SOCIOLOGY M.A.36 HOURS

Advising: College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences,
Department of Sociology and Anthropology,
Dr. Peggy G. Hargis,
GSU, PO Box 8051,
Statesboro, GA 30460,
(912) 681-5426,
FAX (912) 681-0703
http://www2.gasou.edu/socianth/maprogram.html

Admission Requirements: Basic requirements for admission are:

1. An undergraduate degree from an accredited, four-year institution (or a course of study that is the equivalent of such a degree).

2. A statement of purpose expressing student's goals.

3. A favorable review by the Sociology Graduate Admissions Committee. Consideration is given to an applicant's potential for succeeding in the program, undergraduate GPA, GRE Scores, and career aspirations.

Changes: Require a written essay from applicant stating career goals and objectives; require the GRE but not set specific scores for admission. The Sociology Graduate Admissions Committee will take all information into consideration and no single item will immediately disqualify an applicant.

Rationale for change: We hope that by adding an applied research option that we will recruit more working professionals from our region. We believe that a portfolio approach to admissions (giving consideration to prior school and work experiences) will give us greater flexibility in ensuring a good match between our program and its applicants. However, applicants should be able to demonstrate strong potential for success.

Core Course Work........................................................................................................9 Hours SOCI 6431 - Contemporary Theory (3)

SOCI 6434 - Research Design and Methodology (3)

SOCI 6435 - Sociological Quantitative Analysis (3)

Specialty Courses.........................................................................................................21 Hours

In consultation with the Sociology Graduate Director, students will select 21 hours of additional course work. Six hours (6) of relevant graduate course work may be completed outside the department if approved by the Graduate Director. All specialty course work must be taken at the graduate level (5000 level or above), but at least 50% of the courses applicable toward a degree must be courses in which enrollment is restricted to graduate students (6000 level or above). Courses that are taken to fulfill the language requirement or a prerequisite for admission (undergraduate theory, methods, and statistics) may not be used to satisfy specialty course hour requirements.

Terminal Courses...........................................................................................................6 Hours

Applied Research

The applied research track is for students who plan to enter applied, clinical, or sociological practice, such as community service, administration, organizational research, program planning or evaluation. Students must complete, 6 hours of course work that has an applied research emphasis, such as applied sociology, grant writing, research methods, field instruction, statistics, or program evaluation. Specific courses must be approved by the Graduate Director.

Research Thesis

The research thesis track is strongly recommended for students who plan to continue in graduate or professional education. The thesis may be theoretical or empirical and should represent the

student's knowledge of sociological theory, methodology, and a substantive area as well as his/her

ability to conduct research. Data for empirical research projects may be qualitative and/or quantitative and primary and/or secondary in nature.

Changes: Added an applied research track and dropped the applied monograph.

Rationale: Without additional assistantship lines it is highly unlikely that we will increase the number of incoming students who wish to use the MA degree as a stepping stone into a PhD program. The applied research track is designed to meet the needs of those students who plan to enter applied, clinical, or sociological practice careers or positions after completion of the MA degree. A primary objective is to provide students with a strong background in social theory and sociological research methods. The additional six hours of course work emphasizes the application of theory and methods in a variety of substantive areas. The applied research option will give students an opportunity to experience first-hand how an applied sociologist functions in government, business, or social agencies. We will drop the applied monograph because it duplicates the research thesis requirement.

The foreign language requirement may be fulfilled through foreign language course work (completion of the second intermediate course) passing the Foreign Language Reading exam, or earning a "B" or better in six hours of computer and/or statistics course work approved by the graduate advisor.