Best Sociology Programs in Minnesota for 2027

With 72 degrees awarded in 2023–24, Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus has the largest sociology program on its state page. The BA and the BS share the same core and elective courses, and the BA adds four semesters of a second language. Every major finishes with a capstone, Soc 4966W, which you can take after Soc 1001, 3701, 3801, 3811 and at least four of the five sociology electives. It combines lectures, writing exercises and a main paper. Some students arrange a faculty-supervised directed study instead, and honors students write a thesis through a proseminar and directed research.

Capstone

Soc 4966W, or a directed study approved by a faculty member and the departmental adviser

Honors Thesis

Honors Proseminar in the fall of the graduation year, then Directed Research in spring

Language Requirement

Four semesters of a second language for the BA

Program Sources: BA in Sociology | Department of Sociology, University of MinnesotaCapstone and Proseminar Information | Department of Sociology

Macalester asks sociology majors for nine courses, five of them fixed. You start with Introduction to Sociology, then take Social Science Inquiry and Social Theories. A methods requirement lets you choose between Interpretive Social Research and Comparative-Historical Methods for Social Science. Senior Seminar closes the major, and four electives fill the rest. You can count a faculty-supervised internship or an independent project toward the major, up to 4 credits, and the department takes part in the college’s honors program. Fourteen students earned the degree in 2023–24.

Required Sequence

Introduction to Sociology, Social Science Inquiry, Social Theories, a methods course and Senior Seminar

Methods Choice

Interpretive Social Research or Comparative-Historical Methods for Social Science

Internship Credit

Up to 4 credits from a supervised internship or independent project

Program Sources: Majors and Minors - Sociology - Macalester College

Duluth’s Sociology B.A. sits in a department that also teaches criminology, anthropology, and women, gender and sexuality studies, and courses from those areas can count toward your sociology degree. The curriculum stresses theory and method, with electives in social organization, social psychology, social movements and inequality. The internship program places students with Safe Haven Shelter, Community Action Duluth, Hennepin County Juvenile Probation, the City of Duluth Police Department and a range of schools and youth groups. The department says most alumni work in social service, and some go on to a master’s in social work or a Ph.D. Six students finished in 2023–24.

Curriculum Focus

Theory and method, with electives in social organization, social psychology, social movements and inequality

Internships

Placements with shelters, county probation, city police and school districts

Related Courses

Criminology, anthropology and women, gender and sexuality studies count toward the degree

Program Sources: Sociology B.A. | University of Minnesota Duluth

Bemidji State requires both halves of the methods toolkit: Quantitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences and Qualitative Research Methods are each on the list of required courses. So are Social Movements, Social Class and Inequality, Race and Ethnic Relations, and Work and Careers, which pairs sociology with career planning. The 36-credit core ends with a Capstone in Sociology, and two electives come from topics such as Intersectionality, Community Organizing for Social Change and Sociology of Health and Medicine. You need a 2.50 GPA in the major to graduate. Eleven students earned the degree in 2023–24.

Methods Sequence

Quantitative Research Methods and Qualitative Research Methods, both required

Capstone

Capstone in Sociology, 3 credits

Electives

Two from Religion and Politics, Family and Society, Community Organizing, Health and Medicine, Education or Intersectionality

Program Sources: Sociology, B.A. major | Undergraduate Catalog

Gustavus houses sociology inside a joint Sociology and Anthropology major of 40 credits. You start with Cultural Anthropology and either Introduction to Sociology or Social Problems, then pick Social Inequality or Gender and Immigration in the U.S. The research core pairs Methods of Research with a theory course, sociological or anthropological, and a senior seminar finishes the sequence. At least four more courses come from the department’s own offerings, and you have to keep a C+ average in the major. The catalog suggests an extra statistics course if graduate school in sociology is your plan.

Research Core

Methods of Research, a theory course and Seminar in Sociology/Anthropology

Inequality Choice

Social Inequality or Gender and Immigration in the U.S.

Major Size

40 credits with a C+ (2.33) average required in the major

Program Sources: Sociology and Anthropology Major | Gustavus Adolphus College Catalog

Mankato’s Sociology BS puts numbers early. Introductory Social Statistics, Social Research I and Sociological Theory form the common core, and Introduction to Sociology or Social Problems opens the sequence. Then you choose a research capstone: Survey Research, Qualitative Methods or Community Engaged Research, where you design or carry out a real project. A career connections requirement is met with a workshop or an internship in sociology, and the major requires a minor or certificate. If you are starting at a Minnesota community college, a transfer pathway lays out the last two years. Seven students finished the degree in 2023–24.

Research Capstone

Survey Research, Qualitative Methods or Community Engaged Research

Career Connections

A sociology workshop or an internship of 1 to 12 credits

Transfer Pathway

Partnership with Minnesota community colleges for the last two years

Program Sources: Sociology (BS) - 2025-2026 Academic Catalog | Minnesota State University, Mankato

At Saint Benedict, sociology is part of a single joint Sociology and Anthropology major of 44 credit hours. Before you declare, you need a C or better in an introductory sociology or anthropology course and 36 college credits. The methods side is split in two: Qualitative Research in Action works with a community-based client, and Quantitative Research in Action follows a statistics course. Social Theory and a Sociology Capstone close out the core, with 20 credits of electives in between, from Deviant Behavior to Sociology of Education. The capstone has you carry out original research.

Methods Sequence

Statistics, Qualitative Research in Action and Quantitative Research in Action

Capstone

Sociology Capstone, with original research and critical reading of scholarly journals

Major Size

44 credit hours, including 20 credits of department electives

Program Sources: Sociology and Anthropology Major | CSB+SJU

Winona State turns the upper-level research class into a consulting project: a community client describes a problem, and you and your classmates build a survey or evaluation tool, run it, analyze the results and present recommendations. Findings from past classes fed into local decisions at the Bluff Country Co-op. The major covers 48 of the 120 credits for graduation, and the last semester is a 360-hour internship at settings such as social service agencies, county offices or healthcare facilities. You can also pursue a faculty-guided research project and present a poster at regional conferences. Seven students earned the degree in 2023–24.

Internship

360 hours during your final semester

Community Research Project

A client brings a real issue to the upper-level research class

Program Size

48 program credits within a 120-credit degree

Program Sources: Sociology Major | Winona State University

You take sociology at St. Thomas in a set order: Research Methods in Sociology, then Sociological Analysis, ideally started in sophomore year and finished by the end of junior year, with a first-year math course recommended before them. A capstone, Sociological Theory and Praxis, comes last. In between you choose one of Social Inequality, Social Psychology or Self and Society and add twenty more sociology credits, eight at the 300 level or higher. The department points to specializations in crime and criminology, family and the life course, inequalities and stratification, and work and organizations. Service-learning courses take on issues such as family homelessness.

Methods Sequence

Research Methods in Sociology followed by Sociological Analysis

Capstone

Sociological Theory and Praxis: The Capstone Experience

Specializations

Crime and criminology, family and the life course, inequalities and stratification, work and organizations

Program Sources: Sociology | University of St. Thomas - Minnesota

Minnesota's sociology department admits students only to the PhD, though you can earn a master's along the way. Your coursework combines 14 credits of core requirements, 3 credits of advanced qualitative methods, 12 sociology credits, and 12 credits from outside the department tied to your course of study, plus 24 thesis credits. The milestones run in a fixed order: a committee-approved reading list early in year three, written and oral preliminary exams by that spring, a prospectus hearing in year four, then the dissertation and a final oral defense. The department lists an average cohort size of six and puts completion at 6.5 years.

Coursework Mix

Core, advanced qualitative methods, sociology, and outside-department credits

Year-Three Milestones

Reading list approval plus written and oral preliminary exams

Cohort Size

Average of six students

Program Sources: PhD in Sociology | Sociology | College of Liberal ArtsMaterial for Current Graduate Students | Sociology | College of Liberal Arts