Undergraduate Studies in Sociology 

UJ Sociology undergraduate studies 

Sociology enriches and broadens your UJ degree. Without turning us into politicians, sociology helps us to understand and engage the world we live in today. What is different and special about our time? Because Sociology is concerned with social change, it focuses on the interaction between those things that are largely out of our control and those events on which we can have a real impact through the choices we make and actions we take. Sociology is vibrant, exciting and cutting-edge.

Sociology is an excellent ticket to the job market. While sociology will provide you with a strong theoretical foundation, successful students of sociology leave campus with skills that put them ahead of their peers in their ability to think critically and therefore make a unique, individual contribution to society. For evidence of this, see our Jobs in Sociology page.

Sociology works well with most courses in the humanities. In the sociology classroom, students are prepared to become independent social scientists. The assignment and other academic skills on which we focus here, can help you excel in all your undergraduate courses.

Below is a table with the current undergraduate sociology programme at the University of Johannesburg. To see how sociology can fit into your faculty of humanities coursework, scroll down to the link at the bottom of the page.

First semester: Sociology 1A – The Individual and Society
The relationship of individuals to social institutions such as the family, religion and education

Term 1: Social Theory and Family
Prof Ria Smit

Term 2: Deviance and Religion
Dr Mariam Seedat

Second semester: Sociology 1B - Dynamics of Social Division
Social divisions and their dynamics as manifested in for example race, class, gender and power relations

Term 3: Power, the State and the Workplace
Prof Anton Senekal

First semester: Sociology 2A - Social Relations
Group dynamics and conflict studies

Term 1: Group Dynamics
Elli Binikos

Second semester: Sociology 2B - Population Dynamics
Approaches to population change with a focus on the sociology of aids, migration and demography

Term 3: Demography
Letitia Smuts

Term 4: Social Policy and HIV / Aids
Porf Kammila Naidoo

First semester: Sociology 3A - Sociology at Work
Social Research Methodology and the Sociology of Work

Term 1: Social Research Methodology
Prof Cecilia van Zyl-Schalekamp

Term 2: Sociology of Work
Pragna Rugunanan

Second semester: Sociology 3B - Classical and Contemporary Sociology

Term 3: Globalisation
Prof Anton Senekal

Term 4: Sociological Theory
Prof Ria Smit

Each third year course taken alongside a research practical

A student may take sociology as a major in any of the following BA degrees: Humanities, Social Work, Social and Marketing Research, Sport Development, Psychology, Law, Journalism, Corporate Communications, Geography and Development Studies, as well as BComm. Aside from its relevance as a major course, it is also an excellent supporting subject for other courses, and especially for students who want to specialise in Social Work and Nursing. As a supporting subject, sociology can be taken in the following B Comm degrees: Communication, Education, and Transport Economics. To find out more about undergraduate programmes or degrees, 
please click here to view the faculty yearbook.