This path is for upper-year applicants: for those who are completing their first year at another university, or have completed or are close to completing a diploma program at a community college, and are interested in transferring to Queen’s University.

Sociologists investigate how societies work. They study social life at every level, from personal relationships to the functioning of institutions and nations, right up to global interconnections. The Sociology department is widely known for its strengths in criminology and the law, media (informational and surveillance), and social justice. Studying Sociology at Queen’s will help students understand the structures and dynamics of societies and the complex effects they have on human behaviour, public issues, everyday life, politics, and culture. It examines how various social forces produce social order and social change and in so doing influence what we do and how we think.

With courses as diverse as Surveillance and Visibility to the Sociology of Crime and Delinquency to Consumer Culture, the Sociology department is reputed for its emphases in Criminology and the Law, Media, Information and Surveillance, and Inequalities and Social Justice.

Top 5 Reasons to study Sociology:

1. Students engage with cutting-edge research in criminology, media, data, and a range of contemporary inequalities.
2. Students learn to critically evaluate commonsense assumptions about the societies you live in.
3. Students gain transferable skills, from critical analysis to problem solving, to leadership, research, and communication.
4. A flexible plan: students can take advantage of one of the many opportunities for international exchange.
5. A small, collegial department, offering lively discussion and committed mentorship.

Note: Students in this program are eligible for the Queen’s Undergraduate Internship Program (QUIP) which provides 2nd or 3rd year students with a 12-16 month work experience. The internship normally occurs following the student’s third year of study, after which the student completes the final year of the honours degree. The internships are paid, professionally supervised, career-related positions offering students the opportunity to learn about current advances, practices, and technologies in business and industry.