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Fall 2025 Graduate Catalog 
    
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Fall 2025 Graduate Catalog

Sociology, MA
Department of Sociology, College of Arts and Sciences
Degree Awarded: Master of Arts in Sociology
 
Chairperson: Jennifer Heerwig (631) 632-7700
Graduate Program Director: Kristen Shorette, Ward Melville Social and Behavioral Sciences Building S-457, (631) 632-7700
Graduate Program Coordinator: Kelly Haller, Ward Melville Social and Behavioral Sciences Building S-401 (631) 632-7730
 
 

The Department of Sociology, in the College of Arts and Sciences, has a nationally ranked graduate program offering both the M.A. and the Ph.D. degree.

The Department provides graduate training in sociology that is informed by a global perspective. Whether a sociological question addresses individual-level processes, ideas, or organizations, there are often global influences and implications connected to that phenomenon. Students pursuing an advanced degree in sociology will have opportunities to focus on global sociology and to learn how sociological methods and theories can be applied to the study of global social, cultural, political, and economic processes.

The sociology program grants the terminal master’s degree to several students per year. Most of these go on to Ph.D. programs at other universities. A few enter government service, business, or applied research.

Career Pathways

Admission Requirements

Application Website

Applicants should specify on the application which degree program they wish to enter. Applicants seeking a Ph.D. degree should apply directly for acceptance to the Ph.D. program. (Applicants need not have an M.A. degree to apply to the Ph.D. program.) For admission to graduate study in sociology, the following, in addition to the minimum Graduate School requirements, are normally required:

A. A bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, as attested to by transcripts of previous academic work.

B. Undergraduate statistics course.

C. Undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 or above.

D. If your native or primary language is not English, English proficiency must be established based on the results of the TOEFL or IELTS exam. Language exams are not required for international students who have a degree from an institution where the primary instruction was in English.

E. Three strong recommendations from former instructors.

F. Acceptance by both the Department and the Graduate School.

Degree Requirements

Course requirements for an M.A. in sociology include six designated courses: two in sociological theory, three in statistics and methods, and one in global sociology. Additionally, students take four elective courses for a total of thirty credits to complete the degree. Students must achieve a minimum 3.0 grade point average for 30 credits of graduate level courses.

Writing Requirement

Students are required to write a theoretical/empirical research paper. Most sociological articles use empirical data to answer theoretical questions. Such questions often arise from previous research. They can also be the result of juxtaposing two or more theories, or finding that a theory could use further development or clarification on a point and then showing how the proposed development or clarification better explains some specific aspect or aspects of social reality. The empirical data explained or clarified by the theory or theories can take many forms. It can be the product of ethnographies, comparative and/or historical research, social surveys, small group or experimental laboratory research, content analyses, etc. The important point is to combine theory and empirical research. This paper will constitute an original piece of social science research evaluated formally by two faculty members.