Sociology, MA

The Department of Sociology offers a Master of Arts degree in Sociology. All course work for the MA degree can be taken on the Colorado Springs campus, although students may take appropriate and approved courses at the Denver or Boulder campuses. Admission to the MA program in Colorado Springs does not constitute admission to the graduate programs at Denver or Boulder.

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate advanced critical thinking; write in a clear, logical manner, and clearly express sociological knowledge in verbal communication.
• Gain in-depth knowledge of several substantive areas of sociology.
• Show broad knowledge about global and local societies, social behavior and provide credible explanations of how and why social development has taken a particular direction.
• Understand, analyze and assess social experience, both theoretically and practically.
• Collect, analyze, and interpret sociological data effectively.
• Understand social phenomena of deviance, globalization, social change, multiculturalism, structural inequality, and the intersections of race, gender and other forms of stratification. 

MA Application and Admission

The student is referred to The UCCS Graduate School  section of this catalog for a complete listing of all rules and regulations that apply to MA programs on this campus of the University of Colorado.

For Sociology-specific information, including policies on admissions, grades, course load, and plagiarism, and departmental financial assistance, please see the Sociology department’s graduate program webpage at http://www.uccs.edu/soc/graduate.html.

Information may also be obtained from Rosemary Kelbel, Graduate Program Coordinator, Department of Sociology, UCCS.

MA Requirements

Required Exams

All MA students must pass the Preliminary and Qualifying Exams, and either a Thesis Defense or a Comprehensive Examination, depending on their chosen MA Plan.

The Preliminary Examination:
Students’ progress will be reviewed after completion of the first 6 hours of graduate level courses to ensure adequate qualifications to proceed in the program. Students will be notified of the results of this review process and appropriate recommendations for further progress will be included.

The Qualifying Examination:
After completing 18 graduate hours, including the required core sociology courses, students must prepare an Admission to Candidacy form and the Diploma Card, available on the UCCS Graduate School’s website at http://www.uccs.edu/graduateschool/current-students/graduating-this-semester.html. The student’s academic record will be reviewed and a plan for either a thesis (Plan I) or course work (Plan II) must be approved to continue in the program. If problems are identified, appropriate steps will be specified in order to become a candidate for the degree.

General Requirements

There are two options for completing the requirements for the degree.

Plan I: Thesis

Complete a total of 24 hours of approved course work, including the required courses, plus an acceptable thesis for 6 hours of credit.

Upon completion of the master’s thesis and approval of the Chair of the thesis committee, a defense is scheduled. The goal of the defense is to engage in a thorough discussion of the thesis project and implications for continued research in the thesis topic.

Plan II: Comprehensive Oral Examination and Portfolio

Complete a total of 30 hours of approved course work, including the required core sociology courses. Students are encouraged to develop individualized areas of concentration with their elective credits. Elective course work may include approved courses from other UCCS Graduate programs, for example the School of Public Affairs, Applied Geography and the College of Education.

The comprehensive oral examination is based on a discussion of the materials provided by the student in her/his graduate student portfolio. Portfolios should be turned in to the graduate program coordinator two weeks before the comprehensive examination. Portfolios are not returned to the student, but become part of the graduate archive in the sociology department.