The University of Oklahoma Department of Sociology offers a Master’s Degree in Sociology. We designed this program to be completed in 2 years and to provide rigorous theoretical training in graduate level sociology/criminology, state-of-the-art approaches towards social scientific research methods, and a strong foundation in producing publication quality sociological/criminological research. Those who complete this degree will be well positioned to pursue a PhD in sociology, criminology, or related fields as well as be in a competitive position for a non-academic research jobs both at the local and national level.
Graduate Applications Due December 15th
The MA degree in Sociology is centered on providing students with a wide variety of tools to produce high quality academic and non-academic social scientific research. This degree will focus on building a strong foundation for research, starting with a blank slate and moving students towards producing publication quality work. Students who have completed our MA degree have gone on to pursue PhD degrees in our department as well as other highly ranked sociology departments such as Duke, Indiana, Vanderbilt, Georgia, and Colorado as well as criminology departments such as the University of California-Irvine and University of Maryland. Many of our MA graduates also go on to work as researchers in a wide variety of public and private agencies including the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
Complete 34 hours of graduate course work
12 or more hours must be housed in the Department of Sociology at the 5000-level or above. The remaining 3 hours of electives may be Directed Readings (SOC 5960), a cross-listed course housed outside the department or another course outside the department.
Fall Semester | Spring Semester |
|---|---|
| Fundamentals of Social Statistics (5283) | Advanced Regression Analysis (5483) |
| Sociological Theory (5933) | Advanced Methods of Social Research (5293) |
| Professionalization Seminar (5821) | Graduate Elective Course |
| Graduate Elective Course |
Fall Semester | Spring Semester |
|---|---|
| Cat, Panel, and Advanced Soc Stats (5683) | Research Hours for Master's Thesis (5980) |
| Graduate Elective Course | Graduate Elective Course |
| Graduate Elective Course |
We strive to provide up to 2-years of funding to most of our MA students through graduate assistantship positions. This includes a monthly stipend (for 9 months), a tutition wavier, and student health insurance. We also offer competative opportunities for summer funding through our Grasmick/Riddle Summer Research Fellowships. To assist with travel to national and international conferences, the department and university also provide travel grants to graduate students who are presenting their own research.
If you are interested in applying to our graduate program, please download our application packet.
If you have any additional questions about the program or the application process, contact Dr. Cyrus Schleifer, the graduate director, at cyrus.schleifer@ou.edu or (405) 325-3647.
The department requires and up-to-date GRE general exam score for all applicants for either our PhD or MA degree. The requirement cannot be waived by the department.
Additionally, the department is unable to waive the application fee for any graduate applicant apllying for admission to OU.
The OU Sociology Department is thrilled to offer a Graduate Certificate in Applied Research and Program Evaluation. This program requires 15 credit hours of coursework and students who complete this certificate will develop skills and connections to succeed in the applied research world.
This certificate provides rigorous training in state-of-the-art applied research and program evaluation, the statistical and computational tools to address important social and policy-based research questions, a foundation in collecting real world data to address a variety of research concerns, and local and national networking to connect with government, non-profit, and private sector opportunities.
We have rolling reviews of applications for the ARPE Certificate in Fall Semesters.
Current OU graduate students in good standing may request to add the degree code of G210 to their student profile. If not currently an OU student, applicants will apply to the Graduate College.
If you are interested in learning more about the Graduate Certificate in Applied Research and Program Evaluation (degree code G210), please contact Dr. Erin Maher.
Professor and Department Chair
Office: Kaufman 331
Phone: (405) 325-1751
Email: erin.maher@ou.edu
Ph.D., Indiana University-Bloomington, 2000
