Master of Arts in Sociology

Emphasizes logical and conceptual dimensions of theory and theory construction.

Note: This course is mandatory for full-time sociology M.A. students in their first year. It is optional for part-time M.A. sociology students but keep in mind that it is a mandatory course which you will need to complete before you can graduate. Sociology Ph.D. students will not take this course unless it was recommended on an individual basis. 

Logic and practice of research; problems of observation and data collection, data processing and evaluation.

Note: This course is mandatory for full-time sociology M.A. students in their first year. It is optional for part-time M.A. sociology students but keep in mind that it is a mandatory course which you will need to complete before you can graduate. Sociology Ph.D. students will not take this course unless it was recommended on an individual basis.

Logic and application of parametric and non-parametric statistical analyses for Sociological data.

Note: This required course is open to first and second year full-time and part-time sociology M.A. students. If you are a full-time M.A. student and did not take this course in your first year, you will need to take it now.  Sociology Ph.D. students will not take this course unless it was recommended on an individual basis.

Designed to introduce students to qualitative research methods, such as participant observation and intensive interviewing that require the researcher to get close to the social situation of interest.

Note: For Sociology PhD Students, this course counts as a specialty methods course.  

Examines the theoretical and practical issues in ethnographic research and various styles of ethnography. Provides hands-on training in ethnographic data collection and qualitative data analysis.

Logic and application of parametric and nonparametric statistical analysis for sociological data.

Independent Study

Directed Research

Topics vary depending on student and faculty interests. Topics in recent semesters have included: Social Psychology; Race and Immigration; Religion, Culture & Society; Religion and Social Change; Narrative Identity; Women’s Status & Global Conflict; Sociology of Health and Illness. These elective courses for M.A./Ph.D students are offered at a maximum once every four semesters.

Thesis

Provides training in the field of urban and community sociology. Focuses on the field’s early theoretical foundations, “classic” research, and contemporary debates. Concentrates on the U.S. although some cross-cultural comparisons will be offered.

Introduces students to the historical development of race, the social construction of racial and ethnic identities, race-class-gender interrelationships, and various issues of immigration. Students will explore numerous theories -- both cultural and structural -- used to explain racial and ethnic inequality today.

Provides a key link for future teaching sociologists, assisting them to make the switch from consumers to educators of the sociological perspective. Places equal emphasis on theoretical and practical issues surrounding teaching Sociology.

Note: This course is mandatory for second-year funded sociology M.A. students and all first year sociology Ph.D. students. Unfunded and part-time M.A. students are not required to take this course but it will count as an elective.

Application of sociological theory to the social institution of education. Primary attention directed toward the social organization of educational systems.

This course critically evaluates current controversies about the utility of a variety of theoretical perspectives and research methods in understanding the lived experience of disability in 21st century urban society.

An examination of social problems using social constructionism theoretical perspectives. Topics focus on how humans create meaning and how this meaning influences reactions to conditions defined as social problems.

Explores the role of emotions in the everyday lives of individuals, within the micro-social contexts of identities, interactions, and social relationships.

Provides an overview of the various theoretical perspectives used to explain the emergence, growth, strategies and success of social movements in contemporary America and in other countries.