The Master of Arts degree in Sociology provides advanced study in sociological theory and methods of research with a variety of subject matter emphases that students plan with a graduate advisor. The program prepares students for doctoral studies, teaching at the secondary or community college level, or working in a professional capacity in government agencies or private organizations. Three Culminating Experience options are offered. Option A requires a thesis; Option B requires a comprehensive examination; and Option C requires a project in the form of an original work portfolio that includes professional presentations and other evidence of Sociology MA Program Learning Outcomes.
Fall is the admission term for the MA Program in Sociology. The Sociology Department does not require any materials other than those submitted to the CSULA Admissions Office. Students will be accepted until the deadlines established by the University for Fall term admissions. The Sociology Department has two admissions requirements in addition to University requirements.
One admission requirement is a prerequisite GPA of 3.0 or better in a set of nine specified prerequisite courses or their equivalents. These include the four most recently completed upper-division sociology elective courses in addition to these specific courses (or their equivalents): SOC 2010 ; SOC 2100 ; SOC 3100 ; either SOC 3900 or SOC 3910 ; and SOC 4120 Independent Supervision courses do not count as prerequisites. Satisfactory equivalents will be determined by the Graduate Studies Committee in sociology.
Applicants must have achieved a grade point average of 3.0 in this coursework. Applicants must also achieve a GPA of 2.75 or above in an additional 24 semester units of upper-division undergraduate coursework in addition to meeting university requirements for admission to graduate study.
If more than 24 additional upper-division semester units of coursework have been completed, those courses least relevant to the Sociology MA Program will be omitted from the GPA calculation.
A total of 30 units is required, with at least 27 in 5000-level courses. There are 3 Options defined by the choice of culminating experience: Option A (Thesis), Option B (Comprehensive Examinations), and Option 3 (Project). Units are distributed as indicated below:
