Melissa Nelson '10, a nurse midwife at OB-GYN Associates in Providence, R.I., speaks to students during an alumni panel.
Our graduates pursue careers in business, health professions, marketing, education, law, social work, public service (government and non-governmental organizations), advocacy, and academia.
Sociology Careers
Majoring in sociology provides a strong preparation for positions throughout the business, health, social service, and government worlds. Employers look for people with the critical thinking and research skills that an undergraduate education in sociology provides.
What Our Sociology Graduates Say
Victoria Aramini '14
Planning Manager, The TJX Companies
"Studying sociology at Holy Cross has provided me with a wide range of skills that I use every single day in my role as a planning manager at The TJX Companies. The critical thinking skills gained in the classroom have helped me link together multiple facets of information while on the job, in turn helping me find new ways to strategically drive business at TJX. Additionally, studying sociology at Holy Cross provided me with a strong understanding of cura personalis, or understanding of the whole person. As someone in a managerial position, I utilize the concept of cura personalis on a daily basis as I work to set my associates up for success."
Julia Bandini '12
Associate Behavioral/Social Scientist, RAND Corporation
"I am an associate behavioral/social scientist at the RAND Corporation, which is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help individuals and communities throughout the world. My sociology major at Holy Cross provided me with a solid foundation in critical thinking and research that I use in my everyday life as a researcher. My work focuses on improving end-of-life care for patients and their families, which stems directly from my experiences and education at Holy Cross."
James Dale '19
Client Manager, Unum Insurance
"My sociology degree has helped me tremendously in the workplace by providing me with the tools to critically analyze situations, and advocate for my clients. My sociology degree has also transformed me into a more socially conscious individual, and therefore I am able to ask my colleagues and clients thought-provoking questions to prompt conversations. I am most grateful for the intellectual perspective that my sociology has provided me with to succeed in the corporate world."
Kathryn Miller '05
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Spark the Change Colorado
"As a sociology major, I was inspired by my classes on campus, where the deep inequity of the world was made clear to me. My first paid position was with a non-profit agency where I managed school-based services for children whose parents were incarcerated. I later obtained my master's degree in social work and entered a Ph.D. program. Throughout my career, I've worked mainly in community-based programs focusing on women and children in domestic violence, immigration, and school-based settings. I'm currently a licensed clinical social worker running a pro-bono mental health program, full time. I'm also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Denver, a non-profit consultant, and a clinical supervisor. This is to say that my career has been diverse in terms of the roles I've had, and sociology prepared me for (and propelled me into) all of it!"
Zhen Qi '16
Business Development Strategist, Air Business Tools
"During college, I imagined myself working for an international NGO fighting poverty, which I thought was a natural career for a sociology and international development major. Today, I am working for a Japanese tech company, where I design new IT tools that empower small and medium-sized businesses. Sociology taught me how to listen carefully, think critically and work scientifically. My education at Holy Cross gave me the confidence to venture into new fields constantly but never forget to prioritize the meaning and social impact in what I do."
Some Immediate Post-Graduation Plans of the Class of 2018
- Research analyst at Massey Quick Simon, a financial services company
- Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest - Year of service
- Ph.D. program at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in sociology (with a focus on aging and caregiving)
- Project specialist at MassMutual
- Master of educational specialist degree program at Tufts University in school psychology
- Teaching fellow at Nativity School of Worcester
- College Advising Corp at Boston University
- Conducting summer research at Holy Cross for nine weeks, and then attending University of California, San Diego to earn an MFA in Poetry as their San Diego Fellow
- Medical scribe; applying to physician assistant graduate program
Graduate School Information
- GradSchools.com: Masters in Sociology Programs
- American Sociological Association: Guide to Graduate Departments of Sociology
Career Information
- University of California, Davis: Careers for Sociology Majors
- American Sociological Association: Booklet: 21st Century Careers with an Undergraduate Degree in Sociology
- American Sociological Association: What are They Doing With A Bachelor’s Degree In Sociology? Data Brief On Current Jobs
- American Sociological Association: What Sociologists Do
Some Career Paths
Explore some areas, employers and strategies you can use when looking for a job with a major in sociology.
This information came from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the University of Southern Indiana
Anthropology Careers
Anthropology is a highly applicable social science that is gaining wider purchase within the worlds of business, health, law, policy, journalism and international relations.
For example, businesses are now keen to hire anthropologists to better understand the behaviors of their clients around the globe and broaden their consumer base. In the medical and legal careers, anthropological skills are very useful to translate between cultural systems and provide more fair and equitable services. Any job that requires international exchanges (and most jobs today do) benefits from an approach that is attuned to cultural difference and global inequality. Anthropology also prepares students for graduate study in a wide variety of fields, such as public health, museum studies, environmental studies, archeology and social work, among many others.
What Our Anthropology Graduates Say
Dillon Carmichael '18
Marketing Assistant, Marcus & Millichap
"After graduation, I continued my work with a project I started in college called Redefining Black Masculinity (RBM). I was later approached by a friend about assisting the nonprofit she worked for, New England Blacks in Philanthropy (NEBiP) with their marketing, and did just that until landing a role at my current job in January 2020. I think sociology and anthropology have been necessary components to the levels of success I have had in each. To be able to operate with an understanding of social systems and structures while also possessing a sense of human behaviors and cultural meanings strongly influence the type of work I do with RBM and serves as the foundation behind how one deconstructs preconceived norms and values that serve as a hindrance to marginalized (in this case, black) communities. From a marketing perspective, that same knowledge proves useful in communicating with potential audiences."
Vannak Khin '15
Community Outreach Specialist, JVS Boston
"I am a community outreach specialist at JVS, a nonprofit in downtown Boston that focuses on helping people enter the workforce. I engage with immigrants to help them enroll into our education and training programs. My anthropology major informs the way I coordinate marketing strategies that help immigrants and refugees strive for better life opportunities. In my current position, I look at the complex social circumstances of potential students, identify resources that best fit their needs, and figure out how we can responsibly scale our engagement strategies."
Tanusha Yarlagadda '18
Law School Student, Notre Dame Law
"I utilize my anthropology major every day especially during policy discussions in my classes. I find that my ability to analyze social issues is an advantage when justifying or rejecting a court's decision in cases. For example, I use my knowledge of issues related to gender that I learned through the major to analyze particular laws and their effects, especially on women, on a regular basis. Anthropology teaches you to be open-minded and see problems from all perspectives, a skill that is invaluable in a field creating and using laws that affect a diverse population."
Some Immediate Post-Graduation Plans of the Class of 2018
- Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest year of service as a community support specialist for the Women and Children's Alliance in Boise, Idaho, which provides support and resources for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault
- Notre Dame Law School
- Villanova Law School
- Assistant director of the Corporate Work Study Program at Cristo Rey New York High School
Value of an Anthropology Degree
The following news articles describe the value of an anthropology degree in the professional world.
- The New York Times: "Intel's sharp-eyed social scientist”
- The Atlantic: "Anthropology Inc."
General Information About Majoring in Anthropology
- American Anthropological Association: Internship Opportunities
- American Anthropological Association: Careers in Anthropology
- GradSchools.com: Anthropology Graduation Programs
- American Anthropological Association: Job Board