Graduate Studies in the Sociology Department

The Department of Sociology, founded in the mid-1890s is one of the oldest sociology schools in the United States. It is associated with the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies - an active social science research center. In keeping with its long academic tradition the department offers a graduate program leading to the degree of Master of Arts, designed to prepare students for careers in research and teaching.

The Department of Sociology offers the Master of Arts degree in several distinctive areas of concentration. The focus throughout these areas is on social justice with a special emphasis on global sociology and international comparative approaches. The curriculum is organized along three tracks or principal fields: (1) Crime and Justice Studies; (2) Global and Comparative Processes; and (3) Public Policy Analysis. Students not interested in any of these three concentrations can just pursue a General Sociology degree by passing the core graduate requirements and taking courses from any of the tracks to fulfill the necessary number of credits for the major.

The graduate program includes numerous courses in advanced quantitative methods. Students become expert at using statistical procedures and software and are highly sought out by researchers at the university's own distinguished Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies as well as in the Washington, D.C. area and elsewhere as business and research analysts both before and after they receive their degrees.

Funded research projects make it possible for students to write scholarly papers with faculty members, which are often presented at national conferences, such as the American Sociological Association and the Eastern Sociological Society. Many papers are subsequently published.

The department has a special focus on comparative research. Most faculty members offer courses and engage in research that involves cross-national contracts. Special regions of interest include central and eastern Europe, China and Latin America.

The graduate program has a required core curriculum. Upon request, other programs may be designed, drawing on current strength of the sociology department, other Catholic University departments, and local schools that participate in the Consortium of Universities of the Washington metropolitan area. Additional information is available from the chair of the department on concentrations and course offerings that can be secured through other consortium sociology departments or you may also obtain more information about the consortium by searching The Washington Consortium of Universities. Thus the students have available to them many courses in numerous areas of specialization, as well as a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to sociology.

The CUA Advantage

Catholic University's location in the nation's capital provides students with access to a multitude of opportunities for studies and research. Students have a chance to work for corporations and government agencies through internships. The American Sociological Association, Eastern Sociological Association and District of Columbia Sociological Society have offices in the area and conduct meetings that students are invited to attend.

Students can broaden their interests through the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area, which is made up of 11 local universities. Students are encouraged to use the Library of Congress, visit the many museums such as the Holocaust Museum and the Smithsonian Institution, to attend local lectures, and to visit and volunteer at homeless shelters and soup kitchens. Professors draw from a large pool of Washington, D.C. area experts to lecture to their classes. The Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies also conducts a "Brown Bag" lecture series that students are invited to attend.

Master of Arts Degree

Prerequisites and Requirements

The master's degree requires 30 semester hours of graduate work, six of which can be fulfilled by writing an M.A. thesis. Students who decide not to write the thesis are required to submit two seminar papers of publishable quality which must be approved by two faculty readers selected by the student. Candidates for the master's degree must successfully pass the following courses: 501, Research Methods; 503, Social Statistics; 512, Contemporary Sociological Theory; 604, Intermediate Social Statistics. There is no language requirement for the M.A.

The departmental grade policy is as follows: students are required to have grades not lower than a B- from all courses in sociology. The department makes a distinction between the skill and the core courses. Students who receive a grade lower than a B- from any of the skill courses (501, 503, 604) may petition the Department and may be allowed to re-take the course with departmental permission. Core courses cannot be re-taken. Departmental grade policy specifies that students who do not meet the grade criteria are subject to dismissal from the program.

A comprehensive examination is given to students finishing their M.A. course work. The examination is based on course work and especially on an integrated reading list revised periodically by the faculty. As an alternative to the thesis, two significant written reports of a research nature may be submitted. The department views carefully the professional training of each graduate student; in this regard the faculty normally expects students to engage successfully in teaching or research under faculty supervision. This can be done through an assistantship, independent research, or outside employment.

Financial Aid

The department offers a limited number of teaching assistantships. In addition, research assistantships are available when faculty members have funded research projects. Research assistantships also are available through the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies. Applicants wanting to apply for a teaching or research assistantship should correspond directly with the chair of the Department of Sociology. Other applications for financial aid are made at the time of application for admission to graduate study (see the section on "Financial Support" in the General Information section of the Announcements).

Beyond Graduate School

Some students who earn graduate degrees in sociology from CUA have chosen to pursue Ph.D. degrees in programs across the country. Others work in government or local programs, and many others return to their home countries to teach or do research.

In the past 10 years, the majority of graduate students in sociology at CUA have gone into academic careers at such universities as Purdue, Wake Forest, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, Hope College Nanzan University of Japan and the College of St. Benedict. Others have joined research firms or work in government offices, including the Department of Justice, the HIV/AIDS Bureau and the National Institute of Health, or have started their own consulting firms. International students often return to their native countries to teach or do research.

For more information about career options available to graduate students in Sociology, see the American Sociological Association Facts on Jobs and Careers.