Craig St. John, Chair
Susan Sharp, Graduate Liaison
331 Kaufman Hall
Norman, OK 73019-2033
Phone: (405) 325-1751
FAX: (405) 325-7825
Internet: http://www.ou.edu/soc/
Professors Burns, Grasmick, St. John; Associate Professors Bass, Damphousse, T. Hope, Kelley, C. Morgan, S. Sharp; Assistant Professors Beamon, Beutel, Clay, Franzese, Latimore, Peck, Piotrowski; Lecturers Hackney.
Information on both undergraduate and graduate programs is included. Additional information on graduate programs is available from the Graduate College and their Web site at http://gradweb.ou.edu/, or the departmental Web site at www.ou.edu/soc/. This information is updated yearly and should be referred to for graduate program requirements.
The Department of Sociology has two interrelated missions: to provide the highest quality education at the baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral levels, and to foster state-of-the-art research agendas among faculty and graduate students. Teaching and research in the department help meet the needs of the state and nation by addressing important social issues. Departmental programs focus on three areas: (1) criminology, (2) demography and family studies, and (3) the analysis of class, race, and gender. At both the undergraduate and graduate levels, coursework in Sociology provides an analytic research emphasis for studying, understanding, and explaining major issues. Research in these areas updates and refines knowledge and, further, helps formulate and evaluate social policy.
The undergraduate curriculum in sociology prepares students for jobs in a wide-variety of occupations and for admission to advanced degree programs, especially in sociology, law, and criminal justice. The graduate program provides more intensive instruction and stimulates further intellectual growth and maturity. Graduate students completing a degree in sociology typically find employment in academic settings as professors and researchers, and in the public or private sectors as statistical analysts and research coordinators. The quality of the programs in sociology can be measured by the successful placement of our graduates in agencies, corporations, graduate and professional programs, research settings, and colleges and universities.
A major strength of the department’s graduate program is its training in research methods and statistics. The department maintains its own computer lab equipped with advanced statistical package software. Core seminars in statistics and methods encourage participation in all phases of research, from research design to data collection and analysis to the presentation of findings. Strength in this area complements coursework in the department’s three substantive areas of interest, and encourages students to be independent researchers and informed teachers. The department’s graduate students regularly present research papers at professional meetings, and have been very successful in winning competitions with these papers.
The undergraduate major requires a minimum of 33 semester hours. All majors are required to take 1113 (Introduction to Sociology), 3123 (Social Statistics), and 3133 (Methods of Social Research). Students in the sociology program may choose an option in either general sociology or criminology. Students completing either option receive the B.A. degree in Sociology.
Students in this option take any five of the eleven courses listed below plus the capstone course: 3523, 3533, 3623, 3643, 3683, 3723, 3733, 3753, 3803, 3873, 4363. General Sociology Capstone: 4943. Six hours of electives in sociology are required. These electives may be fulfilled by any sociology courses except Internship in Sociology (4603) and Criminology Capstone (4843).
Students in this option take any five of the following ten courses (limit of four from any 3900-3943), plus 3523 and the capstone course: 3533, 3543, 3553, 3900, 3903, 3913, 3923, 3933, 3943, 4603. Students take one additional course from among 3623, 3683, 3723, 3803, 3833.
Students considering a major in Sociology should contact the department for assistance in selecting courses which contribute to the student’s educational and career plans. Students who intend to pursue careers in social agencies, corporations, or research settings will be advised regarding courses most appropriate to those interests. Students wishing to enroll in graduate or professional school will be advised regarding courses normally prerequisite to such work.
Nonmajors may earn either of two minors in sociology.
Sociology-general: Students must successfully complete 18 hours, consisting of 1113; and any four courses from the following: 1523, 3523, 3533, 3623, 3643, 3713, 3723, 3733, 3803, 3873, and 4363; and one additional 3000- or 4000-level course in sociology; excluding directed readings, independent study, internship courses, intersession courses and Independent Study courses offered through Continuing Education.
Sociology-criminology: Students must successfully complete 18 hours, consisting of 1113; 3523 and 3533; 3543 or 3553; and two additional 3000- or 4000-level courses in sociology; excluding directed readings, independent study, internship courses, intersession courses, and Independent Study courses offered through Continuing Education.
The M.A. and Ph.D. programs in sociology emphasize the learning of research methods and statistics in conjunction with chosen substantive area(s) of interest. The department offers six different courses in which graduate students develop research skills. At the doctoral level, students may choose to specialize in any two areas from the three areas of emphasis in the department.
In addition to meeting the general requirements of the Graduate College, the student must have completed at least 15 hours of coursework in one of the social sciences with sufficient achievement to indicate an ability to do graduate work. Preferably, this would include coursework in sociological theory, research methods and statistics; students lacking a background in these areas will be provided with help in making up these deficiencies.
Students will be considered qualified for full graduate standing in the Ph.D. program when they have completed the M.A. degree and have held an Advisory Conference. Students from the University of Oklahoma are expected to fulfill all requirements for the pre-doctoral M.A. To be considered for financial aid a student must submit all necessary material by March 1.
There are two programs leading to the M.A. degree in sociology, the 34-hour predoctoral M.A. which requires a thesis; and the 39 hour nonthesis M.A. The following core coursework is required in both programs: Advanced Methods of Social Research (5293), Advanced Sociological Statistics (5283), Seminar in Sociological Theory (5933), and Advanced Sociological Statistics II (6233).
In addition to the core courses, completion of the 34-hour thesis M.A. entails 18 hours of elective coursework and four hours of thesis credit. Among the 18 hours of electives, 12 must be courses from the Department of Sociology at the 5000-level or above. The remaining six hours of electives may be Directed Readings (5960), 4000-level courses in Sociology, or crosslisted courses housed outside the Department or courses in another department.
In addition to the core courses, the 39-hour nonthesis M.A requires 27 hours of elective coursework and a comprehensive oral examination. Among the 27 hours of electives, 15 must be courses housed in the Department of Sociology at the 5000-level or above. Among the remaining 12 hours, no more than three may be Directed Readings (5960), no more than three may be crosslisted courses housed outside the department and no more than six may be 4000-level courses in the department.
With the approval of the student’s adviser and the graduate committee, limitations on directed readings, courses outside the department and 4000-level sociology courses may be modified. Under no condition, however, will a student be permitted to apply more than six hours of 4000-level sociology courses toward an M.A. or more than three hours of directed readings toward an M.A.
With few exceptions, students seeking this degree anticipate a career in teaching and/or research. Departmental requirements, therefore, emphasize (1) professional competence in sociology as a whole, especially research methodology, and (2) expertise in two fields within sociology. In preparing for the Ph.D., the student should acquire a broad knowledge of the fundamentals of sociology and then a focused specialization in chosen areas of interest.
For the Ph.D. degree, the student must pass a general examination, write a doctoral dissertation, and, in so doing, complete 90 hours of graduate coursework. The purpose of the coursework is to prepare the student for the general examination and dissertation. Hence, the accumulation of coursework, in and of itself, does not constitute progress toward the degree. Therefore, students normally meet with an advisory committee during the first year in residence to establish a plan of study.
A plan of study, filed formally with the Dean of the Graduate College, should develop the student’s knowledge of and expertise in sociology broadly defined in any two areas selected from the three areas of emphasis in the department. The plan of study must include the core requirements for the pre-doctoral M.A. and at least one additional advanced course in both theory and methodology/statistics. A maximum of 44 course hours may be transferred from other universities with the permission of the student’s Advisory Committee and the Dean of the Graduate College. In any event, the plan must contain sufficient coursework to adequately prepare the student for the general examination.
The general examination in sociology consists of written components and an oral defense. It usually is taken sometime after the second or third year of study. Failure to pass the examination leads to dismissal from the program. Formal work on the dissertation may begin after the student has successfully passed the examination.
The doctoral dissertation is written and defended under the guidance of the student’s doctoral committee consisting of five members of the graduate faculty, at least one of whom is from outside the Department of Sociology. A maximum of 18 hours may be applied to the dissertation.
Ph.D. students having sole responsibility for teaching a course in the Department also are required to take Teaching Seminars I and II (5831 and 5841) for one credit each. However, these credits may not be applied toward a graduate degree.