Transcript Soc Grad Program Info 12 3 13 - BYU Sociology

Brigham Young University
College of Family, Home &
Social Sciences
Library
JFSB
BYU Sociology
Graduate
Program:
Master of Science
Degree
Graduate Coordinator:
Mikaela Dufur
The question everyone asks: What can
you do with an MS degree in sociology?
• Get into PhD programs
– Chicago, Northwestern, Princeton, Wisconsin
– Michigan, Arizona, Harvard, etc.
• Get into law programs
– Stanford, Michigan, etc.
• Become a researcher/data analyst
– Study a problem; come up with solutions.
– Dept. of Agriculture, Dept. of Education,
– CIA/FBI, etc.
• Become a management consultant
– Help companies run better
• Work with a nonprofit or development
organization
– Evaluate programs; Change the world.
Findings From ASA Surveys of
Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD
Recipients
Provide information on sociologists’
participation in the non-academic job
market.
“What Can I do with a Master’s Degree in
Sociology?”
 3 year longitudinal survey starting in 2006
Roberta Spalter-Roth
Director of Research
American Sociological Association
Table 3. Where Are They? Master's Degree
Recipients: 2009
Working Full-Time Jobs
40%
Research Assistants, Associates, Directors
Program Coordination & Management
Case Work & Counseling
Attending Graduate School
60.0%
Source: ASA Research Development Department, What Can I Do With a
Master's Degree in Sociology? 2009
• The majority of master’s program graduates were attending graduate
school during the 2009 short follow-up survey.
• The 40% who were working in full time jobs clustered into 3 types of
occupations: Research, Program Coordination and Case
Work/Counseling.
Figure 7. Skills Used by Sociology Master's Recipients Most Often on the Job
(in percents)
71.0
Work with people
Organize
information
66.8
63.6
Computer skills
61.3
Write a report
56.2
Interpret findings
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Source: ASA Research Development Department, What Can I Do With a Master's Degree in Sociology? 2009
Even though 2/3 of jobs require technical skills including computer,
organizational, and report-writing skills, master’s graduates report that “people
skills” are the most widely used skills in their jobs.
Recent Graduates
• Raechel Lizon
Juvenile Court Report Card to the Community:
Juvenile Court Research Analyst, Salt
Lake City.
Juvenile Court Report Card to the
Community: Race and Ethnicity Details
• Sachi Jensen
Sachi received a joint Master of Arts in
Public Policy and Juris Doctor (MA/JD)
degree from Stanford.
She currently works for Freedom Now, an
international human rights nonprofit and
the law firm Hogan Lovells in Washington,
D.C.
Recent Graduates
• Matthew Colling
Program Director, Help International, a
non-profit that sends over one
hundred students and young
professionals around the world
annually on humanitarian missions.
• Paul Harris
Currently a PhD Student in Criminology
at the Florida State University.
Worked on Real Victory project at BYU.
How is graduate school different
from an undergraduate program?
• Attend small seminar classes (usually 4 to 10
students) where you discuss course topics
and readings.
• Take fewer classes: 9-10 credits per semester.
• Classes: theory, methods, electives on
substantive topics.
• Work with faculty doing research, writing
and teaching.
• Complete your own research project.
MS Degree Program Purpose
1) Know the research methods, computing and statistical
skills, and qualitative techniques.
2) Understand the principal theories of sociology and
how these theories may be used address key questions
and frame research.
3) Understand the current state of sociological research
and theories on at least one substantive topic:
e.g., crime and delinquency, family, gender,
community, race and ethnicity, education,
migration, organizations, religion, etc.
Why get an M.S. in Sociology at
Brigham Young University?
 We have a track record of getting our students into top
PhD programs, law programs, and careers in
development and research.
 Special area strengths:
 Community, Demography, Education, Family,
International Development, Race, Research Methods
(including applied methods, assessment research),
Criminology, Criminology.
 Good financial support
 Usually 20 hours/week in RA/TA work
What are the prerequisites?
• Bachelor’s Degree in sociology (or related
field)
• Soc 111: Introduction to Sociology
• Soc 300: Methods of Research in Sociology
• Stat 121: Basic Statistics
• Soc 310: Classical Social Theory
• Soc 311: Contemporary Social Theory
How do you apply?
• Application includes:
– Official transcript(s)
– 3 Letters of
Recommendation
– Statement of Intent
– Honor Code
commitment
About 8 -12 students are admitted
each year.
• Earned 3.0 GPA in last
60 semester hours
• Submit GRE scores
• Submit an Academic
Writing Sample
Before applying, you should ...
 Assess your own skills, interests and
experience
 Research graduate programs that include your
interests
 Find out what they want – their “wish list” of
qualifications for competitive students
 Match yourself to the program’s criteria and
provide of evidence that:
 CAN do graduate work (ability)
 WANT to do graduate work (motivation)
 Will FIT into the program (your interests match the program)
The Law of Personal Statements?
Look like a graduate student already.
Statement of Intent
Break your statement into four sections:
1.
Skill/Competence
“As I hope my application conveys, I have the skills to be successful in your
program.”
2.
Interest/Commitment
“Throughout my schooling, I have maintained a commitment to
understanding the cause of inequality, from the conception of
an idea, to the presentation of original research.”
3.
Evidence
“I have focused on acquiring the research skills necessary to excel in
graduate school. I have taken four upper division research methods courses,
presented original research six times, and submitted three manuscripts for
publication.”
4.
Fit
“The graduate problem at XYZ University is a perfect combination of life
course research and demographic analysis for the research agenda I am
eager to continue.”
Risk-Reduction
 Superlatives are a sign that you lack evidence!
“This is the best program in the whole world!”
“I love! love! love! sociology”
“Ever since a was a small girl…”
 Avoid: passionate, excited, fascinated, rivited, frantic
type language
 Replace subjective language with objective evidence.
Action (behavior) speaks louder than words (attitude).
 Don’t be lured by the “personal” in “personal statement”.
What is the application deadline?
 For BYU Sociology MS: January 15th
 This means putting together your final application
during the previous Fall Semester!
 Don’t wait until that Fall Semester to build
relationships with professors. (See the July 2009
“Dear Professor/Dear Student” blog on professors
and letters of recommendation.)
 Take classes that require you to write a term paper.
 Give yourself enough time to schedule and take the
GRE.
How Many Credits?
Credit Hours: 35
– 29 course hours
• 14 required hours
• 15 elective hours
– 6 thesis hours
• Soc 699R
• 2 hours must be
taken during the
semester that you
defend your thesis
Time-frame: 2 years (3 maximum)
Required Courses
– 598R: Pro-Seminar (1+1)
– 600: Advanced Research
Methods (3)
– 604: Ethnographic
Techniques (3)
– 605: Regression &
Computer Analysis (3)
– 610: Seminar in Classical
Social Theory (3)
Departmental Funding: Assistantships
• Research Assistant
– Interviewing, coding,
data analysis,
organization, scanning,
transcribing, etc.
– Work on projects, e.g.,
Journal for the Scientific Study
of Religion, Marie Cornwall
Transracial Adoption
Study, Neighborhood
revitalization study, Provo
After-school program
evaluation, etc.
• Teaching Assistant
– Grade papers, help
students, hold review
sessions, etc.
Additional Examples of Faculty Research
• Real Victory
– Evaluating a program to help offenders succeed
at probation and parole
• Utah County Immigration Project
– Examining various
processes of integration
experienced by
immigrants and their
children in Utah County
(including policies and
responses to them)
See sociology.byu.edu/research.dhtml for more information on these and other projects.
What is a masters thesis?
 A masters thesis is a long research (or theory) paper,
which you do as a culminating project for your masters
program.
 You choose what it is on, as long as someone in the
department can mentor you on that topic/method.
 A thesis involves:
 Designing research
 Gathering qualitative and/or quantitative data
 Analyzing data
 Developing theory/explanation of results
 Writing.
Master of Science Degree: Thesis
• Select faculty advisor &
graduate committee
• Thesis Prospectus
– Present research plans to
your committee; if
approved, proceed with
your thesis
• Thesis Defense
– After you finish writing your thesis, your committee will decide
if it’s ready for an Oral Defense. At the defense, your
committee questions you and then votes on the acceptance of
your thesis.
Who should be the faculty
advisor/mentor for your thesis?
 If you are a research assistant, you can develop
that research into your thesis, working with the
same professor.
 Or, you can choose to do your masters thesis on
a different project with a different professor.
 You must have a faculty mentor.
 The thesis must be one that someone in the department
can mentor.
 Develop good relationships with faculty, so they will be
willing to do this.
Research Examples
• Jaylyn Hawks
– An Examination of Eating Styles
and Body Dissatisfaction among
Urban Filipino Women
• Paul Harris
– State Wide Social Institutions
and Their Effect on the
Disparity in the Incarceration
Rates of Blacks and Whites
sociology.byu.edu
sociology.byu.edu/graduate.dhtml