Program Overview

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Sociology, MS

The Department of Sociology and the Department of Community & Environmental Sociology conduct a combined graduate program in sociology designed to prepare students for scholarly research, teaching, or applied work. The program leads to the Master of Science degree in sociology and the Doctor of Philosophy degree in sociology. It also offers a minor to students earning a doctoral degree in other departments. All major areas of sociological inquiry are represented in the curriculum. The program consistently ranks at or near the top in studies of U.S. doctoral programs.

Degrees and Career Goals

The sociology graduate program admits students who intend to earn a PhD. Students complete a Master of Science degree on the way to the PhD or receive a waiver of the programs Masters requirements based on having written a thesis and obtained a Masters degree previously. A few students leave the program after completing the Masters degree and pursue careers in the public or private sectors. Of those who graduate with the PhD, a majority obtain university teaching and/or research positions; others take research and/or administrative positions in government organizations, nonprofit organizations, or private firms.

Admissions

This masters program is offered for work leading to the PhD. Students may not apply directly for the masters and should instead see the admissions information for the PhD.

Funding

The Bursars Office provides information about tuition and fees associated with being a graduate student. Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid. Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

Review the Graduate School minimum degree requirements and policies, in addition to the program requirements listed below.

Major Requirements

Mode of Instruction

Mode of Instruction: Face to Face
The program is offered in a face-to-face format.

Curricular Requirements

• Minimum Credit Requirement: 30 credits
• Minimum Residence Credit Requirement: 16 credits
• Minimum Graduate Coursework Requirement: 15 credits must be graduate-level coursework.
• Overall Graduate GPA Requirement: 3.25 GPA required (3.00 in the first semester)
• Other Grade Requirements: Students must earn a BC or above in all required courses. Grades of Incomplete are considered to be unsatisfactory if they are not removed during the next enrolled semester.
• Assessments and Examinations: Masters students write a thesis under the supervision of their major professor. After completing the thesis, students take a comprehensive oral exam covering general sociology, graduate work to date, and the thesis.

Required Courses

The Departments of Sociology and Community & Environmental Sociology have one graduate program, and we admit only those students who intend to complete a PhD. Students admitted to the doctoral program earn a masters degree en route to the PhD. They complete the courses listed below and also write and defend a thesis. Students who earned a masters degree that included a thesis before entering the program may apply the work to the thesis requirement.

• Course List:
  • SOC 700: Introductory Proseminar for Graduate Students (1 credit)
  • SOC/C&E SOC 361: Statistics for Sociologists II (4 credits)
  • SOC 754: Qualitative Research Methods in Sociology (3 credits)
  • SOC 773: Intermediate Classical Theory (3 credits)
  • Additional credits: 19 credits
  • Additional credits should be selected from SOC/C&E SOC courses and seminars restricted to graduate students (typically these courses are numbered 700-984). These additional credits may include no more than 9 credits numbered 985 and above (e.g., working group courses, independent reading courses, and thesis credits).
• For students affiliated with the multi-disciplinary Center for Demography & Ecology and Center for Demography of Health & Aging:
  • SOC 674: Demographic Techniques I (3 credits)
  • SOC 756: Demographic Techniques II (3 credits)
  • Each semester, throughout the graduate program, CDE/CDHA students must also enroll in:
    • SOC/C&E SOC 995: Research: Methodology Trainees (1-3 credits)
    • SOC/C&E SOC 997: Research: Demography and Ecology Trainees (1-3 credits)

Graduate School Policies

The Graduate Schools Academic Policies and Procedures serve as the official document of record for Graduate School academic and administrative policies and procedures and are updated continuously.

Major-Specific Policies

Prior Coursework

• Graduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions: With program approval, students may transfer up to 14 credits of graduate coursework from other institutions toward the minimum 30-credit masters degree requirement and the minimum 50% graduate coursework requirement.
• Undergraduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions or UW-Madison: Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.
• Credits Earned as a Professional Student at UW-Madison (Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Veterinary careers): Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.
• Credits Earned as a University Special student at UWMadison: Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.

Probation

Refer to the Graduate School: Probation policy.

Advisor / Committee

Each new graduate student is matched with a first-year faculty advisor who shares his or her research interests. The first-year advisor helps with the transition to graduate school, offers an introduction to department culture, provides a structured point of contact should questions or problems arise, and provides information and support as the student selects a permanent advisor and thesis director.

Credits Per Term Allowed

15 credits maximum are allowed, but only 12 are recommended.

Time Limits

Students are expected to complete the masters degree by the end of the summer after their third year in the program.

Grievances and Appeals

These resources may be helpful in addressing your concerns:

• Bias or Hate Reporting
• Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures
• Hostile and Intimidating Behavior Policies and Procedures
• Office of the Provost for Faculty and Staff Affairs
• Employee Assistance (for personal counseling and workplace consultation around communication and conflict involving graduate assistants and other employees, post-doctoral students, faculty and staff)
• Employee Disability Resource Office (for qualified employees or applicants with disabilities to have equal employment opportunities)
• Graduate School (for informal advice at any level of review and for official appeals of program/departmental or school/college grievance decisions)
• Office of Compliance (for class harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence)
• Office Student Assistance and Support (OSAS) (for all students to seek grievance assistance and support)
• Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (for conflicts involving students)
• Ombuds Office for Faculty and Staff (for employed graduate students and post-docs, as well as faculty and staff)
• Title IX (for concerns about discrimination)

Professional Development

Graduate School Resources

Take advantage of the Graduate School's professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career.

Program Resources

The Sociology graduate program offers students an array of professional development opportunities.

• SOC 700 Introductory Proseminar for Graduate Students provides an overview of the discipline and the graduate program and addresses such professional development issues as teaching strategies and grant proposal writing.
• SOC/C&E SOC 875 Special Topics (Topic: Professional Development) covers a broad spectrum of topics e.g., networking and peer support; time management; IRB approval and considering ethics throughout the research process; writing, revising, and submitting papers to scholarly journals; writing for public audiences; doing outreach work; speaking at conferences; investigating careers within and outside academia; and learning how to mentor.
• SOC/C&E SOC 995 Research: Methodology Trainees, for students affiliated with the Center for Demography & Ecology and the Center for Demography of Health & Aging, covers essential professional development skills such as grant writing, data visualization, presentation design, publication writing, applying for academic and research jobs, and responsible conduct of research.
• SOC/C&E SOC 997 Research: Demography and Ecology Trainees, for students affiliated with the Center for Demography & Ecology and the Center for Demography of Health & Aging, offers presentations of substantive work at the forefront of population sciences.

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate a broad understanding of major theories, methodologies, and research findings in the sociological literature. Develop critical thinking skills that empower them to analyze strengths and weaknesses in the existing literature, identify knowledge gaps, evaluate evidence, synthesize information, and form conclusions. Attain the skills necessary to conduct research with intellectual and ethical rigor, care, and creativity.
2. Complete an original research project in one of the subfields of sociology. In doing so, they will learn to formulate ideas and develop research questions, interpret and evaluate existing literature on the topic, design a feasible research project, use an appropriate methodology, analyze and interpret the resulting data, and consider avenues for future research. Write a thesis describing their research project and defend it during a comprehensive oral exam.
3. Develop an understanding of the field of sociology by participating in a required introductory proseminar as well as completing required courses in sociological theory, research methods, and statistics along with elective courses in their area of interest. Demonstrate their understanding by working as teaching assistants, project assistants, research assistants, and trainees; by presenting work-in-progress at informal brownbag colloquia; by preparing and submitting manuscripts resulting from their research for publication in respected journals; and by submitting papers for presentation at professional conferences.
4. Retrieve, interpret, and evaluate social science literature and use it, along with their own understanding of relevant methodologies, to employ the most appropriate methods and practices in their own research.
5. Develop analytical thinking skills that enable them to evaluate information pertinent to their research questions. Develop the breadth of knowledge and experience that empowers them to synthesize disparate information and use the resulting synthesis to respond creatively to challenges in their field of study.
6. Communicate in a clear, organized, engaging manner, using language, methods, and critical tools appropriate to the social sciences. Learn to develop grant proposals; gather, manage, and analyze data; write a thesis that is thought-provoking, concise, and persuasive; present research informatively; listen with care and patience; and give and receive feedback orally and in writing.
7. Understand, recognize, and apply principles of ethical and professional conduct by developing effective relationships with faculty mentors, graduate student colleagues, and the undergraduate students whom they teach. Design research, collect and analyze data, and interpret and report results with honesty and scientific rigor.