faculty scholarship including: I) Health & Aging in Society; II) Diversity, Gender & Culture: and, III) Applied Social Science Research. Each of the core themes has several faculty members dedicated to it on both academic and scholarly levels. These themes are embedded in the department’s commitment to providing disciplinary coursework in all its academic programs as well as department service to the university community.

The department’s coursework, research, and scholarship address a wide variety of issues, as indicated by the listings of undergraduate and graduate courses. The department is committed to providing a broad foundation of disciplinary coursework combined with applied methodological training within each of the degree programs. Consistent with UMBC’s goals, the department’s strategic plan and mission are focused on building on its core strengths to: 1) provide a distinctive undergraduate experience; 2) support the development of graduate education; and, 3) conduct faculty research that contributes to both undergraduate and graduate education.

Please contact the department office at 410-455-3979 for more information about our range of programs and offerings.