Students must complete 33 semester hours of graduate credit distributed as follows:

• Four required courses (12 hours):

• Seminar in Social Theory (SOC 501)
• Research Methods and Study Design (SOC 515)
• Advanced Data Analysis (SOC 518)
• Research Practicum (SOC 592)

The department offers Theory and Methods only in the fall semester, and we offer Data Analysis only in the spring.  It is best for students to take these three courses during the first year of graduate study.  (Students who wish to begin in the spring should speak with the Graduate Program Director on how to proceed with courses.)  Graduate students take Research Practicum in the second year.  The department offers this course only in the fall.

Ordinarily students enrolling in Research Methods and Study Design should have taken an undergraduate course in social science research methods as a prerequisite; students enrolling in Advanced Data Analysis should have taken one general or social statistics course as a prerequisite; and students enrolling in Seminar in Social Theory should have taken an undergraduate social theory course as a prerequisite.

• Five elective courses (15 hours):

At least 3 courses (9 hours) must be 500-level graduate courses.  We strongly recommended that the elective courses include the Seminar in Applied Sociology.  Students may take up to six hours of elective courses outside of the department with the approval of the Graduate Program Director.

• Thesis or Internship (6 hours):

There are two possible exit requirements for graduate students:  a Master’s thesis or an internship.  Normally, students will not begin thesis or internship hours until they have completed at least 24 semester hours of course work.

Students who choose to write a thesis must enroll in a total of 6 thesis hours (SOC 599).  They must defend their completed thesis in a final oral examination before their thesis committee.  You can find more information on the thesis option here.

The internship consists of two parts:

• At least 140 hours of a supervised work experience in either a research or public service setting (Graduate Internship—Experience, SOC 593A); and
• A substantial, original written report concerning a sociological issue related to the internship (Graduate Internship—Report, SOC 593B).

Students pursuing the internship option must successfully complete an oral examination administered by their selected advisory committee.  You can find more information on the internship option here.

• University 500—Continuing Enrollment

Classified, master’s level students, who are not otherwise enrolled during an academic term, for a minimal fee, can maintain access to University resources only by enrolling in UNIV 500.  Prerequisite: classified, master’s level student.

You can find a complete list of course offerings in the Graduate Catalog.