Master's in Sociology

Students entering the MA program with a BA are eligible to receive an MA in Sociology when the following requirements are completed: (1) the completion of at least 30 credit hours; (2) the completion of a set of required courses; and (3) the successful completion of an Exam.

SOC7004 Exam Prep x2
SOC7005 Intermediate Graduate Statistics
SOC7010 Introduction to Social Inequality
SOC7011 Logic of Inquiry
SOC8040 Qualitative Methods
SOC8075 Classical Sociological Theory

Students must take at least 3 elective 3-credit sociology courses at the 7000 level or above.

To satisfy the Exam requirement, students need to take two 3-credit Exam Prep classes, one each semester, and then pass an oral exam to be distributed during exam week each spring.

Students entering the PhD program with a BA are eligible to receive an MA in Sociology when the following requirements are completed: (1) the completion of at least 30 credit hours; (2) the completion of a set of required courses; and (3) the successful completion of a Master's paper. Students entering the program with an MA or equivalent in a discipline unrelated to sociology (e.g., physics), who can transfer neither credits nor a research paper, will receive an MA in Sociology when the above requirements are completed. Students entering the program with an MA in a discipline related to sociology (e.g., anthropology), who can transfer credits and/or a research paper, will not receive an MA in Sociology unless otherwise arranged with the Director of Graduate Studies and the above requirements are fulfilled.

SOC7005 Intermediate Graduate Statistics
SOC7010 Introduction to Social Inequality
SOC7011 Logic of Inquiry
SOC8040 Qualitative Sociology
SOC8075 Classical Sociological Theory

Students must take at least 5 elective courses at the 7000 level or above. No more than 2 of these courses can be taken outside of the department and they must be approved beforehand by the Graduate Program Committee. Independent work does not count as elective courses.

The paper is directed by a two-person faculty committee composed either of two sociology faculty or of one sociology faculty member and one affiliated sociology faculty member. The chair of the committee must be a member of the sociology faculty. Students formally establish the committee by notifying the Graduate Program Committee in writing, using the MA paper committee confirmation form.

The paper must be defended during a meeting with the two committee members. The committee members must have a copy of the paper at least two weeks before the defense. Both of the committee members must approve the paper.

Students have five (5) years from the date of entry into the program to complete all of the requirements for the M.A. degree. Students who need more time may ask the Director of Graduate Studies to petition the Graduate School for an extension of the time limit. These petitions are considered individually and are not universally approved.