Mar 29, 2024  
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Sociology



Sociology Core Faculty:

Marina Adler, Professor and Director, Graduate Program in Sociology
Nicole Cousin-Gossett, Senior Lecturer 
J. Kevin Eckert,
Professor
Brandy Harris-Wallace, Associate Professor and Co-Director, Undergraduate Program in Sociology
Loren Henderson, Assistant Professor
Christine Mair, Associate Professor and Co-Director, Undergraduate Program in Sociology
John Schumacher,  Associate Professor
Dena Smith, Assistant Professor

Department Faculty (Sociology, Anthropology and Health Administration and Policy)

Chair

J. Kevin Eckert
B.A., Ursinus College, 1969; M.A., Northwestern University, 1973; Ph.D., Northwestern University 1978

Associate Chair

Sarah Chard
B.A., Bryn Mawr College, 1991; M.A., Case Western Reserve University, 1995; Case Western Reserve University, Ph.D., 2001

Professors

Marina Adler
B.A., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1981; M.A., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1984; Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park, 1990

J. Kevin Eckert
B.A., Ursinus College, 1969; M.A., Northwestern University, 1973; Ph.D., Northwestern University 197

Robert L. Rubinstein
B.A., Case Western Reserve University, 1968; M.A., Bryn Mawr College, 1972; Ph.D., Bryn Mawr College, 1978

Mary E. Stuart
B.A., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1971; M.A., University of Maryland, Baltimore, 1974; Sc.D., The Johns Hopkins University, 1989

Associate Professors

Bambi L. Chapin
B.A., University of Virginia, 1988; M.A., University of California, San Diego, 1998; Ph.D., University of California, San Diego, 2003

Sarah Chard
B.A., Bryn Mawr College, 1991; M.A., Case Western Reserve University, 1995; Case Western Reserve University, Ph.D., 2001

Brandy Harris-Wallace
B.S., University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, 1998; M.A., 2001; M.S., Florida State University, Tallahassee, 2003; Ph.D., Florida State University, Tallahassee, 2006

Andrea L. Kalfoglou
B.A., University of Virginia, 1991; Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 1999

Christine A. Mair
B.A., University of Florida, 2005; M.S., North Carolina State University, 2007; Ph.D., North Carolina State University, 2011

John G. Schumacher
B.S., John Carroll University, 1986; M.A., Bowling Green State University, 1994; M.A., Case Western Reserve University, 1997; Ph.D.,Case Western Reserve University, 2000

Takashi Yamashita
B.A., Tokyo Gakugei University, 2002; M.A., Ball State University, 2007; M.A., Ball State University, 2007; Ph.D., Miami University, 2011

Assistant Professors

Jennifer A. Callaghan-Koru
B.A. University of Virginia, 2002; M.H.S. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2008; Ph.D. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2011

Loren Henderson
B.A., Northwestern University, 2006; M.A., University of Illinois at Chicago, 2008; Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014

Dena T. Smith
B.A., Goucher College 2003; M.A. Rutgers University 2006; PhD Rutgers University 2011

Jamie L. Trevitt
B.A., Duke University, 2003; M.P.P., Georgetown University, 2006; Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University, 2010

 

Research Faculty

Senior Research Scientist

Ann Christine Frankowski
B.A., Alfred University, 1965; M.A., Binghamton University, 1970; Ph.D., Indiana University, 1983
 

Assistant Research Scientist

Laura M. Girling
B.S., Clemson University, 2007; M.S., Loyola University, 2010; Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2015

Senior Lecturer

Nicole M. Cousin-Gossett
B.S., Towson University, 1999; M.A., Temple University, 2001; Ph.D., Temple University, 2010
 

Lecturers

Katie K. Birger
B.A., Virginia Commonwealth University, 1994; M.A., University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2013

Meryl Damasiewicz
B.S. Morgan State University, 1995; M.A. University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1996
 

Courses in this program are listed under SOCY.

The Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Health Administration and Policy offers undergraduate majors in Sociology, Cultural Anthropology, and Health Administration and Policy, as well as minors in Sociology and Cultural Anthropolgy. Information on the Sociology major and minor are presented here. For information on the Cultural Anthropology and the Health Administration and Policy majors, refer to the corresponding sections in this catalog. For more detailed information, see the Department’s website. 

Sociology is the study of social relationships among people and the institutions and organizations they use to organize these relationships. There are many subfields within sociology, including medical sociology, aging, population, religion, gender roles, family, work organizations, occupations, crime and delinquency, urban sociology, political sociology and others described in the course listings below. All majors are required to take courses in sociological methods (SOCY 300), statistics using computer software programs (SOCY 301) and sociological theory (SOCY 409).

The undergraduate major in sociology provides a well established and widely accepted path to careers and professional education in the human services. It is frequently the major of individuals employed in local, state and federal governments and in non-profit organizations. It typically provides appropriate preparation for many professional programs, including law, public health, health services administration, urban and regional planning, social work, human-services administration, human resources management, advertising, public administration and public policy. An undergraduate major in sociology is also appropriate preparation for research and policy-oriented graduate programs in sociology, public policy, health services research, criminology, demography and other disciplines that study social behavior.

Many sociology majors are transfer students from community colleges and other institutions of higher education. UMBC has articulation agreements with community colleges and public four-year colleges and universities in Maryland that enable students to count most sociology courses taken in those institutions for credit toward the sociology major at UMBC. The Department also accepts sociology courses taken at the accredited colleges in other states.

Career and Academic Paths

The undergraduate major is designed to provide a general overview of sociology for students who plan to enter the labor force after graduation and for those planning graduate study. The Department has double majors that combine sociology and social work, sociology and anthropology, and sociology and psychology, as well as a combined social work major/sociology minor. These programs enable students to complete both majors with fewer credits than are required for each major separately. The minor in sociology is designed for majors in other disciplines who wish to add a study of social behavior to their other major. Students interested in pursuing the Master of Arts in Applied Sociology offered by the Department should consider the combined B.A./M.A. program described below.

Academic Advising

Students majoring in Sociology must meet with their Sociology advisor each semester during advanced registration to review their progress toward fulfilling major and university requirements but are also encouraged to meet with their advisor at any point during the semester.

Advisors are available to assist students in developing an academic pathway towards graduation, as well as to discuss post graduate education and career options.  A student’s post-baccalaureate plans for either graduate education or immediate employment are important influences on his or her overall academic program and course selections. With these considerations in mind, early and continuous contact should be established with a program advisor.  Sociology majors with another primary major are still strongly encouraged to meet each semester with their Sociology advisor. 

Students can declare a Sociology major by filling out the Declaration of Major Form, located on the Registrar’s website, and returning it to the Registrar’s office.  Once the student has declared a Sociology major, he/she should contact the department to be assigned a faculty advisor and will receive updates regarding the major via email. 

For more information about the program’s advising process or for general questions regarding the Sociology program, please refer to the Department’s website.

Double Majors

The sociology program offers three double majors: Sociology/Anthropology, Sociology/Psychology and Sociology/Social Work. Information about the double majors can be found on the Department’s website.

Honors Program

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology offers a major with honors in sociology. Information describing the requirements for the major with honors is available on the departments website. Students considering graduate school in sociology are particularly encouraged to pursue this option.

Master’s and Accelerated Bachelor’s./Master’s Programs in Applied Sociology

The Master of Arts degree in Applied Sociology and the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s in Applied Sociology focus on the sociology of health; aging; selected aspects of diversity, gender, and culture; and applied research methods. The Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program permits undergraduates with any major to take up to 9 credits of graduate sociology courses in their senior year with the approval of the Graduate Program Director. These courses count for both the bachelor’s and the master’s degrees. The student receives a bachelor’s degree after completing 120 credits and the graduate courses taken during the senior year reduce the number of courses required for the master’s degree. The two programs are open to students in all majors. SOCY 101 is required for admission into the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program, and applicants must have also completed at least one upper-level course in a substantive area of sociology (at UMBC). All courses are offered at 4:30pm or 7:10pm, one evening per week. For admission requirements and deadlines please consult the Department website. A normal course load for full-time students graduate students is 9 credits a semester. Students interested in applying to either program should email Marina Adler, Graduate Program Director, at adler@umbc.edu or Faith Dinh, Graduate Program Coordinator, fdinh1@umbc.edu.

Evening and Part Time Options

The Department offers a variety of advanced courses in the evening every semester but does not offer an evening major. Students who are able to take some courses during the day can complete the degree on a parttime basis.

Student Organizations

Council of Majors

Membership in the Council of Majors is open to all declared majors. The council meets throughout the academic year.

Alpha Kappa Delta

International Sociology Honor Society: Iota of Maryland Chapter (at UMBC)

To become a member, an undergraduate student must: be an officially declared sociology major, be a junior (60-89 total credits) or senior (90 or more total credits), have an overall UMBC GPA of 3.3 or better, and have a GPA in all UMBC (and UMCP) sociology courses of 3.0 or better. For further details consult the Department website. The induction ceremony is held in May of each year.

Special Opportunities

Internships for all students are available through SOCY 396 , which is offered in cooperation with The Shriver Center. Students wishing to undertake individual research projects can do so in independent study courses with faculty members of their choice (SOCY 299 , SOCY 399  or SOCY 499 ).

Sociology majors seeking a more substantial research opportunity may complete the honors program. 

The university offers multiple opportunities for study abroad. Students seeking further information should contaact the Study Abroad Office. Students interested in study abroad also should meet with their advisor to discuss their plans and their pathway for trhe completion of the major requirements. 

Programs

    Bachelor of ArtsNon-Degree

    Courses

      Sociology