Graduate Catalog 2004-2005

The Department of Sociology offers programs leading to the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. Students may specialize in one of four areas: criminology/deviance; demography; family studies; or social psychology, and family studies. Although the strength of the department lies within these specializations, students are encouraged to plan a course of study meeting their own particular interests and career objectives. Additional faculty expertise in the areas of applied demography, gerontology, sociological theory, and quantitative methods results in considerable flexibility in the design of individualized programs of study.

Regardless of the area of specialization, students in the program build a firm foundation in research methodology, statistics, and theory. Since graduates are employed in both academic and non-academic settings, the program specialty areas provide the flexibility to prepare students for a broad spectrum of professional opportunities. The M.A. programs in applied demography and family studies, for example, are especially designed to prepare individuals for careers in the public sector, private industry, service organizations, and governmental agencies.

The objectives of the Ph.D. program are to provide a broad background in general sociology and to create the capacity for theoretically relevant, rigorous research in at least one area of specialization. Although faculty interests cover a wide range of specialty areas within sociology, doctoral students are encouraged to major in one of the following four areas: criminology/deviance; demography; social psychology; or family studies. Faculty will work with students to accommodate various other interests so long as they are consistent with faculty expertise.


Prerequisites to Graduate Work

For admission to the M.A. program, applicants must have a satisfactory academic record and a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. Applicants must have completed undergraduate courses in sociological theory, methodology, and statistics. In cases where applicants are deficient in sociological background, they may be admitted on a conditional basis providing that the deficiencies are remedied during the course of study. A remedial plan will be developed by the Graduate Coordinator for the student's guidance.

Applicants to the Ph.D. program should be strongly motivated individuals whose records indicate that they are capable of successfully completing a Ph.D. degree. A master's degree is required for admission to the doctoral program.


Admission Procedure

Applicants seeking admission to the graduate programs in sociology should follow the instructions outlined in the "Graduate Admission" section of this catalog.

Applicants are required to submit transcripts of all previous college work, scores on the Graduate Record Examination, a sample of academic writing (e.g., a class paper, thesis, or thesis proposal), and three letters of recommendation, at least two of which are from professors familiar with the applicant's academic work. The department also requires that applicants include a brief five-hundred word essay describing the research interests that they hope to pursue in graduate school, their professional goals and aspirations, and why they believe that the BGSU Sociology Department's graduate program will help them pursue these interests and achieve these goals. This essay is particularly important since it helps the Graduate Committee decide if the department can meet the applicant's career goals.


Degree Requirements
Master of Arts

Candidates for the Plan I M.A. degree are required to complete the following courses: SOC 601, Classical Sociological Theory; SOC 610, Introductory Statistics; SOC 611, Intermediate Methodology; SOC 612, Intermediate Statistics; and SOC 660, Teaching Introductory Sociology. SOC 713, Research Design, is also required for Plan II students. SOC 601 is not required for students specializing in applied demography. These students substitute a course in demographic theory for the general theory requirement. Similarly, applied demography majors are not required to complete SOC 660.

The M.A. degree program offers five general areas of emphasis concentration: applied demography, criminology/deviance, population studies/demography, family studies, and social psychology. Each of the five areas of study has specific course requirements in addition to those the general departmental requirements noted above. Further information about these requirements is outlined in the specialty area program statements and in the department's Graduate Student Handbook, all of which may be obtained from the Department of Sociology or at its web site (http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/soc).

The M.A. degree is offered under two plans.

Doctor of Philosophy

Students are required to complete 60 semester hours of graduate credit beyond the master's degree, including a minimum of 16 and a maximum of 30 semester hours of dissertation credit. Hour requirements, however, are secondary in importance to breadth and depth of knowledge as evidenced by performance on the departmental major area preliminary examination and demonstrated research competence. The dissertation, a mature piece of scholarship embodying the results of original research, is central to the student's plan of study. Students are expected to develop a dissertation proposal early in their program.

Students are given considerable flexibility in developing their programs of study, although all students are expected to achieve a level of basic competence in theory, research methods, and statistics. Most students will choose a major and a minor area of concentration from among the following areas: criminology/deviance, demography, family studies, quantitative methods (minor concentration only), and social psychology

Doctoral students are required to take six basic courses in theory and quantitative methods: SOC 601, Classical Sociological Theory; SOC 602, Contemporary Sociological Theory; SOC 610, Introductory Statistics, SOC 611, Intermediate Methodology; SOC 612, Intermediate Statistics; and SOC 713, Research Design. A minimum of 16 hours of SOC 799, Dissertation Research, is also required.

Students must fulfill a language requirement through one of two options. The requirement may be met either by (a) successfully passing (with a grade of B or better) CS 630, Statistical Packages, or (b) demonstrating proficiency in a foreign language.

All Ph.D. students are required to take an eight-hour major area written preliminary examination in one of the following areas of concentration: criminology/deviance, demography, family studies, or social psychology. Performance on the preliminary exam should indicate mastery of the subject matter of the area, not only of that material covered in seminars the student has taken. The preliminary examination encourages students to review, internalize, and integrate the wide breadth of ideas, techniques, and issues within their major area of concentration.

All Ph.D. students are required to choose a minor area of concentration from within the sociology department and must take a minimum of 4 courses in that area. While most students will minor in criminology/deviance, demography, family studies, quantitative methods or social psychology, it is possible to minor in a departmental area other than one of these five. However, it is the student’s responsibility to discuss such an intent with the Director of Graduate Studies to make certain that there is sufficient faculty expertise in the area to permit specialized advanced study, and that the general course requirements for minor areas of concentration can be satisfied. In addition to the required departmental minor, students also may choose, at their option, a second minor from another BGSU department or combination of departments.

Graduate Courses

Please access graduate courses online at http://webapps.bgsu.edu/courses/search.php. Graduate courses offered by the Department of Sociology use the prefix: SOC.