春雨直播

Graduate Studies

Sociology
2024-2025

Admission | Courses | Program | Requirements | Integrated Program |Profile

Chairperson:听 Tawny Adkins-Covert
Graduate Committee Chairperson: Gordon Chang
Office:听 Morgan Hall 404
Telephone: (309) 298-1056
E-mail: socgrad@w iu.edu
Website:听 wiu.edu/cas/sociology_and_anthropology
Location of Program Offering: Macomb, Online

Graduate Faculty

Professors

  • Tawnya Adkins Covert, Ph.D., Purdue University
  • Davison Bideshi, Ph.D., University of California-Riverside
  • Gordon Chang, Ph.D., University of California-San Diego
  • Christina Davis, Ph.D., University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
  • Robert Hironimus-Wendt, Ph.D., North Carolina State University
  • Elgin Mannion, Ph.D., University of Kentucky
  • Heather McIlvaine-Newsad, Ph.D., University of Florida
  • Patrick McGinty, Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia
  • Craig Tollini, Ph.D., 春雨直播 Michigan University
  • Lora Ebert Wallace, Ph.D., Iowa State University
  • Oswald Warner, Ph.D., Michigan State University

Associate Professor

  • Andrea Alveshere, Ph.D., University of Minnesota-Twin City

Associate Graduate Faculty

Assistant Professors

  • Benjamin Skousen, Ph.D., University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign

Learning Outcomes

For student learning outcomes, please see wiu.edu/provost/learningoutcomes.

听Program Description

The Master of Arts degree program in sociology is designed to meet the needs of students having interests in several substantive areas including criminology and deviance, modernization and demography, social change and collective behavior, the family, organizations, stratification, and race and ethnicity. The Master of Arts degree in sociology qualifies individuals for jobs in government, human service agencies, and businesses which require a social science or behavioral science master鈥檚 degree. Community colleges employ master鈥檚 graduates as teachers, and some universities employ them as entry level, temporary teachers. The Master of Arts degree also serves as preparation toward a Ph.D. degree in sociology.

听Integrated Baccalaureate and Master鈥檚 Degree Program

Please refer to Integrated Programs for details and program offerings.

听Admission Requirements

  • A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 OR 3.0 or higher GPA for the last two years (60 s.h.) of undergraduate work
  • Clear statement of purpose (2-3 pages)
  • Three academic letters of recommendation
  • Writing sample (7-10 pages)

听Degree Requirements

The Master of Arts degree in sociology may be earned by satisfying the requirements of the thesis, general sociology (non鈥憈hesis), or internship exit options. Regardless of exit option, a degree plan must be submitted and approved by the graduate committee before the thesis proposal, non-thesis paper, or internship report is presented. No more than three semester hours outside the department (six semester hours for Peace Corps Fellows), three semester hours for SOC 501, and six semester hours for 400-G level courses may be included on the degree plan.

Thesis Plan

SOC 518 Classical Theory (3)
SOC 519 Contemporary Sociological Theory (3)
SOC 530 Statistical Methods (3)
SOC 531 Quantitative Methods (3)
SOC 600 Thesis Research (3)
SOC 601 Thesis in Sociology (3)
Directed Electives (12)

TOTAL PROGRAM: 30 s.h.

A thesis proposal must be approved by the student's thesis committee before research for the thesis is undertaken. A final oral defense of the thesis is required.

General Sociology Non-Thesis Plan

SOC 518 Classical Theory (3)
SOC 519 Contemporary Sociological Theory (3)
SOC 530 Statistical Methods (3)
SOC 531 Quantitative Methods (3)
SOC 699 Sociology Non-Thesis Paper (3)
Directed Electives (15)

TOTAL PROGRAM: 30 s.h.

An oral presentation of a paper, which can be based on an area of the student's course work, will be given to the departmental faculty. The paper must be approved by the student's exit option committee, and the paper is to be kept on file in the Department.

General Sociology Internship Plan

SOC 518 Classical Theory (3)
SOC 519 Contemporary Sociological Theory (3)
SOC 530 Statistical Methods (3)
SOC 531 Quantitative Methods (3)
SOC 694 Graduate Internship (6)
SOC 698 Internship Presentation (0)
Directed Electives (12)

TOTAL PROGRAM: 30 s.h.

The internship site must be approved by the student鈥檚 advisor. A written internship report must be approved by the student鈥檚 exit option committee, and the report is to be kept on file in the Department.

听Course Descriptions

Sociology (SOC)

405G Sociology of Aging in Rural and Urban America. (3) An investigation of the social and political consequences for communities and society at large from the expanding populations of the aged, and a sociological examination of the relationships between community and institutional arrangements and the social and social鈥憄sychological dimensions of aging. Prerequisite: SOC 100 or permission of the instructor.

410G (cross-listed with WS 410G) Women and Poverty. (3) The poverty of women in the United States, including factors of race, place of residence, and age are covered. Structural hierarchies that maintain poverty are examined from a sociological perspective. Prerequisite: WS 190 or SOC 100 or permission of the instructor.

414G Population. (3) The distribution, growth, and characteristics of human population and its relationship to social organization. Prerequisites: Two courses in Sociology including SOC 100 or 510.

420G (cross-listed with AAS 420G and WS 420G) Race, Class and Gender. (3) The course will examine issues of race, class, and gender in historical, cultural, and contemporary societal contexts. Prerequisites: WS 190 or AAS 100 or SOC 100; or permission of the instructor.

424G Sociology of Mental Health. (3) A survey of the history, causes, treatment, and effects of mental illness in the United States with emphasis on sociological factors such as social class, race, definitional process, etc. Prerequisites: SOC 100 or 510, SOC 200, or permission of the instructor.

425G Juvenile Delinquency. (3) A survey of theories of causation relating to juvenile delinquency and an analysis of the development of history of the juvenile court in America and the relationship of that system to rehabilitation prospects, detention facilities, police behavior, and various social institutions. Prerequisites: SOC 100 or 510, SOC 200, or permission of the instructor.

427G Sociology of Sexual Orientation. (3) Overview of how sociologists approach the study of sexual orientation and of recent sociological research related to sexual orientation, with an emphasis on heterosexism and collective responses to heterosexism.

430G (cross-listed with WS 430G) Sociology of Women鈥檚 Health. (3) Uses sociological theories and research to examine the gendered experience of illness. Includes sociological analysis of medical knowledge about women鈥檚 health. Topics include medicalization of women鈥檚 health, the gendered hierarchy of professions, and feminist critiques of scientific research.

435G Women and Crime. (3) Theories of female criminality, patterns of female crime and victimization, women in corrections, and women as criminal justice practitioners are examined. Prerequisite: SOC 100 or 510, or permission of the instructor.

445G Sociology of Corporate Crime. (3) A sociological analysis of theories and research concerning the nature, extent, costs, and control of crimes committed by corporations. Prerequisites: SOC 100 or 510, SOC 355, or permission of the instructor.

455G Sociology of Corrections. (3) An examination of the sociocultural and socioeconomic causes and functions of correctional institutions. An analysis of the social organization of both the inmate social system and the administrative treatment and custodial personnel, and an examination of the facilitators and impediments to rehabilitation generated by the social organization. Prerequisites: SOC 100 or 510 and SOC 355, or permission of the instructor.

460G The Family. (3) Institutions and systems of kinship, marriage, family grouping, child rearing, personal maintenance, and status placement. Prerequisite: SOC 100 or 510, or permission of the instructor.

462G Political Sociology. (3) An analysis of power structures, decision-making systems, conflict, conflict resolution, and various theories of power.

463G Sociology of Law. (3) An analysis of the social origin of law, the effects of law on human behavior, inter-relations between law and other social institutions, and of the relationship between law and social change. Prerequisite: SOC 100 or 510.

465G Deviance, Crime, and Control in Socio-Historical Perspective. (3) Historical conceptions of deviance; origin of prisons, asylums; emergence of police; rates and types of deviance and varieties of social control in particular historical periods. Prerequisites: SOC 100 or 510 and two additional sociology and anthropology courses.

471G Urban Sociology. (3) History of urban growth; location, ecology, planning, and land use of cities; social organization and institutions in urban societies compared with rural and other models. Prerequisites: SOC 100 and one additional sociology course, or permission of the instructor.

500 Proseminar in Sociology. (1) An introduction to the profession of sociology. Overview of major subfields within sociology. Information on preparing professional papers, research proposals, and oral presentations.

501 Individual Readings in Sociology and Anthropology. (1鈥�3) Special topics selected in consultation with the instructor. Repeatable to a total of six semester hours. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

508 (cross-listed with ANTH 508 and WS 508) Women and Social Movements. (3) This course covers women in social movements. Sociological, anthropological, and feminist theories are used to study women鈥檚 movements and social change. Topics include, but are not limited to: suffrage, birth control, environmental, peace, child protection, and international human rights movements. Prerequisites: One previous undergraduate course in women鈥檚 studies, anthropology, or sociology, or permission of the instructor.

515 Advanced Criminology. (3) Survey seminar in crime. Sociological examination of measurement of crime, types of crime, major crime theories, recent empirical research, and topical issues in criminology. Prerequisites: Three semester hours of undergraduate criminology courses and six semester hours of graduate level sociology courses.

518 Classical Theory. (3) Detailed examination, analysis, and critiques of classical theorists and theories in Sociology. Emphasis on analysis of the foundations of sociological theory including Comte, Spencer, Marx, Weber, Durkheim and Parsons among others will be discussed. Prerequisite: SOC 333 or permission of the instructor.

519 Contemporary Sociological Theory. (3) Detailed examination, analysis, and evaluation of selected modern sociological theories. Emphasis on critical analysis and interpretation of major developments from WW II to present. Parsons, Mills, Dahrendorf, Rex, Sh眉tz, Bourdieu, Habermas, Luhmann, Giddens, M眉nch, and Baumann, among others, are included. Prerequisite: SOC 518 and admittance to graduate program.

525 Advanced Studies in Social Inequality. (3) Critical examination of theoretical and empirical writings on the distribution of wealth, power and prestige in society. Overview of role of social institutions and social and personal values on the construction of inequality and its impact on both individuals and society.

530 Statistical Methods. (3) Modern statistical techniques and methods of data analysis in the social sciences. Data reporting, random variation and sampling procedures, interviewing, secondary data sources, the search of unobtrusive measurements, and techniques of data processing. Prerequisites: Twelve semester hours of sociology and anthropology including SOC 100 or 510, 324, 323.

531 Quantitative Methods. (3) A detailed examination of data-gathering techniques, including scaling, questionnaire construction, sampling procedures, interviewing, secondary data sources, the search for unobtrusive measurements, and techniques of data processing. Prerequisites: Completed 9鈥�15 hours of graduate work and one undergraduate course in statistical reasoning.

535 (cross-listed with ANTH 535) Qualitative Research Methods. (3) This course is designed to expose students to several qualitative research methods used in the social sciences. In this course, students will learn how to select the appropriate qualitative method based on the strengths, limitations and ethical dilemmas each method poses. Students will also learn how to conduct research, analyze data, and write qualitative research findings. Prerequisite: Six semester hours of sociology graduate work.

546 Social Conflict. (3) Minority struggles, violence, deviance, hostile actions and counter-measures are examined in the context of reorganization of systems of interaction and of changing values; functions of conflict, social conditions of conflict and alternatives to conflict in group relations. Prerequisite: Twelve semester hours of sociology and anthropology.

550 Advanced Studies in Marriage and Family. (3) An advanced and critical treatment of the current issues, research and theoretical formulations of contemporary marriage and family life styles, emphasizing major demographic, economic, cultural, gender role and value system changes leading to personal and social consequences. Prerequisites: Six semester hours of sociology and anthropology including SOC 100 or 510, 370 or 480.

561 Family and Work Roles. (3) A comprehensive review of the changing pattern of family and work roles in the United States and in other societies. The review includes a new pattern of married couples' sex role division, employment, and career experience. Prerequisite: Six semester hours of sociology.

562 Complex Organization. (3) Nature of systems of interaction; relationship of individuals to systems, boundaries, goals, statuses, communications; comparisons of organizational models; organizational change, conflicts and disparities within organizations, relationships between organizations. Prerequisite: Twelve semester hours of sociology and anthropology.

599 Seminar in Sociology. (1鈥�3, repeatable under different special topics) Special topics in sociology to be announced. Prerequisite: SOC 510 or permission of the instructor. Intended primarily for majors in sociology.

600 Thesis Research. (3) Prerequisites: SOC 518, 530, and 531.

601 Thesis in Sociology. (3)

612 Seminar in the Instruction of Introductory Sociology. (3) Designed to prepare students for teaching introductory sociology courses at the high school, community college, and four-year college levels. Covers syllabus preparation, objectives development, topics selection, content delivery, and use of innovative teaching techniques to enhance learning outcomes. Prerequisite: Sixteen graduate hours or enrollment in the MAT Sociology Licensure Option.

694 Graduate Internship. (3-6, repeatable to 6) Supervised applied experience in sociologically related areas such as social services, law enforcement, or research. Written report required. Prerequisites: Approval of department chairperson and completion of at least 21 s.h. of graduate coursework (including SOC 510, 518, and 531).

698 Internship Presentation. (0) Students in the internship degree option present a paper on their internship integrating sociology to their internship. The paper will be approved by a committee of two faculty members and the Chairperson of the Departmental Graduate Committee.

699 Sociology Non-thesis Paper. (3) Students in the non-thesis degree option will write and present a paper on a topic approved by a committee of two faculty members selected by the student and approved by the Chair of the Departmental Graduate Committee. Graded S/U. Prerequisite: Permission of the Department Chairperson.

Anthropology (ANTH)

404G Dynamics of Cultural Change. (3) Examination of cultural change resulting from social forces, intercultural contact, and changes in the natural environment, focusing on the role of 鈥渃onflict鈥� and peace-building in the past and present societies, globalization, and modern applications. Prerequisite: ANTH 110 or permission of the instructor.

405G Forensic Anthropology. (3) Forensic Anthropology deals with the medicolegal problem of identifying human skeletal remains. This course provides an elementary understanding of human skeletal biology, forensic archaeology, and the recovery and identification procedures involved when unknown skeletal remains are discovered. Prerequisite: ANTH 111 or permission of the instructor.

410G Anthrozoology. (3) Anthrozoology examines human-animal relationships from the perspective of anthropology with an emphasis on culture and its influence on attitudes toward animals. Prerequisite: ANTH 110 or permission of instructor. Successful completion of a course in research methods is highly recommended.

417G (cross-listed with ZOOL 417G) Primate Ecology, Behavior and Evolution. (3) This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to primatology utilizing principles from anthropology, ecology, paleontology, and animal behavior. Students gain an understanding of the evolutionary history, adaptations, and conservation of primates and their habitats. Not open to students with credit in ZOOL 417. Prerequisites: ANTH 111 or ZOOL 200 (C grade or better) or permission of instructor.

419G Anthropological Theory. (3) Study of intellectual currents which led to the establishment of anthropology as a discipline. Prerequisites: 12 s.h. of anthropology coursework including ANTH 110 and 111, or permission of the instructor.

420G Cultural Feast: The Anthropology of Food. (3) Anthropological study of food symbolism, rules, consumption, health, and the gendered dimensions of food, including gathering, preparation and distribution, and commoditization of food. Issues of scarcity and links to environmental sustainability, global social hierarchies, and power relations are also addressed. Prerequisite: ANTH 110.

424G Laboratory Analysis of Archaeological Material. (1-3, repeatable to 6) Instruction in the study of material remains recovered from archaeological sites. Processing techniques and methods of analysis presented to introduce students to research in prehistory. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

425G Culture and Catastrophe: The Anthropology of Disaster. (3) Introduces critical theoretical and methodological approaches in the anthropological study of disasters. Examines human preparedness and response to disaster events, issues of social stratification and inequality, and environmental and social forces that influence vulnerability and social policy from an international perspective. Prerequisite: ANTH 110.

426G Archaeological Field Methods. (1-6, repeatable to 12) Intensive field training in the theory, problems, methods, and ethics of archaeological research. Usually taught during summer months at a camp located some distance from campus. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.

463G (cross-listed with BIOL 463G) Ethnobotany. (4) A survey of how indigenous people use and classify plants in comparison to modern, scientific principles of botany and plant chemistry, and the use of traditional knowledge by modern science. May require field work with travel at student expense. Prerequisites: BIOL 100 and 101; BOT 200 (C grade or better); ZOOL 200 (C grade or better); ANTH 110 or SOC 100; or permission of the instructor.

508 (cross-listed with SOC 508 and WS 508) Women and Social Movements. (3) This course covers women in social movements. Sociological, anthropological, and feminist theories are used to study women鈥檚 movements and social change. Topics include, but are not limited to: suffrage, birth control, environmental, peace, child protection, and international human rights movements. Prerequisites: One previous undergraduate course in women鈥檚 studies, anthropology, or sociology and graduate standing, or permission of the instructor.

535 (cross-listed with SOC 535) Qualitative Research Methods. (3) This course is designed to expose students to several qualitative research methods used in the social sciences. In this course, students will learn how to select the appropriate qualitative method based on the strengths, limitations and ethical dilemmas each method poses. Students will also learn how to conduct research, analyze data, and write qualitative research findings. Prerequisite: Six semester hours of sociology graduate work.