Master of Arts
Admission Requirements
Degree Requirements
      M.A. in Sociology
      Concentration in Social and Criminal Justice
Financial Assistance
Scholarships and Awards
Unspecified Content or Variable Credit Courses
SOC Course Descriptions
ANT Course Descriptions
SWK Course Descriptions

Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work website

Mary Senter, Chairperson
142 Anspach Hall (989) 774-3160

Mensah Adinkra, Ph.D., Criminology, Homicide
G. Frederick Allen, Ph.D., Criminology, Social Work
Brigitte H. Bechtold, Ph.D., Research Methods, Political Economy, Population Studies, Social Policy
Sergio Chavez, Ph.D., Archaeology
Joseph W. DeBolt, Ph.D., American Society, Russian Society, Social Problems
Michael Dover, M.S.W., Social Work
Angela Haddad, Ph.D., Work and Occupations, Social Inequality, Methods
Nancy J. Herman-Kinney, Ph.D., Symbolic Interactionism, Social Psychology, Qualitative Methods
David A. Kinney, Ph.D., Sociology of Education, Research Methods
Rodney C. Kirk, Ph.D., Latin American Cultures, Peasants, Microcomputer Applications
Nancy B. Leis, Ph.D., (Emeritus), Africa, Anthropology of Religion, Educational Anthropology
Leonard Lieberman, Ph.D., Sociology of Knowledge, Physical Anthropology
Alice L. Littlefield, Ph.D., Economic Anthropology, Native Americans, Gender Roles, Latin America
Athena McLean, Ph.D., Medical Anthropology, Aging, Social Production of Knowledge
Bernard N. Meltzer, Ph.D. (Emeritus), Symbolic Interactionism, Minorities, Criminology
Harry Mika, Ph.D. Crime and Social Justice, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Gil Richard Musolf, Ph.D., Sociological Theory, Symbolic Interactionism
Robert G. Newby, Ph.D., Racism and Inequality, Social Psychology, Educational Sociology
John W. Petras, Ph.D., (Emeritus) Sexuality, Symbolic Interactionism, Sociology of Knowledge
Larry T. Reynolds, Ph.D., (Emeritus), Symbolic Interactionism, Theory, Sociology of Knowledge
Joanne Riebschleger, Ph.D., Social Work, Mental Health
Katherine Rosier, Ph.D., Youth Studies, Family
Mary S. Senter, Ph.D., Stratification, Gender, Applied Sociology
Richard H. Senter, Jr., Ph.D., Complex Organizations, Sociology of Science, Industrial Sociology
Brian Smith, Ph.D., Juvenile Justice
Blaine W. Stevenson, Ph.D., Social Organization, Social Movements
Larry L. Tifft, Ph.D., Criminology, Social Justice, Violence
Carmen White, Ph.D., Educational Anthropology, Ethnicity and Ethnic Relations, Oceanic Cultures

Master of Arts
Admission Requirements
The application deadline for admission to the graduate program in Sociology is April 1 for the following academic year. Admissions decisions are made by the department's Graduate Program Committee. The Committee may request additional information or an interview with a candidate who does not meet the requirements for Regular Admission status.

To receive regular admission status for the M.A. in Sociology, the student must have completed all of the following:

• 20 semester hours in sociology with a grade point average of 3.25;

• 3.25 overall grade point average in undergraduate course work or a score of 1,000 or better on the Graduate Record Examination (verbal and quantitative scores combined);

• A grade of 3.0 (B) or better in both (a) SOC 300 Introduction to Research Methods or equivalent, and (b) SOC 301 Sociological Theory or equivalent; and;

• a 500-word statement of interest, describing career goals and needs.

An applicant who does not satisfy the foregoing requirements may be eligible for conditional admission. Where minimum grade point averages are not met in either sociology and/or overall for undergraduate work, the conditionally admitted student must achieve a minimum grade point average of 3.0 or better in each of the first three SASW graduate courses attempted (two of which must be core courses), in order to be eligible for admission to a fourth graduate course. Where one or both of the SASW equivalent undergraduate theory and methods courses have not been taken or the grades are less than 3.0, the conditionally admitted student must satisfy the deficiency by taking SOC 300 and/or SOC 301 (depending on the deficiency) and receiving a grade of at least 3.0. Neither course can count for graduate credit.

Conditionally admitted students who have satisfied the requirements for regular status in the manner noted above must formally apply for regular status to the Graduate Program Committee. The application must include three letters of recommendation from SASW faculty and a writing sample. The decision by the committee on granting regular status to a conditionally admitted student may be appealed to the department faculty as a whole.

Degree Requirements
In addition to the course work specified below, either of the following two programs will satisfy the masters degree requirements.

Plan A: Thesis and oral examination
Plan B: One paper and written comprehensive examination.

Admission to thesis candidacy (Plan A) shall be by positive vote of the Graduate Program Committee, upon submission of a formal application that includes a current transcript, a writing sample, a Plan A advisor letter of support and agreement, human subjects review and approval, and a statement providing a general overview of the thesis topic, methods, and time frame. The decision of the Graduate Program Committee on thesis candidacy may be appealed to the department faculty as a whole. Students planning to study for the Ph.D. in sociology are strongly advised to pursue the Plan A option on their masters program. Furthermore, students should be aware that the department strongly recommends that faculty members of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work abstain from writing letters of recommendation for any graduate student seeking admission to and/or financial support from Ph.D. degree institutions until admission to Plan A candidacy.

Plan B involves passing comprehensive examinations based on graduate course work, involving a minimum of three tested areas, read by no fewer than three members of the SASW graduate faculty. Retakes of one or more areas of the comprehensive examinations shall be allowed at the discretion of the student's Plan B supervisor, but under no circumstance will more than one retake be allowed without formal graduate course remediation approved by the Graduate Program Committee. In addition, Plan B requires a substantial paper that must be approved by two members of the SASW graduate faculty.

Graduate students enrolled in courses numbered below 600 are expected to perform, as defined by the course instructor, at a higher level than the undergraduate students in such courses.

It is possible to transfer up to 9 credit hours of graduate work from another institution into the Sociology graduate degree programs. It is possible that some transfer credit may substitute for course requirements. The Graduate Program Committee must approve the request for graduate transfer credit.

The department offers graduate courses on a two-year rotation.  Students should be aware that the minimum time to complete an M.A. is two years.
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M.A. in Sociology
I. Courses in Sociology (18-30 credit hours)
Each student's overall grade point average for SOC 501, SOC 601, SOC 607, SOC 631, and SOC 632 must be at least 3.00

Required Courses (15 credit hours)
501 (3) Development of Sociological Theory
601 (3) Contemporary Sociological Theory
607 (3) Methodology of Sociological Research
631 (3) Workshop on Qualitative Research
632 (3) Techniques of Sociological Research

Required on Plan A (9 credit hours)
602 (3) Professional Seminar
798 (6) Thesis

II. Electives
Courses in Sociology to be selected in consultation with advisor.
Plan A: 0-6 hours
Plan B: 3-15 hours

III. Cognate Courses (0-12 credit hours)
To be selected with the approval of the student's sociology advisor.

Total: 30 hours

Concentration in Social and Criminal Justice
Requirements for admission to the Concentration in Social and Criminal Justice are identical to those of the general sociology degree, except that applicants must have taken 18 semester hours or more in social and criminal justice-related areas with a minimum grade point average of 3.25 in these courses, in place of the requirement of 20 semester hours of general sociology.

The requirement for social and criminal justice-related course work may be partially waived by the Graduate Program Committee for relevant career experience. Conditional admission to the Concentration in Social and Criminal Justice, as well as requirements for Plan A and Plan B, are identical to those described above for the general sociology degree.

M.A. in Sociology with a concentration in Social and Criminal Justice

I. Sociology Core (15 hours)
To complete the degree, each student's overall grade point average for SOC 501, SOC 601, SOC 607, SOC 631, and SOC 632 must be at least 3.00.

Required Courses (15 credit hours)
501 (3) Development of Sociological Theory
601 (3) Contemporary Sociological Theory
607 (3) Methodology of Sociological Research
631 (3) Workshop on Qualitative Research
632 (3) Techniques of Sociological Research

II. Justice Core (12 hours)
621 (3) Social Control and Justice Systems
623 (3) Violence, Victims, and Social/Justice Responses
624 (3) Social Justice
625 (3) Field Consultation

III. Required on Plan A (9 credit hours)
602 (3) Professional Seminar
798 (6) Thesis

Elective or Cognate Course on Plan B (3 hours):
One approved SOC 500 or 600 level course with a justice emphasis, or one approved course in applied areas such as public administration, public finance, management, human resources, counseling, or psychology.

Total: Plan A:  36 hours
          Plan B:  30 hours
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Financial Assistance
Each year the Department awards a limited number of graduate teaching assistantships to students who have been admitted to the Master of Arts program in Sociology. Graduate assistants spend 20 hours per week assisting faculty in teaching-related activities. Applications for graduate assistantships are available from the Department.

Graduate research fellowships and King/Chavez/Parks fellowships are offered by the College of Graduate Studies (see Financial Aid section of the Bulletin or Financial Aid). Students who qualify are encouraged to apply to these fellowships through Graduate Studies.

In exceptional circumstances, some tuition support may be available from the department for those students conditionally admitted who are both required to take remedial courses and have unmet financial need.
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Scholarships and Awards
Edward E. McKenna Academic Excellence Award
Established in 1998 in memory of this dedicated teacher, scholar, and unionist by the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work. Endowment earning will provide cash awards for winning authors of an annual undergraduate and graduate paper competition

Bernard N. Meltzer Scholarship
Established by friends in honor of Bernard N. Meltzer, former faculty member and chairperson of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, for a graduate student in sociology.
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Unspecified content or variable credit courses. Click here for additional information regarding these types of courses. The following courses offered through the department are of unspecified content or variable credit: SOC 599, 699, 795, 796, 797; ANT 698; SWK 597, 599.
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