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, urban and comparative education, doctor-patient interaction, social movement effectiveness, drug treatment effectiveness, youthful offenders, comparative legal institutions and history of policing, police decision-making, prisons, women and crime, social control, health care reform in the global South, immigration, sexual risk behavior, homelessness. job searches, therapeutic jurisprudence, homicide, and the social organization of work in science and technology. 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.

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: 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):

• SOC 640 Sociological Theory (4 credits)
• SOC 650 Sociological Research Methods (4 credits)
• SOC 651 Sociological Statistics (4 credits)
2. Two graduate-level seminars (8 credits):
• SOC 661 Aging and the Life Course (4 credits)
• SOC 662 Deviance and Social Control (4 credits)
• SOC 663 Criminological Theory (4 credits)
• SOC 670 Gender and Society (4 credits)
• SOC 671 Social Demography (4 credits)
• SOC 680 Race and Ethnicity in American Society (4 credits)
• SOC 683 Sociological Analysis of Work and Economic Change (4 credits)
• SOC 684 Urban Social Change (4 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 (4 credits)

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, with no grade lower than a B–.

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