CSUMB welcomes first cohort of sociology majors

Amanda Pullum says Cal State Monterey Bay’s new bachelor of arts in sociology broadens the offerings of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS), provides better career opportunities, and clears up some confusion. 

An associate professor and chair of the Department of Social Sciences and Global Studies (SSGS), Pullum said that while the department has offered an array of sociology courses in the past, only a concentration in the subject was offered. Students didn’t always understand that and often referred to themselves as sociology majors, even though they weren’t. Now, however, they can earn a sociology degree. 

The change, Pullum said, has been a long time coming: “This is one of the things that was discussed in my campus visit when I got this job eight years ago. I’ve been working toward a sociology major for a long time.”

There are 51 students in the first cohort this fall, but Pullum sees great potential for the new major.

“It’s really giving students what they were looking for,” Pullum said. “Now that there is a clear sociology program they can go into, I think the program will grow quickly.”

James Hussar, interim dean of CAHSS, said the new major bolsters the profile of the college.

“I want to applaud the diligence of SSGS faculty and staff for making this happen,” Hussar said. “Just by virtue of having the sociology degree in our curriculum, we will attract more students to campus.” 

Having a sociology degree on a resume, rather than just a concentration, will afford some students greater opportunities, Pullum said. 

“Many of our students are going to go into a wide variety of career fields that are not called sociology,” they said. “But our graduates will have learned sociological research methods and knowledge about human interaction that they can apply across a lot of different career fields.”

Experience in studying human behavior and social problems, Pullum said, “is something you can apply to any career, any discipline.”

While SSGS would like to see the program grow, Pullum said it’s important to maintain the kind of student/professor relationships that CSUMB prides itself on, as well as a supportive student community.

“I want to continue to give the students that sense of being a cohort even as we grow,” Pullum said. “We have a cohort model where they support one another, where they have a connection to their colleagues and they also work very closely with the faculty.”

Sociology majors will also have opportunities they might not find at other universities. At CSUMB, all sociology majors design and complete original senior capstone research.

“Our students get to choose their own capstone project. They get to study what is meaningful to them,” said Pullum, who is already anticipating what it will feel like to see the success of the program play out. 

“I’m very much looking forward to seeing students walk across the stage and receive their degrees in sociology,” they said. 

In addition to the sociology major, SSGS is also introducing an updated major for Global Studies this fall. According to the department website, the newly streamlined major “allows more curricular space for students to study abroad, add a minor or explore elective classes.”