Best Sociology Programs in Ohio for 2027

Every sociology major at Ohio State finishes with real-world work in hand, because the program requires either an internship or faculty-directed undergraduate research. The core is shared with criminology and criminal justice majors, who train alongside you in theory, methods and statistics. Each student gets a personal academic advisor. Graduates head to health and social services, government at every level, law enforcement and criminal justice administration. Ohio State awarded 52 sociology bachelor’s degrees in 2023–24 and is first on its state page.

Experience Requirement

Internship or faculty-directed undergraduate research

Shared Core

Sociology and criminology theory, methods and statistics

Advising

Personal academic advisor

Program Sources: Explore Sociology and Criminology | Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University

Miami deliberately keeps its sociology BA broad. The program emphasizes exposure over specialization, so you sample theory, methods, inequality, culture and institutions rather than commit to one track. STA 261 Statistics and SOC 292 Research Methods sit in the core, and upper-level choices include Social Stratification, Sociology of Law and Social Forces and Aging. Along the way you can take part in undergraduate research and join Alpha Kappa Delta, the sociology honor society. Miami awarded 21 sociology bachelor’s degrees in 2023–24.

Core Skills

Statistics (STA 261) and Research Methods (SOC 292)

Sample Courses

Social Stratification, Sociology of Law, Social Forces and Aging

Honor Society

Alpha Kappa Delta

Program Sources: Sociology, B.A. | Miami University

One course in Ohio University’s sociology BA sends you into Appalachian communities. In the Appalachian Teaching Project, SOC 3090C, you design and lead projects on regional challenges for credit. The core covers Introduction to Sociology, Development of Sociological Theory and Elementary Research Techniques, with Applied Statistics in Sociology and Anthropology as the statistics course. Concentration courses run from Sociology of Poverty and Class and Inequality to Sociology of Immigration and Access to Justice. Ohio University awarded 74 sociology bachelor’s degrees in 2023–24.

Community Project

Appalachian Teaching Project (SOC 3090C)

Methods and Statistics

Elementary Research Techniques and Applied Statistics in Sociology and Anthropology

Sample Electives

Poverty, Class and Inequality, Immigration, Access to Justice

Program Sources: Sociology Major | Bachelor of Arts Degree | Ohio University

John Carroll puts sociology and criminology into one department and one major, and you decide how narrow to go. The four concentrations are Criminology; Diversity, Culture, and Justice; Forensic Behavioral Studies; and Social Work, Community, and Health. A year-long capstone with a faculty mentor has you research a real-world issue, and anyone who picks a concentration completes at least one internship. Through the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program you study alongside incarcerated students, and a study trip to Northern Ireland focuses on peace and conflict. JCU awarded 21 degrees in this major in 2023–24.

Concentrations

Criminology; Diversity, Culture, and Justice; Forensic Behavioral Studies; Social Work, Community, and Health

Capstone

Year-long research project with a faculty mentor

Special Programs

Inside-Out Prison Exchange and a Northern Ireland study trip

Program Sources: Sociology & Criminology | John Carroll University

Ohio University gives Sociology MA students three ways to finish: a research thesis, comprehensive exams, or an applied policy project. The policy route includes a semester-long practicum and can end in a policy analysis or grant proposal. Core study covers sociological theory and research methods, while the department’s research strengths include criminology, gender, and inequality. Students interested in teaching can take a teaching seminar that includes an e-portfolio and practice lectures; limited teaching positions are competitive, so the seminar should not be read as a guaranteed assignment.

Culminating Choice

Thesis, comprehensive exams, or applied policy project

Teaching Preparation

Seminar with e-portfolio and practice lectures

Program Sources: Ohio University: Sociology Master of Arts

Ohio State lays its sociology PhD out as a six-year calendar. You spend years one and two in coursework, defend a second-year paper and present a poster, sit candidacy exams in year three, defend a dissertation proposal in year four, and write the dissertation in years five and six while you search for a job. The required core is four basic methods courses, two theory courses, one advanced methods course and two professional development seminars, plus eight electives. Seminars cover demography, criminology, inequality, medical sociology and political movements. Ohio State awarded 7 sociology doctorates in 2023–24.

Second-Year Paper

Defended in year two, with a poster presentation

Candidacy

Candidacy exams in year three, dissertation proposal defense in year four

Required Core

Four basic methods courses, two theory courses and one advanced methods course

Program Sources: Sociology PhD Program | Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University

Case Western’s sociology PhD gives you four areas of concentration: Sociology of Age and the Life Course, Medical Sociology, Social Inequality and Research Methods. You must pass written comprehensive exams in two of them before starting your dissertation. The degree takes 66 credit hours beyond the bachelor’s, including 18 hours of dissertation work, and the required courses cover two theory courses plus Logic of Social Inquiry, Social Statistics, Advanced Statistical Analysis and Qualitative Methods and Field Research. Case Western awarded 5 sociology doctorates in 2023–24.

Concentration Areas

Age and the Life Course, Medical Sociology, Social Inequality, Research Methods

Comprehensive Exams

Written exams in two of the four areas

Credit Load

66 credit hours including 18 of dissertation

Program Sources: Sociology, PhD | Case Western Reserve University Bulletin

Cincinnati’s sociology PhD studies social inequality through community and urban sociology, health and medicine, race and ethnicity, and gender and class. Required courses include Intermediate Graduate Statistics, Introduction to Social Inequality, Logic of Inquiry, Qualitative Sociology, and classical and contemporary theory. Before the dissertation, you complete an original master’s-level paper and pass two preliminary exams: a three-day take-home General Prelim, usually taken at the start of the third year, and a Specialty Prelim written as a literature-review paper within a year of the first. Cincinnati awarded 4 sociology doctorates in 2023–24.

Required Courses

Intermediate Graduate Statistics, Logic of Inquiry, Qualitative Sociology and two theory courses

Preliminary Exams

Three-day take-home General Prelim and a Specialty Prelim paper

Research Paper

Original master’s paper defended before a two-person committee

Program Sources: Department of Sociology PhD Guide to Graduate Studies 2025-26, University of Cincinnati

Sinclair designed its 60-credit sociology associate degree for one move, transfer to a four-year bachelor’s program, and finishing it completes the Ohio Transfer Module. The curriculum includes Introduction to Sociology, Sociology of Marriage and Family, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Sociology of Aging, Social Problems and Race and Ethnicity, with General Psychology, two English composition courses, a first-year experience course and a communication course around them. Sinclair awarded 14 sociology associate degrees in 2023–24 and ranks first on its state page.

Transfer Pathway

Completes the Ohio Transfer Module

Sociology Courses

Marriage and Family, Cultural Anthropology, Aging, Social Problems, Race and Ethnicity

Degree Size

Associate of Arts, 60 credit hours

Program Sources: Sociology SOCE.S.AA | Sinclair Community College

Owens calls its sociology associate degree a transfer pathway, and the plan runs four semesters and 62 to 65 credit hours. You start with fundamental sociology concepts alongside composition and statistics, then apply those ideas to real-world social problems. Later terms add marriage and family sociology, foreign language study and lab science, and the degree closes with a look at multicultural diversity in the U.S. Electives in communication, social sciences and Ohio Transfer Module courses let you line the plan up with the four-year school you have in mind. Classes run 10 to 15 students.

Transfer Pathway

Four semesters, 62-65 required credit hours

Specialty Course

Marriage and family sociology

Final Term Focus

Multicultural diversity in the U.S.

Program Sources: Sociology Transfer Pathway, AA - Owens Community College