Why an MA in Sociology?
Applications for the coterminal MA program in Sociology are due February 15, 2012, to begin the program Spring Quarter, 2012. Applications will not be accepted at any other time. GRE scores are now required as part of the application process (general test only).
Why not?
A Master’s degree in sociology is a degree with an extremely broad application. Whether you are thinking of law school or medical school, working in the non-profit or business world, or changing the world (Rev. Martin Luther King, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and Robin Williams were all sociology majors) a master’s degree in sociology gives you the opportunity to focus on an area of particular interest to you, and gain theoretical and methodological expertise that is easily applicable to the real world.
In the Sociology coterminal MA program, you will study groups as they relate to each other or to individuals and gain important methodological experience. You will learn about study design, how to ask a tractable research question and you will begin to learn how statistics can be used to answer your questions.
What can I do after an MA in Sociology? Anything. Here are some suggestions:
Law
If you are interested in becoming a lawyer, an MA in sociology can give you the chance to study the criminal justice system with a critical eye. How does a conviction affect an individual’s life chances? How does an individual’s race or ethnicity affect their likelihood for conviction? These are just a few questions you might want to investigate as you embark on your legal career.
Education
If you are contemplating becoming a teacher or working in the school system, sociology can help you to understand how the educational system as an institution can affect students’ career and lifestyle choices. You can also study the extent to which factors other than school play a part in an individual’s likelihood of graduating from high school or going to college.
Medicine
A master’s degree in sociology is also helpful when applying to medical school. Central topics include the subjective experience of health and illness; political, economic, and environmental circumstances that threaten health; and societal forces that impact on the medical care system and on people's responses to illness.
Public Policy
Sociology can help you better understand how institutional inertia affects public policy initiatives, how government organizations are effectively suited for certain tasks and not others, and how businesses in the free market interface with government institutions.
Business and Nonprofit
Sociologists enter the corporate and nonprofit worlds as research analysts, consultants, human resource managers, and program managers.