Low Rigor Undergraduate Degree?

[QuantumLeaper]

I'm a long ways off from graduate school, but I'm majoring in sociology and am planning on minoring in sustainable food systems and maybe human nutrition. I made up a schedule of what courses I want to take each semester, and I found that I'll barely have enough upper level courses to graduate. (I think I'll end up with like 34 credits that are at or above the 300 level, and the minimum upper level credits to graduate is 30.) And just looking at my schedule, it looks easy. Would this severely hurt my chances of getting into graduate school?

 

I am in the honors program, though. At my school, that doesn't mean that I'll be taking "honors math" or "honors history" - instead, it's a sequence of interdisciplinary humanity classes that get rid of the non-math/science general education requirements. I will end up writing a thesis in my senior year, so I figure that should help.

 

I'm going to end up with so many low level credits because of earning 21 credits before officially starting college - they're all 100-200 level. To save money, I'm only taking 12 (or as close to 12 as I can get) credits per semester, so I don't have a whole lot of wiggle room to rack up "hard" classes outside of my major/minor requirements unless I want to take on more debt. If I want to get into graduate school, is taking a bunch of low-level classes not a big deal as long as I write a good thesis and get good grades, or should I take more "rigorous" classes just for the sake of rigor?

 

Note: I think I may eventually want to go for a Phd, but I'm fine with getting a master's degree first.

[rising_star]

In sociology, most PhD programs allow you to earn a master's while you're in the program.

 

Is it really a lot more expensive to take 15 credits rather than 12 at your school? One disadvantage of having so few upper-level courses is that you'll have less in-depth exposure to specifics of the field that might interest you (whether that's political sociology, statistical methods, sociological theory, etc.), which could make it more difficult to write a strong SOP. It may also make it more difficult for you to get strong recommendation letters. Having those hard classes showed you, the adcom, and your professors (the ones who will write those rec letters) that you are capable of succeeding at the graduate level. Without that, yes, it may be harder to get in. 

 

That said, don't take "rigorous" classes just for the sake of rigor. Take the classes that further your interests, allow you to connect with professors, etc. If you aren't enjoying the subject matter, you might struggle in a rigorous class. 

 

Good luck!

[oranges]

It won't be a deal-breaker, especially if you write a great honors thesis in your senior year. Overall, you don't need to take rigorous classes "for the sake of rigor," though you should take rigorous courses for sociology classes that pertain to your interests.

 

However, if you're really serious about grad school in sociology, you should consider dropping your minor in sustainable food systems. You can still take courses in the subject, but it may not be worth the time and effort to ensure you get a minor in the subject.

[MaxWeberHasAPosse]

Why don't you take graduate classes as an undergrad? I did, in sociology, and in a other related fields, and it really helped me.

[sociology767]

I don't think there's a lot of interest in how you quantify your knowledge, but *that* you quantify your knowledge.  A passion for independent reading of texts well beyond the scope of your program design will always go further than some upper level survey course if you can demonstrate the breadth of your knowledge (presumably in your writing sample).  Situating yourself toward your goal now is perhaps one of the best things you can do (and are clearly in the process of doing).  Taking yourself seriously early will put you light years beyond the bulk of students that don't wise up until mid-junior year.  I would also recommend plying your craft writing and publishing as a demonstration of your knowledge as early as possible.  Publishing in reputable-but-not-peer-reviewed locations (some might disagree) is a decent way to start, but you should have an eye toward a well-researched, serious piece of work that situates firmly in the mainstream of theory by your senior year.  Demonstration of learned concepts > 4.0s in rigorous unrelated fields.

[Purple queen]

The specific classes don't matter as long as you fulfill any prerequisites for grad programs you might want to apply to. This is typically intro and advanced soc classes, research methods, and statistics. Your minors sound like they will be helpful in developing research ideas!