Sociology
Matthew E. Brashears, Graduate Program Director
Overview
The Department of Sociology offers a program of study that provides students with a thorough grounding in the theories and research methods of the discipline. Students with a B.A. or B.S. should apply to the Masters program only. Students with post-graduate degrees should apply to the Ph.D. program. Emphasis is placed on training students to apply theories and research methods while conducting empirical inquiry. Courses are taught, and students are mentored, by a faculty composed of nationally and internationally recognized scholars. The research specialties of the faculty span several areas. It is expected that the master’s and dissertation research projects of students will be carried out in specialty areas that fall in the purview of the faculty’s expertise. A description of the graduate program, including the specialty areas of each faculty member, is provided at https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/artsandsciences/sociology/research/index.php. Our graduates pursue careers in a wide range of academic and nonacademic fields. Graduates of the master’s program often find employment in government agencies or in private firms that require professionals with research skills and experience in data management. Graduates of the doctoral program also work for government agencies and in private firms, but many accept appointments at universities and colleges.
Admission
Applications should be submitted to:
The Graduate School
University of South Carolina
901 Sumter St.
Columbia, SC 29208
Baccalaureates should apply to the M.A. program. Additionally, applicants must send a letter describing their academic interests and an example of recent written work to Director of the Graduate Program Committee, Department of Sociology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208. Other materials that will be helpful in evaluating the application may be included. Electronic applications are available at http://www.gradschool.sc.edu. Application deadlines are July 1 for the fall semester and November 15 for the spring semester. The Department of Sociology encourages students to begin their graduate studies during the fall semester. Applications completed by February 15 receive priority in decisions about assistantships.
The Graduate Program Committee evaluates applications and makes recommendations about admission to the dean of The Graduate School. A minimum GPA of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) for the last 60 semester hours of undergraduate work is required for admission to the master’s program. For applicants with a master’s degree, a minimum grade point average of 3.50 for all graduate work is required for admission to the doctoral program. GRE scores must be submitted with the application to The Graduate School. The department does not have a minimum GRE requirement, but scores approaching or exceeding 600 on the verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE and 4 on the analytical section increase the applicant’s likelihood of being admitted and funded.
Courses
Analysis of personal, social and organizational networks, their structural patterns, practical consequences, and principles of formation and change.
Theory and research concerning the interrelationship between the polity and social structures.
An analysis of the contemporary American family emphasizing social stratification, mobility, occupations, and urbanization.
Theory and research in social stratification.
Interrelationships of major social structures within communities.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Diversity and Social Advocacy
Selected theoretical orientation, methodological procedures, and illustrative substantive issues pertaining to organizations.
Theories and issues relating to the definition of and response to crime and/or deviance.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Diversity and Social Advocacy
The analysis of core methodological and substantive issues in the study of social structures.
People's demographic lives, structural contexts, and social change. Emphasis on the socioeconomic context in which lives unfold.
A survey of methods of analysis and research findings with emphasis on the social and economic concomitants of internal migration. Cultural, economic, and historical aspects of international migration. Effects of governmental policies on immigration and emigration. Examination of selected countries.
Analysis of urbanization using contemporary and historical data from developing societies. The demographic components of metropolitan growth and the changing structure of metropolitan communities.
Introduction to methods used to answer theoretical, empirical, and practical sociological questions, including scientific inquiry and research design.
Advanced survey of social psychological perspectives and research on inequality, discrimination, power and status, cooperation and collective action, social norm and morality, networks and relationships.
A behavioral analysis of small groups.
An exploration of theoretical perspectives, methodological approaches, and substantive issues in the study of interpersonal power and authority.
A systematic analysis of the interrelation among the creation, involvement, recognition, and control of deviance.
Social psychological perspectives on family behavior.
A systematic analysis of interrelationships among social acts, selves, roles, transactions, and language.
Review of theoretical and empirical developments in the sociology of law, including classical and modern sociological theories of law and selected sociological themes of law in various social settings.
Interrelationships among society, culture, and contemporary science.
Advanced inquiry into the relationship between education and inequality.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Diversity and Social Advocacy
Theoretical perspectives on society and social behavior.
Design and conduct of original research using sociological research methods to meet Carolina Core Integrative course requirement for the BA and the BS.
Experiential Learning: Experiential Learning Opportunity
Advanced survey of methods used in sociological research.
Readings and research on selected sociological topics. Course and content varies and will be announced in the schedule of classes by title.
Advanced Independent study. Contract approved by instructor, advisor, and department chair is required.
Reading and research.
Survey of theoretical and empirical works of sociological scholars.
Presentation and study of the major theory groups in contemporary sociology, including functionalism, exchange, and consistency theories. Anaysis of theoretical perspectives using criteria of logical consistency and adequacy of explanation. Techniques of building formal theory in sociology.
Survey of data-gathering techniques used in sociology including questionnaires, interviews, surveys, archival searches, experiments, and observational techniques.
Intensive focus on selected social research methods having applications to the study of sociology.
Introduction to statistical analysis in sociology, including bivariate and multiple regression, correlation and analysis of variance.
Recursive and non-recursive modelling, multiple regression using longitudinal data, event history analysis.
Selected topics in the theory, measurement, and analysis of social networks.
Selected topics in scaling and measurement of social science data emphasizing exploratory and descriptive techniques such as correspondence analysis, proximity scaling and contingency table representations.
Purposes, design and implementation of laboratory experiments in sociology.
Classical and contemporary theories and analytical approaches to demography.
Sociological theories of the family and social change.
Introduction to selected research methodologies having applications to the study of demography.
Social inequality and stratification studied from a structural perspective, focusing on patterns in institutions that perpetuate inequality.
Historical and contemporary dimensions of social inequality centered in race, social class, gender, and sexuality.
Cross-listed course: PSYC 751
Theories and problems in contemporary groups processes; primary emphasis on theories of status, power, justice, emotion, and legitimacy.
Social and cultural meanings, determinants, and experiences of health and illness; organization of health care delivery system; impact of culture, roles, and relationships on patients and providers.
Topics from Medical Sociology theory and research. May be repeated as content varies by title.
This seminar introduces graduate students in sociology to aspects of the sociological profession that are beyond the confines of sociological theory, methodology, and the discipline's substantive interests.
An exploration of college teaching of sociology, including goals, means, and challenges.