Graduate Program
The University of Houston is a state university with a student body of over 30,000. Ranked as the fourth largest city in the nation, Houston provides a natural laboratory for social research. Thirteen full-time sociology faculty are engaged in a variety of com- munity-based research projects, concerning such policy-relevant topics as public education, immigration, religion, HIV/AIDS, popular culture, and sports. Much of this research is supported by the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Bureau of the Census, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the National Institutes on Health, Drug Abuse and Justice, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and local foundations and agencies. These projects provide research experience and financial support for students, as well as employment opportunities for graduates. Approx- imately 30 students are actively enrolled in the Soci- ology graduate program. The low faculty-student ratio facilitates personal attention to student needs. Be- cause many students are employed and attend the university part-time, seminars are offered in the evenings during the regular school year.
Masters Degree in Sociology at the University of Houston
The Department of Sociology at the University of Houston offers graduate training directed towards career success in both academic and non-academic fields. Our department has successfully placed graduates in top-ranked Ph.D. programs as well as in non-academic positions in public institutions and private organizations with which faculty have long-established research ties. The Sociology department offers both a thesis and applied internship track for the Masters degree. Regardless of the track taken, the graduate program broadens students' sociological back-ground as well as the conceptual, communi- cations, and research skills necessary for suc- cessful careers in an information-oriented society.
Research Experiences Available to Graduate Students
Sociology graduate students enjoy the opportunity to work with a number of research programs as paid employees, research assistants, or interns. The Center for Immigration Research (CIR) is housed in the Sociology Department. CIR focuses on inter- national migration, as well as the experiences of diverse immigrant communities in Houston, a city that has among the largest immigrant populations in the nation. The Center for Mexican-American Studies (CMAS) supports research on a number of issues relevant to this growing ethnic community. The Sociology of Education Research Group (SERG) conducts research on educational policy formation and public school/teacher effectiveness, and conducts educational evaluation studies. The Religion, Eth- nicity, and New Immigrants Research group (RENIR) focuses on the importance of religion to immigrant communities, and conducts research on transnational religious communities. The Culture in Everyday Life Project (CEL) studies the role music, art, medicine, sports, and other cultural phenomena play in making our everyday lives meaningful. The CEL project main- tains a state-of-the-art, multi-media recording and editing system, with digital capacity, that is available for graduate student projects. In addition, graduate students are given the opportunity to learn a variety of software programs and computer skills on PCs in the Social Science Data laboratory.
Entrance Requirements
Individuals seeking to pursue the Masters degree at the University of Houston should apply directly to the Director of Graduate Studies. Applicants will be expected to meet the following criteria to be admitted into the graduate program:
- Applicants must have a B.A. or B.S. from an accredited institution, preferably with a major in sociology or another social science;
- All applicants should have a 3.00 grade point average (A=4.00) on the most recent 60 semester hours of undergraduate or graduate coursework;
- All applicants are required to take the general portion of
the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). GRE scores are considered in
the context of the applicant's whole record, but a strong application
will normally have scores on the GRE verbal, quantitative, and
analytical exams each of at least 500. Such scores have been
found to be predictive of success in the graduate program.
Placement of Recent Graduates
Ph.D. Programs
University of California (Los Angeles), University of Michigan, University of Texas-Health Science Center (Houston), University of Georgia, University of Massachusetts, University of California (Santa Barbara), Purdue University, University of Texas (Austin), Indiana University, Ohio State University, University of Houston Graduate School of Social Work, and the University of Missouri
Jobs
Harris County Mental Health/Mental Retardation Authority, Harris County Family Courts, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Central Houston, Inc., NASA, Children's Protective Services, Affiliated Systems Corporation, Houston Baptist University, Houston Community College (and other area community college systems), Houston Independent School District, and the DePelchin Family Services
Program Requirements for the MA degree
All students pursuing a Masters degree (in either the thesis or internship track) are required to take four graduate seminars: sociological theory, qualitative research methods, quantitative research methods, and statistics. Students take an additional six substantive courses to complete their degree, plus six hours of thesis or internship. The internship places students in an agency or organization where they learn to apply sociological knowledge and research skills to program evaluation, organizational development, the daily operations of organizations, or clinical intervention. Theses reflect original research projects.
