Fostering and facilitating immersive global learning experiences is a distinctive and core feature of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work at UD. As a department committed to social justice, our primary interest lies in teaching students to understand, through direct and personal encounters, those in the global margins, ranging from the urban poor in India struggling for water in the era of water privatization, youth in El Salvador facing police brutality, to indigenous peoples in the Yucatan peninsula displaced by tourism.

We offer a transformative experiential learning opportunity by enhancing specific courses with a short term global immersive travel. For example, students enrolled in ANT 325 Anthropology of Human Rights completed an immersion trip to El Salvador, facilitated jointly by Dr. MIranda Hallett, the Center for Social Concern, and CRISPAZ, an NGO in San Salvador. Also, students enrolled in ANT 315 Language and Culture participated in a trip to Mexico with Dr. Stephanie Litka and the Center for International Programs.

Please contact a faculty member for more information.

The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program brings together "outside" students from universities and "inside" students from correctional institutions. Founded in 1997 at Temple University in Pennsylvania, the program has expanded to more than 150 colleges. Faculty in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work at the University of Dayton began offering an Inside-Out class in Spring 2016. "Transformational" and "life changing" are commonly used to describe the program. The class is offered to a limited number of students in the Spring semesters; informational sessions take place in the Fall semesters. Students are required to complete an applications, interview, and background check.

The Sociology Internship (SOC 495) is a supervised work experience related to course work in sociology in appropriate government, social service, and private organizations. It is designed to allow students to receive academic credit for work experience. This work may be done in any of a variety of agencies or organizations. The internship experience serves as a transition between the world of the classroom and the world of work. The internship gives students an opportunity to relate their academic study to work situations and provides more information on which to base a career choice. Students have worked in direct service with clientele like recent refugees, family services, and survivors of abuse. Some students have chosen to conduct research, in which they collect,  and analyze data for various local agencies and organizations.

Many sociology majors have also chosen a minor in social work. Both clinical and administrative placements in the field of social work are possible for sociology graduates with this minor. Community Field Experience in Social Work is a 200 hour, supervised field experience with individuals and/or families in an agency setting. Students can be placed in settings where they can work with at-risk youth, older adults in residential and community centers, and the homeless. Popular placements include the East End Community Center, The Other Place, Building Bridges, YWCA Shelter services, and the Elizabeth New Life Center. Students also participate in seminars that focus on basic social work knowledge, values, skills, application to graduate school (MSW), and guides to entry-level employment in human services. This course is designed for students interested in graduate school, and for students who desire future employment in the social services field.