Mar 28, 2024  
2020-2021 Graduate Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Sociology, Applied (SOCY)


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Graduate Programs


SARAH CHARD, Chair
DENA SMITH, Graduate Program Director

Degrees Offered

M.A., P.B.C. (Degree Types )

Faculty

Professors

ADLER, MARINA A., Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park; Social science methodology and statistics; cross-national gender; work and family issues; social inequality (race, class, gender) and social policy
ECKERT, J. KEVIN, Ph.D., Northwestern University; Cultural anthropology; anthropology of aging; long-term care; research design/qualitative methodologies; senior’s housing and aging services
 

Associate Professors

CHAPIN, BAMBI, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego; Psychodynamics and child development in socio-cultural context; social and emotional relationships; mental health and illness; dissociation and trauma; trance and spirit possession; South Asia
CHARD, SARAH, Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University; Medical anthropology, urban anthropology, treatment seeking, social support
HENDERSON, LOREN, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; race, health disparities, sexualities, diversity and inequality
KALFOGLOU, ANDREA L, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Bioethics; feminist bioethics; public health ethics; public health policy; women’s health; reproductive policy and ethics; genetics policy and ethics; research ethics; research methods
MAIR, CHRISTINE A., Ph.D., North Carolina State University; life course; social ties; family; aging; health; social inequality (race, class, and gender); and globalization
SCHUMACHER, JOHN, Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University; Medical sociology, social gerontology, physician-patient relationships
SMITH, DENA T., Ph.D., Rutgers University; sociology of health and illness (medical sociology), sociology of mental health, sociology of psychiatry, gender and health, cognitive sociology
WALLACE, BRANDY, Ph.D., Florida State University, Tallahassee; social inequality (race, class, gender); paraprofessional healthcare workforce in senior housing; physician-patient interaction; health disparities
YAMASHITA, TAKA, Ph.D., Miami University; Social determinants of health and well-being over the life course;benefits of lifelong learning; socio-geographic access to health resources; health literacy in older populations

Assistant Professors

CALLAGHAN-KORU, JENNIFER, Ph.D, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Child health; implementation science; medication adherence; asthma; global health
JACKSON, AUBREY L., Ph.D., The Ohio State University; Areas of Study: Neighborhoods, Crime, and Health; Law & Society; Gender Stratification; and Political Sociology  
SOLLER, BRIAN, Ph.D., The Ohio State University; Areas of Study: Criminology; Social Determinants of Health; Social Networks; Adolescence
TREVITT, JAMIE, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Population health, reproductive health, social and economic determinants of fertility, maternal/child health, family formation, contraception, social demography, quantitative methods and statistics

Lecturers

BIRGER, KATIE, MA, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Medical sociology; health behaviors
COZART, MERYL, M.A., University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Race, class, gender; alcohol and drugs; addictions; medical sociology; social determinants of health

Program Description

The Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health (SAPH) offers a degree program leading toward a Master of Arts in Applied Sociology. The Master of Arts degree in Applied Sociology emphasizes the “practical side” of sociology and the acquisition of analytic skills to prepare students for employment in many professional settings, including public and private organizations involved in social research, social policy, and program development. Program foci include sociology of health, illness, and medicine; aging and the life course; selected areas of diversity, gender, and culture; and applied research methods. Students learn quantitative and qualitative research methods and develop expertise in the areas of specialization listed above.

Graduates of our programs are employed at university and medical school research centers, nonprofit organizations, private research organizations, and numerous governmental organizations (CMS, SSA, NIH, NIA, Census, MDH). The program is open to full-time and part-time students with any undergraduate major. Most courses are offered at 4:30-7:00 pm or 7:10-9:40 pm one day per week Monday through Thursday to accommodate students with full-time employment or other obligations. Students may enter the program in the fall or spring semesters.

The Department also offers a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in the Nonprofit Sector either separately or as part of the M.A. program. It consists of 4 courses, including 2 courses that analyze nonprofit organizations, 1 course in methods or statistics, and 1 course in a substantive area of sociology. These courses also count toward the M.A. degree, which permits M.A. students to complete the certificate without taking additional courses.

Program Admission Requirements

Students may be admitted to the M.A. program with any undergraduate major and an undergraduate GPA of at least a 3.0. A writing sample is required as part of the application materials. The sample should come from coursework in sociology or a related discipline. Applicants can submit any course paper, thesis or capstone project that best represents their skills in research and writing. The GRE is not required for admission. Please visit our website for more information on all required application materials. The fall admission deadline is May 1st (March 15th for best consideration) and for Spring admission, December 1st (October 15 for best consideration). All application materials must be received by the respective deadline.

Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s (B.A./M.A.) Program

The Department also offers an Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Program for UMBC undergraduatestudents in any majors. The accelerated program allows students to take up to nine graduate credits to apply toward the master’s degree as well as the bachelor’s degree.

Students are eligible for admission into the accelerated program once they have completed 90 credits of undergraduate courses, SOCY 101, and at least one upper-level course in a substantive area of sociology (at UMBC). Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.0. Before they graduate with their undergraduate degree, B.A./M.A. students must apply for the M.A. program in order to become regular graduate students in the semester after they complete their undergraduate degree. The graduate school application fee is waived for students who apply for the accelerated program.

Dual Degree Program in Applied Sociology and Gerontology

The dual degree program enables students to combine the M.A. in Applied Sociology with the Ph.D. in Gerontology offered by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Students are admitted to both programs separately. Interested students should communicate with the graduate program directors of both programs.

Dual Degree Program in Applied Sociology and Public Policy

The dual degree program enables students to combine the M.A. in Applied Sociology with the Ph.D. in Public Policy offered by the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Students are admitted to both programs separately. Interested students should communicate with the graduate program directors of both programs.

Financial Assistance

A number of assistantships are available in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health and elsewhere on and off campus. Assistantships require 10 to 20 hours of work per week and provide tuition remission, health insurance, and a stipend. Assistantships are assigned on a competitive basis.

Programs

    Master of ArtsPost-Baccalaureate Certificate

    Courses

      Sociology

      Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Graduate Programs