Sociology and Demography | College for Health, Community and Policy | UTSA

Welcome to the Department of Sociology and Demography at the University of Texas at San Antonio! This department harnesses the complementary fields of sociology and demography, equipping you with a diverse set of tools to critically analyze the world and your place in it. Given the unprecedented challenges facing society today – rising inequality, health disparities, the aging of the population, increasing social divisions, to name just a few – a degree in one or both of these fields is more important than ever.

In our sociology and demography programs you will gain a deeper understanding of current social problems facing society, sociological and demographic theories and concepts used to analyze their causes and consequences, as well as social policies and programs aimed to address them. Moreover, our demography programs and coursework contribute an understanding of the size, distribution, composition and growth of human populations. In addition, you will fine tune your critical thinking skills, and be exposed to a diverse set of analytical skills that are in high demand by employers, including qualitative methods, quantitative statistical analysis, demographic techniques, and program evaluation.

The department offers unique programs at the undergraduate, masters, and PhD levels that prepare students for a wide variety of careers in health care, social service agencies, academic settings (whether for graduate school or academic research and teaching), government and non-profit organizations, as well as the private sector. These programs include:

Bachelor of Arts in Sociology
Bachelor of Science in Health, Aging and Society
Master of Science in Applied Demography
Master of Science in Sociology
Ph.D. in Applied Demography

Whichever program you choose, you'll gain access to a world-class faculty engaged in cutting-edge research in areas such as social disparities in health and mortality, racial and ethnic relations, demographic and population studies, immigration and border studies, the sociology of religion, stratification and social mobility, adolescent and young adult well-being, aging and life course, the sociology of religion, and cultural sociology.

Fittingly for our location in the College for Health, Community and Policy, many faculty engage in research connected to the community, including the State of Texas, the City of San Antonio, UT Health, Methodist Healthcare, area high schools and the Alamo Colleges, and the San Antonio Military Medical Center. Our faculty include the State Demographer of Texas, and others Direct or are affiliated with the Institute for Health Disparities Research and Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research. Reflecting our global reach, some faculty engage in research collaborations in Mexico, China, France, and across the world.

This brief sketch only scratches the surface of potential opportunities for students in sociology and demography. I invite you to contact me or one of our program advisors (Joanne Ford- Robertson or Ying Huang), to stop by to tour our facilities and meet our faculty, staff and students, and to learn more about what we have to offer!