MASTER OF ARTS IN SOCIOLOGICAL
PRACTICE
The mission of the Master of
Arts in Sociological Practice at CSUSM is to provide a superior academic and
professionally useful master’s degree education to students with interests in
working in the human services and criminal justice agencies in their
communities, or to students who plan for teaching careers at the community
college level, or to continue their study for a Ph.D. degree.
The MA in Sociological
Practice includes theory and methods, field experience in human service,
criminal justice environments, and applied research. The program prepares
students for a range of careers in which professionals are required to provide
needed services to clients, and to administer and evaluate programs in human
services and criminal justice agencies.
In the 1990s, the most
valuable master’s level program in sociology that could be offered by an
institution is one with an applied focus. In addition, a solid program in
theory, research, and the study of various sectors of the society to which
human services and criminal justice agencies serve needs, will offer students
an intellectually rigorous and professionally valuable experience.
Applied work is sufficiently
central to the discipline of sociology that we would also be able to accept a
small number of students with intentions to continue on to a Ph.D. program in
sociology who would be required to fulfill
more extensive research and
writing requirements by completing a master’s thesis. The faculty have been
selected to represent the major areas of the human services and criminal
justice sectors — aging and gerontology, the sociology of health and mental
health, criminology and juvenile delinquency, and family and community studies.
They are engaged in and committed to teaching and research in these fields and
to having students gain field experience in these areas. In addition, the
program is uniquely prepared to offer courses in the study of differences in
ethnicity, race, gender, and age and how these qualities may affect values and
practices in the human services and criminal justice sectors. The focus of this
program on sociological practice — applying sociologically informed policies to
current social problems confronting the community with developing sensitivity
to multicultural, gender, and age differences — places this program at the
heart of the founding Mission Statement of CSUSM which states: “The goal is to
enable students to realize their potentialities as enlightened individuals and
productive members of society in a world of change.”
Preparation and Training Offered
by the Department
The Master of Arts degree in Sociological
Practice has been designed primarily as a terminal degree for students seeking
careers in the human services or criminal justice sectors. The emphases in the
program are:
1. developing critical
reasoning in the area of delivering human and criminal justice services;
2. practically applying
social theory to the development and appraisal of social policies;
3. learning effective
communication skills to become strong advocates for sociologically informed
decision making;
4. acquiring advanced
research skills in applied and evaluation research, using both quantitative and
qualitative methods; and
5. appreciating the varying
perspectives and value differences of those from different gender, race,
ethnic, class, and age groups.
These educational emphases
will provide students with a very strong background, thus enabling them to
contribute to community-based organizations and agencies in the human services and
criminal justice sectors. In addition, a small number of students with strong
academic records and ambitions to complete the Ph.D. degree will be admitted to
the program. These students completing this program as preparation for entry to
a Ph.D. program will complete a master’s thesis.
Admission
Successful applicants to this
program will have an undergraduate major in sociology, or at least four
upper-division courses of 3-4 units in sociology, including courses in both
sociological theory and research methods and at least one undergraduate course
in statistics. Applicants should have sufficient computing skills relevant to
completing graduate work in sociology. Admission decisions will be affected by
the appropriateness of the undergraduate training to the dimensions of this
program as well as by the educational and career intentions of the applicants.
Applicants must have an undergraduate academic record with a grade point
average of at least 3.0 in the last 60 units of undergraduate study. In
addition, an average of 3.0 is expected in upper-division sociology courses.
The Graduate Record
Examination (GRE) is required of all applicants. Although there may be
variation in the minimal cut-off from year to year, it is expected that
successful applicants would need a combined verbal and quantitative score of
1000 on the general test.
Applications must be received
by March 1 for admission in the fall semester. However, applications will be
accepted for review as long as space is available in the program. A completed
application would include:
• a completed application
form;
• two sets of official
transcripts of the undergraduate record from all institutions to which the
candidate attended, with indication of an undergraduate degree;
• a statement describing the
applicant’s (1) educational, research, and work experiences relevant to this
program, and (2) educational and career aspirations and goals;
• one formal writing sample
that met an academic requirement;
• official evidence of GRE
test cores; and • three letters of recommendation.
Degree Requirements
The program is based on 36
semester units (12 courses) of study, of which at least 33 are at the graduate
level (500- 600). Most students will complete a six-unit (2-course) field
placement sequence with a research project. Students seeking continuing study
at a Ph.D.-granting program will complete a master’s thesis and will replace
the six unit field placement with a six-unit thesis research sequence. The
thesis will be supervised by a committee and defended at a final oral
examination. A full-time student taking three courses in each semester would be
able to complete the degree in two years. The GPA in the graduate program must
be at least 3.0 to graduate. Units earned not in residence at CSUSM may not
exceed six, and must be approved by the student’s advisor and the graduate
program coordinator.
Students may take one
400-level course that is approved by the graduate program committee. Students
may also take one 600-level independent study course that is approved by the
graduate program committee.
Course of Study
Students in full-time
attendance will proceed with the graduate coursework in the following manner:
First Year, First Semester
SOC 501
SOC 515
SOC 610
First Sear, Second Semester
SOC 620
SOC 630
Seminar
Second Year, First Semester
SOC 575
SOC 670 or
SOC 690
Seminar
Second Year, Second Semester
SOC 640
SOC 675 or
SOC 695
Seminar
Seminar courses include
graduate Sociology courses described as seminars. Three units at the 400-level
may be substituted for a seminar, with approval by the graduate program
committee. An independent study (600- level) course may also substitute for seminar(s),
with approval by the graduate program committee.
Part-time students can select
two courses per semester to complete the program in three years.
Continuation
Students must maintain a 3.0
GPA and a grade of at least C in all classes; if the GPA falls below 3.0 for
two semesters, the student will be dropped from the program. Students must be
continuously enrolled unless they apply for a leave of absence. Students who
are not continuously enrolled, or who have a leave of absence of longer than
two semesters, must petition the program for continuation. All requirements for
the degree are to be finished within five years after the beginning of any
coursework in the graduate program. Continuation after five years may be granted
by the graduate program committee upon petitioning by the students.
A project proposal is
required to complete SOC 670 and the final project paper is required to
complete SOC 675; the proposal and final paper must be approved by three
sociology faculty members. SOC 675 is typically completed at the end of the
second year for full-time students and must be completed by the end of the
fifth year; students who have completed all coursework except SOC 675 will
enroll in SOC 700 to maintain continuous enrollment. Students electing to do a
thesis meet these requirements through a parallel sequence of SOC 690, SOC 695,
and SOC 700.
Advancement to Candidacy
Students will have a graduate
program advisor from among the faculty selected on the basis of their likely
area of interest and concentration. Students will work closely with their
advisors in the selection of courses and research topics. Students in the
standard program will have as their research supervisors their graduate program
advisor and the faculty member offering SOC 670. They will have been advanced
to candidacy once they have developed a research plan in SOC 670. Students
following the thesis option will have a three-member faculty committee which
will include their graduate program advisor. This thesis committee will assist
the student in the development of the thesis proposal and will serve as the
committee for the oral examination once the thesis is completed. Students who
will complete a thesis will have been advanced to candidacy once their thesis research
proposal has been accepted by their faculty thesis committee, normally at the
conclusion of SOC 690.