Undergraduate
Program in Sociology and Criminal Justice
Concentration students meet all requirements for the sociology major. However, two of their sociology courses focus on health care. Their related work in other departments and in the practicum also relates to their health interests.
The concentration includes a practicum that gives students on-the-job experience in their junior or senior year. Placements are carefully customized (really) to help students evaluate careers they are considering, and to get recommendation letters. Typical recent social work and direct service placements in the Newark area were at Christiana Hospital, Union Hospital, Multiple Sclerosis Society, Alfred I. DuPont Children's Hospital, and Cokesbury Village nursing home. Typical administration positions included Christiana Hospital, the Elsmere Veterans Hospital, HMOs, nursing home chains, and a consulting firm. Some students live and work near home and commute to Newark for Friday seminars.
The health care concentration is offered to ten students each Winter Session and in the first Summer Session. It is also open to students not in the concentration. Contact Professor David Ermann, 831-1568, to discuss your interests.
Students work closely with Dr. Gerry Turkel in creating a plan of study. The plan includes courses in Sociology, course work in related disciplines, and an internship. The internship enables students to gain field experience in such law related sites as law firms, courts, and legal agencies. In the past, students have interned in major law firms, family court, Superior Court, and the Public Defender's Office. This job-related experience has been very valuable in helping students with their career planning.
Students work closely with the Concentration Coordinator, Dr. Jeffrey Davidson, in developing a customized play of study. The plan includes courses in sociology and related disciplines and culminates with a full-time, five week long internship (SOCI 441, Welfare Practicum), usually during the Winter Session of the student's senior year. This practicum counts for 4 credits of the 15 credits of related work that all students enrolled in the College of Arts and Science must complete. In recent years, students in the Social Welfare Practicum have completed internships with the State of Delaware Department of Family Services, the Mental Health Association of Delaware, the Battered Women's Shelter, the State of Delaware Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, various group homes run by Catholic Charities, Cecil County (Maryland) Division of Social Services, Sojourner's Place (homeless shelter), Independent Living, Inc., and the counseling departments of several public schools. Students' placements are determined in an interview process with Dr. Davidson in order to find a situation that best suits each student's educational and career goals. The practicum experience, as well as other credited and non-credited, volunteer internships provide invaluable job-related experience and can improve students' employment opportunities and chances of admission to graduate programs in human services.