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Nov 24, 2024
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2021-2022 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Sociology, M.A.
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Are you curious about social problems? Do you have ideas about how to improve society? Are you interested in social policies and their effects? If so, sociology may be for you. A sociology degree prepares you for a wide range of careers in the following areas: business and industry, government, community and social services, the legal system, education and research. Our graduates work in nonprofit organizations, government, marketing, urban planning and human resources. They also work with at-risk youth, senior citizens and people struggling with substance abuse. Our faculty have areas of specialization in family sociology, medical sociology, immigration, religion, race and ethnic relations, social inequality, complex organizations and nonprofit organizations, and conflict resolution.
The Candidate Plan of Study (CPS) must include the following requirements:
- A minimum of 12 undergraduate upper-level hours in the behavioral sciences (anthropology, psychology, and sociology). If this requirement has not been met prior to admission, then such courses should be completed before beginning work toward the Master of Arts degree.
- If students are not taking the coursework option (30 hours; see details below), then a minimum of 6 hours is required in one of the following master’s options:
- Master’s thesis
- Graduate internship
- Registering for a master’s thesis or internship should not be seen as a right. Students wishing to complete a master’s option must submit a master’s option proposal. For the thesis, the proposal should be 3-6 pages in length. It should include a literature review with references and a statement of the proposed methodology for carrying out the thesis. Before registering for a thesis, a student must have the approval of a faculty member who agrees to supervise the work. Before registering for a graduate internship, a student must apply through the internship coordinator and meet the required criteria, including a grade point average of 3.00 or better. The university reserves the right to deny admittance to or to remove a student from an internship.
- Grades of B- or better must be earned for all coursework.
- No more than 6 credit hours may be transferred toward the SOCI MA. Courses may be transferred if:
- The courses are pertinent to the degree.
- The courses were taken not more than five years prior to admission to graduate study at UCHL.
- Grades of B- or better were earned.
- The courses were not applied to a graduate degree already earned.
- The courses were not taken by correspondence or extension.
- At least 24 credits of the degree plan must be earned at UHCL.
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General Requirements
SOCI 6730 and SOCI 6432 must be completed for credit within the first three long semesters (fall/spring) of a student’s graduate coursework. Students seeking an exception must obtain written approval from the sociology program director.
Note: SOCI 6432 is offered in the spring and SOCI 6730 is offered in the fall and spring.
Concentrations
Sociology graduate students are also encouraged to work with their faculty adviser to structure their plans of study in order to reflect concentrations within the discipline. Six concentrations are available.
Concentration in Diversity
Choose three of the following courses. For SOCI 5236 , the following may be substituted: CRCL 5033 . For SOCI 5333 , the following may be substituted: PSYC 5534.
Concentration in Work and Occupations
Choose three of the following courses. For SOCI 5532 , the following may be substituted; PSYC 5532 .
Concentration in Urban Studies
Choose three of the following courses. For SOCI 5333 , the following may be substituted: PSYC 5534.
Concentration in Health and Medicine
Choose three of the following courses.
Concentration in Family Sociology
Choose three of the following courses.
Thesis Option (30 hours)
SOCI 6939 must be repeated for a total of 6 hours. In addition to the courses below, students should choose 12 hours from the Core Sociology Classes listed above; students should also complete a 3-hour SOCI elective.
Additional Information
The thesis is a 35-40 page paper that could potentially be published in a sociology scholarly journal; it must be in American Sociological Association format, use real data (qualitative and/or quantitative), contain a literature review and test at least one hypothesis derived from a sociological theory. Students must work with a thesis committee consisting of at least two faculty members. A thesis proposal must be approved by the student’s thesis committee and the completed thesis must be approved by the committee, as well as by the dean and the associate dean. Students are required to hold a public defense (presentation) of their completed thesis.
Internship Option (30 hours)
SOCI 6739 must be repeated for a total of 6 hours. In addition to the courses below, students should choose 12 hours from the Core Sociology Classes listed above; students should also complete a 3-hour SOCI elective.
Additional Information
Internships may be completed in one of two ways: 1) students may complete a 500-hour internship at a social service agency, nonprofit organization or other association related to career goals and with approval of the sociology internship coordinator; or 2) students may complete a teaching internship, which consists of acting as a teaching assistant for a community college professor in the first semester and then teaching a community college course independently in the second semester– most likely Introduction to Sociology.
Additional Coursework Option (30 hours)
In addition to the courses below, students should choose 18 hours from the “Core Sociology Classes” listed above; student should also complete a 3-hour SOCI elective. Additional Information
Students should complete SOCI 6909 in the last semester of the degree. The comprehensive exam will be either a research proposal developed by the student in consultation with a faculty adviser or a written examination that includes questions contributed by all full-time sociology faculty.
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