Students in LMU's Sociology major develop the intellectual skills to examine and understand the patterns of relationships that from the foundation of society. As a discipline concerned with the causes and consequences of individual participation in groups, Sociology majors study the units such as families, neighborhoods, political parties, and ethnic groups that make it possible for people to develop networks of interaction, meaning and identity. Students learn the significance of cultural differences in traditional and modern societies, the origin and development of theoretical ideas that inform contemporary sociological inquiry, and the basic methodological and statistical strategies used in contemporary sociology.