Graduate Bulletin

Sociology, M.A.

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

Admission Requirements and Deadlines

Application Deadline:

Fall: March 15

Applications are evaluated as they are received throughout the year.

APPLY ONLINE to this graduate program.

Letters of Reference:

Number Required: 3

From Whom: Letters of recommendation should be obtained from college/university faculty members familiar with academic competence, wherever possible.

Coursework Required for Admission Consideration:

No specific coursework is required.

Bachelor's Degree in Discipline/Related Discipline:

A baccalaureate degree is required.

Statement of Goals:

The Statement of Goals should be approximately 500-1,000 words and should include the following elements: your interest in Temple's program; your research goals; your future career goals; and your academic and research achievements.

Standardized Test Scores:

The GRE is required. 

Minimum TOEFL score needed to be accepted: 100 iBT or 600 PBT.

Writing Sample:

The writing sample should demonstrate your ability to conduct research and to write a scholarly paper. The writing sample may be on any topic, but no more than 25 pages in length. It must be fully referenced according to a professional and scholarly style.

Resume:

A personal resume or curriculum vitae is required.

Transfer Credit:

Graduate coursework in Sociology may be transferred from outside the university, provided that the credits were obtained no more than five years prior to the student's matriculation at Temple and the grades are "B" or better. The maximum number of credits a student may transfer is 6.

Program Requirements

General Program Requirements:

Number of Didactic Credits Required Beyond the Baccalaureate: 36

Required Courses:

Two courses in social theory:

SOC 8111:  Classical Social Theory

SOC 9111:  Contemporary Sociological Theory

Two courses in methods of inquiry:

SOC 8011:  Logic of Inquiry

SOC 8221:  Qualitative Methods

Two courses in statistics:

SOC 8211:  Inferential and Multivariate Statistics

SOC 9211: Data Analysis

Six electives, which may include any of the following:

• 5000-level courses: Graduate courses at the 5000 level are surveys in particular substantive areas. Graduate students enrolled in these classes generally are required to complete more work than the undergraduates in the class. Only one 5000-level course taken with the permission of the instructor and the Graduate Chair will be counted toward the master’s degree.
• Independent Study courses (SOC 9382 and SOC 9383): With the consent of the Graduate Chair and the instructor, M.A. students may take one Independent Study course, which is an intensive program of study within a specific area of Sociology. Students who wish to take Independent Study courses must submit to the Graduate Chair at the beginning of the semester a Department Independent Study Request Form describing the readings and/or research they propose to undertake. The form must be signed by both the participating faculty member and the Graduate Chair. A final statement on the work completed must be filed with the Graduate Chair at the end of the semester. Letter grades are given for these courses.
• Outside courses: As part of their elective courses, M.A. students can take only one course outside the Sociology Department. This must be approved by the Graduate Chair.

Internship: No internship is required.

Language Examination: No language examination is required.

Culminating Events:

This program has no culminating events.

The master’s degree in Sociology is awarded to any candidate who successfully completes all requirements and earns a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better in the master’s degree curriculum. Apply for graduation in Self Service Banner by accessing TUportal. Note the deadline for submitting the graduation application on the Graduate School's Forms page.

Contacts

Program Contact Information:

www.temple.edu/sociology/

Department Information:

Dept. of Sociology
713 Gladfelter Hall
1115 Polett Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19122

soc@temple.edu
215-204-1494

Department Contacts:

Admissions:

Pamela Smallwood
poppy@temple.edu
215-204-7750

Graduate Chairperson:

Dr. Dustin Kidd
dkidd@temple.edu
215-204-7750

Chairperson:

Dr. Robert Kaufman
rkaufman@temple.edu
215-204-7979

About the Program

The graduate program in Sociology is devoted to the training of research scholars and educators in the discipline. Students have a variety of career goals, ranging from academic research and teaching to research and administration in private or public agencies. The master's program provides advanced training in sociological theory, statistics, and research methods. The three main areas of graduate teaching and research are Race and Ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality, and Urban and Globalization.

Time Limit for Degree Completion: 3 years

Campus Location:

Main Campus

Full-Time/Part-Time Status:

Students are required to complete the degree program through classes offered before and after 4:30 p.m. Students are also able to complete the degree program on a part-time basis (8 credit hours or less per semester).

Department Information:

Dept. of Sociology
713 Gladfelter Hall
1115 Polett Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19122

soc@temple.edu
215-204-1494

Interdisciplinary Study:

The program encourages students to participate in seminars in other social sciences, including Anthropology, Criminal Justice, History, Political Science, Psychology, Urban Education, and Urban Studies.

Affiliation(s):

The program is affiliated with the American Sociological Association.

Study Abroad:

No.

Ranking:

Not applicable.

Accreditation:

Not applicable.

Areas of Specialization:

The three areas of specialization are Race and Ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality, and Urban and Globalization.

Race and Ethnicity:

Race and ethnicity are important components of many societies. In the United States, they are central to the organization of society and create what some scholars have called a “racialized social formation.” At the same time, race and ethnicity are complexly intertwined with other types of identity, more prominently with gender, class, religion, and sexual orientation. Overall, racial thinking is closely linked to how some societies function, and sociologists have developed methodologies that are unique to this subfield.

This area encompasses sociological perspectives on ethnic and racial identities, inequalities, and interactions. Emphasis is placed on the long tradition of sociological research, from the early 20th century to the present, including but not limited to research on assimilation, racism, racial and ethnic stratification, prejudice and discrimination, immigration, and racial formation.

Gender and Sexuality:

Gender provides a lens through which to understand the social construction of similarity and difference and the sociological, historical, political, and economic forces that both shape and reflect women’s and men’s roles, statuses, resources, physical traits, and relationships with others. Attention is given to gender’s intersection with race, ethnicity, class, sexual identity, and immigration status.

One major focus is gender and inequality, which investigates the relationship between sex and gender and the socioeconomic rewards distributed through the labor market and the welfare state. Emphasis is on how sex and gender relate to poverty, women’s relative position in the income distribution and occupational hierarchy, the operation of work organizations, and the construction of social policy.

Another area, kinship, explores global changes in families, competing theoretical perspectives on the role of kinship structures in gender inequality, parenting and childhood, and social networks as well as the impact of public policy on the welfare of modern families.

Gender also encompasses body and sexuality, which includes the social construction of sexual identity, historical changes in identity construction, the social and cultural shaping of bodies, and gender differences in this process.

Urban and Globalization:

The area of urban and globalization comprises the study of the structures and processes that shape urban life. Globalization deals with the global interpenetration of national, regional, and local economic, social, and political processes. Consequently, each area requires competence in the other.

The urban sociology field focuses on how the organization of space produces and reproduces inequality by race, ethnicity, gender, class, family type, and sexuality. It features analyses of competing theoretical explanations for urban spatial patterns linked to inequalities that include power and politics, culture, racial and ethnic discrimination, and economic and political institutions. Urban sociology has a social problems orientation that looks at the manifestation and production of inequality with a wide range of topics, including homelessness, poverty, racial segregation, crime and delinquency, unemployment and underemployment, and environmental problems. A unique feature of the urban sociology field is its ability to link the physical dimensions of space (location, neighborhood, housing, access to place-based amenities) to social inequality. A major feature of urban sociology looks at mechanisms accompanying globalization, the development of world cities, the ways in which cities are integrated and exploited within a global economy, and the role of immigrant flows in shaping global cities.

Job Placement:

Graduates of the M.A. program are typically employed as applied researchers and administrators in private and public agencies.

Licensure:

Not applicable.

Non-Matriculated Student Policy:

Students with a bachelor's degree may take graduate courses in the Sociology Department without being enrolled in any Temple University graduate program. No more than three graduate courses (9 credits) taken prior to admission will be accepted for a Sociology degree. Non-matriculated students should consult with the Graduate Chair before selecting their coursework if they plan to apply for the degree program.

Financing Opportunities

The Sociology Department does not offer funding opportunities for students enrolled in the M.A. program. Other funding opportunities may be available in other departments on campus.

Updated 2.12.13