Prerequisites: admission to the University Honors Program or consent of instructor
Description: Honors course corresponding to SOC 001. An in-depth look at concepts and theories relating to the study of humans as participants in group life, analysis of culture, social institutions, personality development, and processes of social interaction. Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) grading is not available. Credit is awarded for only one of SOC h) A minimum of one course from each of two specialization areas Note Students who have had extensive graduate training in a core course area at another graduate school may submit a petition to the graduate affairs assistant for possible course substitution which may exempt students from a core requirement. M.A.Thesis and Oral Examination Each student must complete a thesis for completion of the master’s degree. This paper reflects the student’s areas of theoretical and substantive interest since entrance into the program, and it is written in a form, content, and style appropriate for publication or presentation to a sociological audience. A three-person faculty committee oversees the evaluation of the paper and the oral defense of the thesis. The thesis must be completed by the end of the student’s sixth quarter of enrollment. The thesis must be submitted electronically to the Graduate Division, following the formatting guidelines provided on the Graduate Division web page. On the basis of a favorable recommendation from the three-person faculty committee, the faculty votes to recommend the awarding of the M.A. degree in Sociology. If the M.A. is awarded or if the student already has an M.A. in Sociology, the faculty then votes on whether the student should continue in the Ph.D. program. If a student is allowed to continue in the Ph.D. program, the faculty then votes on whether to accept the two areas of specialization in which the student requests to be examined. Professional Development Training Each student must complete the following professional training courses: SOC 232 and SOC 293. Normally SOC 232 (Proseminar in Sociology) is completed in the fall of the first year as part of the core program. SOC 293 (Research Topics in Sociology) is required once each year until a student is advanced to candidacy. In addition. SOC 301: Directed Studies in the Teaching of Sociology is required prior to or concurrent with the completion of teaching assistantships in the program. Period of Specialization After admission to two areas of specialization (see M.A. Thesis and Oral Examination, above), students are expected to consult with faculty who constitute the membership of each standing specialization committee. Under the faculty’s guidance, a student is expected to work out a program of graduate seminars, directed reading courses, and research experiences that prepare the student for examination in the chosen two areas of specialization. The primary areas of specialization offered in the department are as follows: 1. Criminology and Sociolegal Studies 2. Social Psychology 3. Gender Studies 4. Organizations and Institutions 5. Political Economy and Global Social Change 6. Race and Class Inequality 7. Sociological Theory and Evolutionary Sociology 2. Performance on the GRE 3. Letters of reference from persons familiar with an applicant’s potential for achieving academic excellence 4. The extent to which an applicant’s areas of expressed interest coincide with teaching and research emphases in the department Applicants to the graduate program in Sociology are encouraged to submit a copy of a professional or term paper with their application for consideration in the admissions process. In general, students are admitted for the fall quarter of each academic year. Applicants to the graduate program for mid-year admissions are not recommended because the sequence of core courses is designed to begin with the fall quarter. The deadline for an application for admission for the fall quarter is December 15, also the deadline for various university fellowship programs. A detailed statement of degree requirements and procedures for the graduate degree is available at sociology.ucr. edu/academic/graduate.html. General university requirements of the Graduate Division are at www.graduate.ucr.edu and in the Graduate Studies section of this catalog. The graduate program is designed to allow students to proceed through three distinct stages in their pursuit of the Ph.D. degree: the basic core program, the period of specialization, and writing the dissertation. Basic Core Program All students must complete the basic core program, regardless of whether they hold a baccalaureate or master’s degree at the time of admission. A student is expected to complete the basic core program in not less than three and not more than six academic quarters. The chair of the graduate affairs committee advises students about the core program. Course Requirements for the Core Program 1. In the core program, the minimum requirement is 42 units of academic work with no grade less than a “B”. Work in the basic core courses must be distributed as follows: a) Core sequence in theory: SOC 202A, SOC 202B b) Core course in research design: SOC 200 c) Core sequence in qualitative methodology: SOC 204A, SOC 204B d) Core sequence in statistics: SOC 203A, SOC 203B e) Proseminar in Sociology: SOC 232 Note Under normal circumstances, the core sequences in theory, SOC 200, SOC 203A, and 204A, and the proseminar are to be completed within the first year. SOC 203B and SOC 204B may be completed within the first two years. f) Research colloquium: SOC 293 (required once each year until student is advanced to candidacy) Sociology multiple-regression, simulation, and multivariate nonparametric techniques.