Sociology on UBC's Okanagan campus | UBC Undergraduate Programs and Admissions

Examine social and cultural life in human societies while exploring challenging community issues. The department of sociology at UBC's Okanagan campus is committed to a sociological imagination that challenges you to apply your theoretical and analytical skills to exploring, understanding, and exposing how power, privilege, and inequality are controlled, secured, and expressed by the few for the domination of the many.

This program is also offered at UBC's Vancouver Campus

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Why this program?

Learn how to apply historical analysis, participant observation, surveys and interviews to better serve global social justice.
Volunteer to assist with a research project on globalization, Canadian society, social inequality, or social control – just some of the topics award-winning UBC faculty researchers are exploring.

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Program information

Campus: Okanagan
Faculty: Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Degree: Bachelor of Arts

Length 4 yrs
Co-op Yes
You can combine your studies with full-time, paid work at top local and international organizations.
Honours No
You can study intense specialization in a single field.

Get your UBC degree in sociology, the study of society and how social forces shape human behaviour and determine life chances.

Students in the sociology program will be challenged to apply theoretical and analytical skills to explore, understand and expose how power and privilege are distributed, structured and replicated. Sociology as a field of research and pedagogy also works toward change, with the goal of achieving social and economic justice across societies. The program prepares students for graduate and professional programs, and to pursue careers.

Experiential learning and research

Take your studies further by enrolling in directed studies, where you will complete directed readings and a research project.

The Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences also supports student research through the Undergraduate Research Awards, which allow students to carry out their own projects over the summer months, while other awards provide opportunities to work with professors on their work.

Or, take your studies abroad with the Go Global program and the Exchange and Research Abroad program.

Campus features

The History/Sociology Speaker Series pairs UBC’s Okanagan campus with the Okanagan Regional Library to bring in distinguished guests to share their knowledge with students, colleagues and the community.

Students at UBC can also branch out, network, and meet people with similar interests in various clubs on campus.

SOCI 111 - Introduction to Sociology I
Studies how society influences human behaviour. How is society organized and structured? How does it affect the way we think and act? What is the relationship between individuals and society? What is our social nature? Why is there inequality in the world?
SOCI 121 - Introduction to Sociology II
Theories and methods sociologists use to examine social life. Class, gender, race and ethnicity; families, education, work; media and technology; inequality, power, crime and deviance; population changes, the state, globalization, conflict, and social change.
GWST 100 - Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Power I: An Introduction
Cross-cultural and historical antecedents to women's studies, the women's movement, and its philosophies. The social construction of knowledge, gender, and inequality; the cultural and structural forces that create the dynamic for change and resistance in the personal and political realms of women's and men's lives.
ANTH 100 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
An overview of social and cultural anthropologyits origins, its distinctive methods and concepts, and its place in the contemporary world. A critical examination of human diversity and how social and cultural differences are produced and shaped by local and global patterns.
INDG 100 - Introduction to Indigenous Studies
Provides students with an overview of the discipline of Indigenous studies including the history, cultures, and experiences of Indigenous people.

SOCI 212 - Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
Key concepts and theoretical ideas of race and ethnicity; how race and ethnicity shape power, cultural expressions, identities, and resistance movements.
SOCI 216 - Media and Society
Critical and contextual analysis of the form and content of mass communication. Relationship between culture, social behaviour, and public channels of communication such as print media, advertising, television, film, and popular literature.
SOCI 249 - Crime and Society
Introduction to crime as a social phenomenon. Changing definitions of crime in relation to social and political change; scope and nature of crime; criminalization; growth of criminology; institutional responses to criminal behaviour by the justice system.
SOCI 205 - Childhood and Society
Children's social experiences and the institutions that shape them. Historical evolution of childhood; families, schools, and socialization; violence against children; the state and social policy; street culture; the media.
SOCI 280 - Sociology of Aging
Interplay of social, cultural, political, and individual contexts for older persons. Emphasis on the social construction of aging.

SOCI 305 - Sociology of Families
Theoretical and methodological approaches to family structures and relations.
SOCI 303 - Ethnic and Racial Inequality
Classical and contemporary theories. Emphasis on racialization, racism, and critical analyses of ethnicity.
SOCI 309 - Violence in Intimate Relations
Social, historical, cultural, and political roots of violence in intimate relations. Primary focus on women, children and the elderly.
SOCI 371 - Deviance and Social Control
The social construction of deviance. Perspectives on social control such as moral regulation, surveillance, and punishment. Theoretical frameworks will be stressed.
SOCI 395 - Sociological Methods: Qualitative Research
Examination of methods such as ethnography, interviewing, historical and discourse analyses. Theoretical, epistemological, and ethical issues in social research and methods.

SOCI 426 - Urban Sociology
Demographic, behavioural, and organizational aspects of contemporary urban structures, as well as urbanization in different societies and periods.
SOCI 432 - Sociology of Food
How does food shape social relations (class, gender, race, age)? What is its role in the construction of meaning and identity? How does it connect to the political through civil society and social movements? How is it impacted by globalization? Credit will only be granted for one of SOCI 432 or SOCI 496 when on the same topic.
SOCI 415 - Feminist Theory
Development of feminist theories and their relationship to sociology. Social and cultural bases of feminism. Special attention to contemporary debates.
SOCI 450 - Sociology of India
Historical and geographical overview of contemporary Indian society, including social institutions such as religion, community, family, education, and government. Emphasis on social divisions based on religious heritage, gender, region, language, caste, class, and political ideology.
SOCI 456 - Sociology of Elites
Examines theoretical and empirical studies of elites ? who they are; what role they play in society; how they operate. Reviews research countering the prominence of elites in economic, social and political life. Focuses primarily on Canada. Credit will only be granted for one of SOCI 456 or SOCI 496 when on the same topic.

Life at UBC's Okanagan campus

UBC's Okanagan campus is renowned for its research opportunities and access to professors. On this tight-knit campus, you’ll be able to work closely with award-winning faculty in areas such as Canadian social issues, race and ethnicity, media and society, sociology of gender, crime and society, and the sociology of Latin America, China, and India.

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Your future

A UBC degree is respected by employers around the globe. As a graduate of the Sociology program, you will be well-positioned to thrive in a variety of organizations. Take advantage of hands-on learning experiences to access multiple career paths such as market researcher, policy writer, community development worker or labour relations officer.

Program requirements

Canadian high schools
International high schools
International baccalaureate

English-language requirements

English is the language of instruction at UBC. All prospective students must demonstrate English-language competency prior to admission. There are numerous ways to meet the English Language Admission Standard.

General admission requirements

IB Diploma Programme

Completed IB Diploma, including at least three Higher Level courses.

IB Certificate Courses

IB Certificate courses (Standard and Higher Level) may be used in an admissions average if you are graduating from a recognized high school curriculum that can be used as your basis of admission.

IB Math Applications and Interpretations SL, or IB Math Studies, do not satisfy the math requirement for admission to UBC’s science-based programs, the Faculty of Management, the UBC Sauder School of Business, or the Vancouver School of Economics.

Degree-specific requirements: Arts

No specific courses required beyond those needed for general admission

Related courses

The following subject categories are particularly relevant for this degree. Consider taking courses in these areas in your junior year and senior year.

Language Arts
Mathematics and Computation
Second Languages
Social Studies
Visual and Performing Arts

Visit program website

This program is also offered at UBC's Vancouver Campus

Why this program?

Experiential learning and research

Campus features

Life at UBC's Okanagan campus

Your future

Related programs

Program requirements

English-language requirements

General admission requirements

Degree-specific requirements: Arts

Related courses

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