Enrolling for Sociology Courses on Cal Central.
- Phase I: All upper division Sociology courses are open to officially declared Sociology majors only.
- Phase II: Some courses may have space open to undeclared students and outside majors on a first-come, first-served basis in Phase II, depending on space availability and demand from Sociology majors. Students who are prepared to declare the Sociology major should do so as soon as possible, to gain priority for Sociology courses.
- In Phase II, we reserve a small number of seats in most of our upper division Sociology courses for Social Welfare, American Studies, and ISF majors, who rely heavily on Sociology courses for their major requirements.
- Non-majors and undeclared students: If there is no open seating for the course you want in Phase II, you should add yourself to the waitlist. You may be added to the class early in the adjustment period depending on our priority system (see below). If not, please see below for information on how our waitlists are processed once the semester begins.
- Adjustment Period and waitlists: We begin processing our waitlists during the Adjustment Period. Please note: our wait-lists are manual (not automatic) and students are added selectively, rather than in numerical order, based on pre-established priorities (see below).
- Soc 1 and Soc 5 have large blocks of seats reserved for sophomores and juniors who need these courses to declare the sociology major. Enrollment in Soc 3 and 3AC is first-come, first-serve and is a course that should not be taken by intended sociology majors.
- If you are a declared sociology major, you can simply enroll in sociology courses in Phase I and/or Phase II. Some courses may fill up entirely with sociology majors in Phase I or the early part of Phase II, particularly smaller courses (less than 100 spaces). Thus it is advisable to make those courses a Phase I priority. We do not reserve space for sociology majors during the Adjustment Period, but they are usually given priority off the waitlist as space opens up.
- Most courses have just a lecture course to enroll in. Some courses have required discussion sections. If so, students must first enroll in a discussion section before they are considered officially enrolled in the lecture.
- There are special enrollment procedures, involving deadlines and online forms or paperwork to be submitted, for Sociology 190, H190A, and all independent studies (98, 197, 198 and 199). See Special Enrollment Procedures.
- Students should check the Berkeley Academic Guide to be sure they have met the prerequisites for a sociology course and are prepared to succeed in it. In upper division sociology courses the prerequisite is usually Soc 1, 3, 3AC, or the consent of instructor.
Sociology Waitlists and Enrollment Changes Once the Semester Begins.
- Waitlists in all upper division sociology courses do not open until Phase II. Nobody, including declared sociology majors, can get on a sociology course waitlist during Phase I, except for declared Sociology seniors in Soc 101.
- Students who are unable to enroll in a sociology course should add themselves to the waitlist in Phase II. Subsequent admission to a course is almost always off the waitlist only. An instructor cannot add a student to the course in any other way. The University requires that students show intent to take a course by enrolling or adding themselves to the waitlist. We generally do not use Permission Codes to add students to sociology courses.
- All sociology waitlists, except in Soc 3 and 3AC, are manual waitlists. This means that students are added selectively, rather than in numerical order, based on pre-established priorities (i.e. priority majors and/or class level). Students are generally added off the waitlist at the end of Phase II, if space is available, and once the semester begins, after enrolled students start to drop.
- Attendance at all class meetings, including discussion sections, is required during the first 2 weeks in all sociology courses. Instructors usually drop students for nonattendance. There is generally about a 10% drop rate in most upper division sociology courses, and a higher rate in lower division sociology courses. Students who cannot attend class because of a conflict should contact the instructor or GSI explaining why they missed class and that they intend to take it. Students should never assume they have been dropped from a course, and should always check on Cal Central to make sure they have or haven’t been dropped from a course after the second week.
- Once classes begin, the instructor and/or GSI decide which students to add off the waitlist. Instructors do NOT make these decisions prior to the start of the semester. In most cases they use established departmental priorities: 1) Sociology majors; 2) Social Welfare, American Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies Field Majors; then 3) Other majors and undeclared students. Further priority is usually given within each of these categories by class level--seniors first, then juniors, etc. and even further by the order those groups of students are listed on the waitlist. Instructors also tend to give priority to students attending class.
- If there is a discussion section, admittance to the lecture depends on getting into an open section. Students should attend as many sections as possible to find one with space and put themselves on the course wait list . Students not already enrolled in the lecture will be added off the waitlist once they are admitted to an open section. It is also recommended you discuss your interest in adding a section with the GSI.
- All students should check their class schedule frequently on Cal Central, especially during the first 4 weeks of the semester and by the add/drop deadline and a letter grade to a P/NP (10th week.). Students are responsible for ensuring their schedule is accurate. Changes due to instructor drops or adds off waitlists can occur without notification through the fourth week of the semester.