Great undergrad GPA, horrendous grad GPA in a different subject.

[biggspc]

I did fairly well in undergrad as a sociology major. My GPA was >3.9 and my Sociology GPA was >4.0. In an effort to gain practical skills that would help me both in the workforce and potentially if I went on to do a sociology PhD, I decided to get a masters in Computer Science. Unfortunately the material is extremely difficult for me and my GPA is <3.0. Is this something that would greatly affect my chances of getting in a sociology PhD program or would it largely be overlooked since the material itself is unrelated (although I would like to use some computational methods if I do go the PhD route)?

[ExponentialDecay]

my Sociology GPA was >4.0

 

was your school on a 5-pt scale?

[ZiggyPhil]

Whether or not it's a strike against you probably depends on the particular person reading your application.  There's little you can do but mention in your SoP what benefits you think the CompSci Masters will yield for your Ph.D. work, and hope for the best.