The Undergraduate UMass Boston Navitas GSSP is the first year of a bachelor’s degree program at UMass Boston. The Navitas GSSP consists of for-credit coursework and provides an academic and cultural bridge from the high school experience to studying at a university in the United States. When students successfully complete the UMass Boston Navitas GSSP, they will progress directly into the second year of their undergraduate degree program.

In whatever field students pursue their work, they will encounter the discipline of sociology: the study of how individuals and groups of people function within social contexts. Because comprehending the interactions between individuals and the groups they form is key to understanding the social environment, knowing sociological principles will always serve graduates well. Sociology as a field of study has many practical applications. It is fundamental to understanding urban life, working with the forces of social change, and addressing the most pressing issues of global societies and smaller communities. It also provides an ideal intellectual foundation for working within the social service, mental health, criminal justice, and legal fields.

Sociological investigations draw from a large toolbox of research methods and diverse social theories to answer questions about the causes of crime, the course of illness, the bases of social conflict, the effects of inequality, the meaning of modernity, and other issues. Learning sociological methods and theories and conducting original research challenges students to improve their understanding of social phenomena like homelessness, immigration, child abuse, mental illness, job satisfaction, legal processes, and even their own life course.

The Sociology major provides an overview of dynamic social forces that impact people every day, including population density and behavior, immigration, social inequality, globalization, and cultural differences. Individual courses address the workings of many core societal institutions: the workplace, the family, the health care and criminal justice systems, and the media. The curriculum can help focus a student's interests, identify their area of specialization, gain experience in a related work environment, and ultimately select a career path.