I. The Department of Sociology offers the Master of Arts degree in Sociology. Program objectives are: (1) understanding of and competence in a broad range of substantive topics and in the major theories, statistical techniques, and methodological approaches that guide the sociology discipline; (2) development of independent research skills, including data analysis and oral and written communication of research; and (3) preparation for employment in a sociology-related field or doctoral level study.

II. MA Degree Program

Graduate students who select sociology as a major should consult with the graduate coordinator.

A. Program Admission

To be considered for admission, the Department of Sociology recommends that applicants have a Verbal score of 450 and a Quantitative score of 450 on the GRE or a score of 40 or higher on the MAT. Admission, however, is not automatic upon meeting the recommended scores. Other factors such as, but not limited to, letters of reference, the writing sample, GPA for the last 60 hours of the undergraduate degree, and the availability of stipends, will be taken into account. Applicants with low test scores may be considered if other supporting evidence is outstanding. In addition, applicants must have satisfactorily completed courses in research methods, sociological theory, and statistics, or demonstrate equivalency.

B. Program Requirements

1. Students may choose one of two degree programs:
1. The thesis program requires thirty (30) semester hours of graduate level work, which includes 3-6 hours of Sociology 7996 (Thesis).
At least 24 semester hours of course work must be in sociology.
1. The oral defense of the thesis counts as a comprehensive examination.
2. The non-thesis program requires thirty-three (33) semester hours of graduate level work and the passing of both written and oral comprehensive examinations.
1. At least 27 semester hours must be in sociology.
2. The student must remove all grades of incomplete from his or her record before taking the comprehensive examination.
3. The successful completion of the following courses is required of all majors: SOCI 6312, SOCI 7210, SOCI 7320. A minimum grade of "3.0" is required in each.
4. No more than 6 semester hours of SOCI 7912, Directed Individual Study, may be counted toward the degree without permission from the graduate coordinator.
5. A graduate student whose cumulative grade point average in sociology drops below 3.00 will be placed on departmental review. A second consecutive semester on departmental review will result in suspension. Conditions under which continuation in the program beyond two consecutive semesters on departmental review will be granted must be recommended by the department's graduate committee and the department chair. If, in the opinion of the graduate committee and the chair, the student is not making satisfactory progress toward degree completion, the student will be dismissed from the degree program. Students are ineligible for graduate assistantships while on departmental review, but may apply/reapply for an assistantship once their departmental review status has been removed.
6. According to Graduate School policy, students must complete the requirements to remove a grade of "I" (incomplete) within 90 days from the end of the semester or summer term in which it was received or the "I" changes to an "F." If unusual circumstances prevent the student from removing the "I" within 90 days, a 45-day extension may be granted. It is the student's responsibility to request an extension. The department will allow students who received a grade of "I" that changes to an "F" to submit a written request to the graduate committee for a grade change. The request must be made after the student has completed requirements for the course in which the "F" was received and must spell out the reasons why the student was unable to complete the requirements for the course prior to the "I" becoming an "F." In addition, the request must be made within one year of the beginning of the semester or term in which the student enrolled in the course. If the faculty member from which the student received the "I" and the graduate committee agree that extraordinary circumstances prevented the student from completing requirements for the course before the "I" changed to an "F," they will recommend to the department chair that the student's "F" be changed. If the chair agrees with the recommendation of the faculty member and the graduate committee, the chair will recommend to the Assistant Vice Provost for Graduate Studies that the student's grade be changed.

6211. Contemporary Sociological Theories. (3). Major frameworks of 20th century sociological thought, including theoretical schools of functionalism, exchange theory, critical theory, symbolic interactionism, phenomenological sociology, and ethnomethodology; current social and political trends

6312. Intermediate Social Statistics. (3). Multivariate analysis of social data; use of computer programs for data management and statistical analysis. PREREQUISITES: SOCI 3311 and 3322, or their equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

6842. Sociology of Occupations and Professions. (3). Sociological analysis of the division of labor, occupational groupings, career patterns, and professional associations in modern American society.

6900-09. Special Topics in Sociology. (3). Topics are varied and announced in online class listings.

7210-8210. Theory Seminar. (3). An advanced analysis of recent developments in sociological theory, including the relationship of theory to empirical research.

7212-8212. Multi-Racial Feminist Theory. (3). Intensive analysis of major figures and issues in contemporary multi-racial feminist theory, emphasis on theory that grapples with conceptual and methodological requirements for multi-racial feminist politics of diversity that draws on both United States and international scholarship.

7320-8320. Seminar in Methods of Social Research. (3). Issues and techniques in data collection for the design and implementation of independent research projects; logic of conducting social scientific research, ethical considerations, logic of sampling, various methods of collecting data for social research (e.g. experimental design, participant observation, survey research/questionnaire construction, and content analysis), and writing research proposals.

7322. Seminar in Quantitative Data Analysis. (3). Preparation, analysis, and interpretation of existing quantitative data; data processing, multivariate analysis, interpretation, and writing results for research projects. PREREQUISITE: SOCI 6312, equivalent, or permission of instructor.

7325-8325. Seminar in Qualitative Research Methods. (3). Examination of qualitative social science research methods, particularly rationale behind these methods, how and when they are employed, and processes of analyzing field observations, oral histories, and in-depth interviews.

7410-8410. Sociology of Gender. (3). Social definitions of gender and impact of these definitions on women's and men's lives; women's and men's responses to these conditions.

7411-8411. Social Stratification. (3). Theoretical analysis of how social class status and power shape social relations, determine life chances, and affect attitudes, opinions, and political choices of individuals and groups; processes that perpetuate systems of class, gender, and race inequality, and degree of social mobility in societies.

7421. Racial and Social Inequality. (3). (7810). Comparative study of racial, ethnic, and social minorities in the United States; historical and contemporary experiences of groups such as African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, homosexuals, and political minorities, as well as current theories in American sociology used to interpret their experiences; how gender and class influence experience of oppression.

7422-8422. Race, Class, and Gender. (3). Concepts, theories, and contemporary empirical research regarding multiple intersections of race, class, and gender; implications for sociological theory and methodology.

7442-8442. Sociology of Poverty. (3). Patterns of wealth and income inequality in contemporary society; consequences of poverty for society and individuals in various institutional contexts. critical evaluation of traditional theories of poverty and contemporary alternatives.

7450. Seminar in Aging. (3). Aging as sociological phenomenon through understanding and applying principles of gerontological analysis to contemporary topics in aging, including acquaintance with and use of computer accessible literature data base.

7511-8511. Theories of Deviance. (3). A seminar in the sociological approaches to the study of deviance and social disorganization with an emphasis on current sociological theory and research.

7512-8512. Deviance and Diversity. (3). The concepts of deviance and diversity are contrasted; such topics as bigamy, multiple spouses, contemporary con games, hate crimes and hate groups, the trans-gender movement, exotic dancing, and trauma may be analyzed using a social constructionist model.

7513-8513. Sociology of Gambling. (3). Sociological examination of the role of gambling in contemporary society with special emphasis on social, economic, and political aspects of gambling behavior; agnostic vs. fatalistic gambling, gambling as social structure, gambling as superstition, gaming industry, illegal and sports gambling, legitimization of gambling, and problem gambling.

7528-8528. School, Family, and Delinquent Children. (3). Delinquency in context of children’s relationships with family and school; theory of social bonding; changing social roles of children (through the life cycle and historically); family and delinquency; schools, truancy, and delinquency; endangered children; female delinquency; and treatment/ prevention/control of delinquency.

7631. Urban Theory Seminar. (3). Competing theories and accompanying research findings on current issues in macro and micro urban theory; rise and fall of cities; effects of urbanism and urban form on individual and group behavior; how urban social groups (e.g., social classes, race/ethnic groups) manage their lives and their relations with others, and how these groups mobilize in efforts to change or resist change.

7655-8655. Sociological Foundations of Community Studies. (3). Ecological, interaction, and social system perspectives for community analysis; contemporary applications of theories within context of American society; implications of current changes for community life and social stratification, leadership and power structure, social differentiation and integration, community development, and ideology.

7711-8711. Seminar in Globalization and Social Change. (3). Sociological and historical perspectives on social, political, and economic differences among countries and regions of the world; global/ transnational processes in uneven development; state formation; class transformation; democracy.

7721-8721. Seminar in Social Movements. (3). Origins, organization, and consequences of intentional, collective efforts at social change; social movement theory; in-depth examination of selected movements, both domestic and international.

7751-8751. Seminar in Sociological Social Psychology. (3). Advanced course in social psychology, incorporating basics and emphasizing sociological approaches; symbolic interaction, non-laboratory methods, attitude measurement, socialization, self-concept, gender, attraction, personal relationships, small groups, power, and situationalism.

7811. Formal Organizations. (3). (7460). Competing theories of formal organizations and accompanying research findings on current issues of bureaucratization and centralization of modern social systems; close examination of power and functions of various large scale organizations, including economic, political, and educational institutions.

7820. Seminar in Sociology of Education. (3). Schools and school life from sociological perspective; how societal objectives are translated into school policies and practices.

7830-8830. Seminar in the Family. (3). (7420). An advanced course that is primarily concerned with research findings in the area of family disorganization, changes in family structure and function, parent-child interaction, working mothers, and problems of aging.

7851-8851. Medical Sociology. (3). Social meaning of disease, with special emphasis on the cultural, organizational, and behavioral contexts of the occurrence and management of disease.

7852-8852. Sociology of Mental Illness. (3). Social meaning of mental illness, with special emphasis on the cultural, organizational, and behavioral contexts of the occurrence and management of mental illness.

7853. Gender and Health. (3). Advanced course on sociological understandings of gender, health, and illness in the US; topics include health status, health behaviors, reproductive health, health professions, care-giving, aging and mortality with special attention to women and men of different class, racial, and ethnic groups.

7860-8860. Seminar in the Sociology of Religion. (3). A sociological examinations of religious institutions; cultural and social factors associated with religious structure, religious values, and religious behavior ; secularization of culture and change of social structure; analysis of religious organizations, religious leadership, and religious movements.

7901-7909–8901-8909. Special Topics in Sociology. (1-3).

‡7912-8912. Directed Individual Study. (1-4). Individually directed advanced reading and/or research in special areas of interest. NOTE: Course may be repeated for a maximum of 6 hours credit. PREREQUISITE: Permission of Coordinator of Graduate Studies.

†7913. Teaching Skills for Graduate Assistants. (1-3). Overview and practical demonstrations of art of teaching sociology. May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credit hours. PREREQUISITE: Limited to sociology majors; permission of graduate coordinator.

†7914. Workshop in Professional Development for Graduate Assistants. (1-3). Presentations of research methods and scholarly output by faculty, graduate students, and visiting scholars. May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credit hours. PREREQUISITE: Limited to sociology majors; permission of graduate coordinator.

†7915. Skills for Research and Proposal Preparation. (1-3). Research design, practice, and methodology in professional writing in sociology; specific emphasis on thesis/dissertation proposal preparation. May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credit hours. PREREQUISITE: Limited to sociology majors; permission of graduate coordinator.

†7996. Thesis. (1-6). Supervised research in preparation for advanced degree thesis. PREREQUISITE: The formal filing of a research proposal and outline of procedures acceptable to the student’s graduate committee.

†Grades of S, U, or IP will be given
‡Grades of A-F, or IP will be given