Mar 28, 2024  
2015-2016 Graduate Catalog 
    
2015-2016 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Sociology


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Faculty

Sofya Aptekar, PhD, Princeton University

  • Immigration
  • Race and Ethnicity
  • Sociology of Culture
  • Stratification and Inequality
  • Mixed Methods

Paul Benson, PhD, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

  • Sociology of Mental Health
  • Medical Sociology
  • Public Policy

Keith Bentele, PhD, University of Arizona

  • Stratification
  • Inequality
  • Political Sociology
  • Public Policy

Bianca Bersani, PhD, University of Maryland

  • Crime Over the Life Course
  • Criminological Theories
  • Immigration and Crime
  • Quantitative Methodology

Philip Brenner, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison

  • Survey Methodology
  • Measurement
  • Quantitative Methods
  • Sociology of Religion
  • Social Psychology
  • Self and Identity

Elizabeth K. Brown, PhD, SUNY at Albany

  • Law and Society
  • Incarceration Policy
  • State-level Criminal Justice
  • Public Opinion

Jorge Capetillo-Ponce, PhD, New School for Social Research

  • Social Theory
  • Race and Ethnic Relations
  • Media Studies
  • Latino Studies

Mathew J. Creighton, PhD, University of Pennsylvania

  • Immigration
  • Health Inequality
  • Educational Stratification
  • Intolerance and Anti-Immigrant Sentiment
  • Social Demography

Xiaogang Deng, PhD, SUNY Buffalo

  • Research Methods
  • Recidivism Study
  • Comparative Criminology
  • Official Corruption in China

Stephanie Hartwell, PhD, Yale University

  • Drugs and Society
  • Mental Health
  • Criminality
  • Applied Sociology
  • Environmental Justice and Disasters

Megan Klein Hattori, PhD, University of Maryland

  • Medical Sociology
  • Global Health and Fertility
  • Transition Age Youth and Decisions Surrounding Reproductive Health

Janice Iwama, PhD, Northeastern University

  • Communities and Crime
  • Immigration
  • Race/Ethnicity

Philip Kretsedemas, PhD, University of Minnesota

  • Immigration
  • Critical Race Theory
  • Globalization and Social Change
  • Social Welfare Policy
  • Contemporary Theory

Andrea Leverentz, PhD, University of Chicago

  • Communities and Crime
  • Prisoner Re-entry
  • Gender and Crime
  • Urban and Community Sociology
  • Qualitative Research Methods

Sarah Mayorga-Gallo, PhD, Duke University

  • Race and Ethnic Stratification
  • Urban Sociology
  • Latino/a Migration
  • Media Representation

Siamak Movahedi, PhD, Washington State University

  • Social Psychology
  • Social Psychiatry
  • Research Methods and Statistics

Jason Rodriquez, PhD, University of Massachusetts Amherst

  • Medical Sociology
  • Health Services Organizations
  • Qualitative Methodology
  • Health and Aging
  • Health Services Organizations

Russell Schutt, PhD, University of Illinois, Chicago

  • Research Methods
  • Sociology of Organizations
  • Homelessness and Mental Health Services
  • Sociology of Law

Cinzia Solari, PhD, University of California Berkeley

  • Gender and Migration
  • Work and Globalization
  • Social Theory
  • Global Ethnography

Lakshmi Srinivas, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles

  • Media and Popular Culture
  • Media Reception
  • Spectatorship
  • Public Culture
  • Consumption
  • Globalization
  • Ethnography
  • Bollywood Cinema

Leslie Wang, PhD, University of California Berkeley

  • Family
  • Gender
  • Globalization/Transnationalization
  • Asia
  • Qualitative Methods

Kevin Wozniak, PhD, American University

  • Justice
  • Law and Society
  • Politics and Policy

Reef Youngreen, PhD, University of Iowa

  • Social Psychology
  • Status Processes
  • Deviance

Heather Zaykowski, PhD, University of Delaware

  • Victimization
  • Youth Violence
  • Communities and Crime
  • Law and Society

 

The Program

The Master of Arts Program in Applied Sociology

The Master of Arts Program in Applied Sociology, is designed to help students understand the social forces that shape their world with practical training in research methods, statistics, and evaluation research.  The program’s applied focus integrates research approaches and coursework that emphasize the core strengths of the faculty’s research in medical sociology, criminal justice and criminology, and immigration research. A solid foundation in theory, developed through courses and internships, provides students with that they bring to work in criminal justice agencies, human service organizations, health care institutions, alcohol and substance abuse treatment programs, and applied research firms, as well as laying a foundation for doctoral study. Coursework provides students a broad understanding of the relevance of sociology in examining and treating complex social problems, as well as specific job skills useful in applied settings and in advanced studies. The program offers concentrations in criminology, health and mental health, immigration and globalization, and survey methods. This range of possibilities enables students to pursue specialized study according to their interests and career objectives. An important feature of the program is its field work option—an internship that reflects the academic and professional interests of the student. Internship placements are generally in public and private agencies and may be either service- or research-oriented.

The program seeks applicants whose career and academic interests are oriented toward either applied areas or future doctoral study. Graduate seminars are scheduled in the late afternoon and evening hours to accommodate those with employment and other obligations. Full-time students can complete requirements for the MA in two years. All students admitted into the program must complete degree requirements within five years. Non-matriculated students who hold a BA degree may enroll in selected program courses provided they demonstrate suitable qualifications for graduate study to the program director and instructor; upon admission and matriculation, a maximum of two of these may be transferred into the MA program.

Accelerated Combined BA/MA Program

An accelerated BA/MA program is also available for eligible UMass Boston undergraduate students interested in applied sociology. By entering this program students can earn both a bachelor’s degree in their field of interest and a master’s degree in applied sociology in less time than earning these degrees separately would require. Students are accepted into the full-time master’s degree program in their junior year, begin taking graduate courses in their senior year, and then complete the MA requirements. On completion of all requirements, students will be awarded both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Students who do not complete the entire program, or do not have the required GPA to be awarded an MA degree, may choose to apply appropriate earned credits toward the bachelor’s degree. This program consists of a minimum of 140 credits (104 undergraduate and 36 graduate-level credits or their equivalents) which can be completed in as few as five years. Students, however, may carry less than a full course load and complete the program at a slower rate.

The PhD Program in Sociology

The PhD Program in Sociology builds on the success of our MA Program in Applied Sociology and the research and scholarly accomplishments of our dynamic faculty. PhD students will complete a core set of courses in social theory and research methods and then concentrate in one of three areas:

  • health, mental health, and health care services
  • communities and crime
  • immigration and globalization

Doctoral students may also complete requirements for a Graduate Certificate in Forensic Services or a Graduate Certificate in Survey Research. Graduate assistantships will provide doctoral students with opportunities to conduct research in collaboration with faculty and to teach classes under faculty supervision. Training and research opportunities will be enriched through partnerships with the Departments of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and at the Harvard Medical School, with the Hannover Medical School in Germany, with UMass Boston’s McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, and with faculty in human services at Salem State University and in criminology at UMass Lowell.

Certificate in Survey Research

This 15-credit graduate certificate program is designed for survey research professionals working in the academic, governmental, nonprofit, and commercial research sectors. The program’s focus is balanced to give students an appreciation of the theoretical foundations of survey methodology and proficiency in practical aspects of survey design. Students can enroll in either the concentration within the graduate program in sociology or in the freestanding post-baccalaureate certificate program.

Graduate Certificate in Forensic Services

The Graduate Program in Applied Sociology and the College of Advancing and Professional Studies at UMass Boston are partners in a 16-credit Graduate Certificate Program in Forensic Services, designed for criminal justice and mental health professionals. Note: Only two graduate courses can be transferred into the program.

Programs

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