Sociology, MA

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Department of Sociology

Rhodes Tower 1721
(216) 687-4500
http://www.csuohio.edu/class/sociology/

Dr. Philip Manning, Chair
Dr. Wendy Regoeczi, Graduate Program Director

The Program

The Master of Arts in Sociology program provides advanced instruction in the essential knowledge of the discipline and in the major social research skills, both qualitative and quantitative. This training can be applied in a variety of workplaces, including academic, business, government, and agency settings. Alternatively, the master’s program can serve as preparation for doctoral studies. All core courses and seminars are held during evening hours, weekdays except Friday.

Faculty Research and Publications

The faculty members of the Department of Sociology conduct applied and basic research on a variety of major contemporary social issues, including the aging population, family relations, development, social theory, symbolic interactionism, qualitative research, theorizing ethnographic research, community organizing, social movements, public sociology, social bonding theory, policing, prisons, women and crime, capital punishment, social control, criminal justice case processing, homicide, and domestic violence,. In the past few years, faculty members have authored a half dozen books and several dozen journal articles. This research has been supported by several large federal and foundation research grants and a number of smaller state and local awards. Opportunities exist for student involvement in this work, particularly since most of it is conducted in the Cleveland area. The Department is also the home of the Criminology Research Center, which conducts criminological research for local, state and federal agencies. The Research Center employs graduate assistants to work on these projects.

Current faculty information can be located on the Cleveland State University Faculty Profile page.

Admission Information

All applicants must meet College of Graduate Studies requirements for admission. Students whose cumulative undergraduate grade-point average is below 3.0 may be required to submit acceptable scores on the Graduate Record Examination. An applicant may hold a bachelor’s degree in a field other than sociology, but there should be evidence of sociological preparation. An undergraduate course in statistics is essential. In some cases, students who lack a background in sociology and/or statistics may be granted conditional admission while course deficiencies are satisfied.

Students applying for admission must submit transcripts and two letters of reference, at least one of which should be from a professor who is from one of the social sciences and is familiar with the student’s work.

Apply Now: http://www.csuohio.edu/gradcollege/admissions/apply.html

Financial Assistance

Graduate assistantships and tuition grants are available to qualified students. Interested students should contact the Sociology Graduate Program Director.

Degree Requirements

In addition to meeting all University requirements, degree candidates must successfully complete a minimum of thirty-two credit hours, or eight courses. These must include three core courses, two graduate-level seminars, two electives, and a master’s research paper.

Requirements

1. Core courses (12 credits):

2. Two graduate-level seminars (8 credits):

3. Two electives (8 credits):

Two courses from any Sociology 500- or 600-level offerings, or approved graduate-level courses from related social science and interdisciplinary social science departments.

4. Master’s paper research (4 credits):

SOC 698 - Master’s Research Paper

Degree Candidacy

Students in the graduate program are admitted to candidacy for the MA degree when they have successfully completed the core courses. Successful completion is accomplished by achieving a grade-point average of at least 3.0 for the core courses and SOC 698 , with no grade lower than a B–.