The MA degree provides a progressive educational experience that equips students for master's level careers or entry into Ph.D. programs. Students complete a set of core courses in upper level sociology (27 credit hours) and either a Master's thesis, report on an internship, or portfolio of work (6 credit hours).
Strengths
- Emphasis on Methodology - This program distinguishes itself, in part, by its strong emphasis on methodology. All students are required to take 9 credit hours of research methodology and analysis (Research Methods, Quantitative Data Analysis, and Qualitative Data Analysis).
- Urban Environment - Students benefit from studying in a fast-growing and dynamic city that provides a natural classroom for teaching our specialties: Health & Society, Crime, Law & Deviance, and Family & Social Services.
- Institutional Connections - Our proximity to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (AMC) offers unique training opportunities with medical researchers, while our location on the Denver campus, and collaborative relationships with departments on that campus, benefits students in the program.
Concentrations
Students can concentrate in one of areas by taking three courses in the subject area. At least one of the courses must be taken in the Sociology Department. With prior approval, two of the courses can be taken in departments other than Sociology.
The focus of this concentration is to provide students with an in-depth understanding of criminology including the social construction of laws, the causes of crime, reactions to law violations, and the prevention, control, and treatment of crime. Additionally, the program teaches students how deviant categories are created, how groups gain control over social definitions, and the consequences these definitions have in the form of norms, laws, and social sanctions. The concentration on crime, law, and deviance also focuses on how legal systems maintain and reproduces social inequalities. This offers an essential foundation for students pursuing careers in criminal justice, victim and community services, criminal law, and non-profit organizations in local and international contexts. Students may ultimately use this degree to conduct social research on crime, influence public policy, and inform government decisions about crime and law.
Enhancing the health and quality of life for individuals and communities are central goals to societies the world over. Health and medical sociology is a subfield devoted to the study of population health, health care systems and policy, and the social dimensions of illness and healing. Health and medical sociologists study the causes of health inequalities, social constructions of health and illness, origins of medical authority, doctor-patient relationships, community influences on health, and the social forces that affect policy. The Sociology Department’s MA concentration in Health and Society provides training in the core research methodologies and theories of medical sociology, examining individual experience, institutional structures, laws and policies that affect health, and broader systems of inequality that lead to unequal rates of illness and access to care. This area of concentration provides in-depth training and is ideal for students interested in further graduate-level study and social research on health and medicine as well as those interested in careers in public health, health care services, and non-profit organizations.
Families play a significant part in individuals’ lives and society. At the micro or interpersonal level they are a setting for small-group processes such as socialization, conflict, communication and intimacy. At the meso or institutional level they interact with other major social institutions including those affecting education, law, healthcare, religion, the economy, criminal justice, and welfare. At the macro or structural level, the family—in its varied and diverse forms also is key to understanding how inequality is experienced and reproduced in society. The interplay of these multiple levels—the micro or interpersonal, the meso or institutional, and the macro or structural—is important as well as individuals influence social structures and institutions, and the latter, in turn, affect family interactions and relationships. This concentration provides in depth understanding of the complex role of families and family members at multiple levels, as well as the social systems, organizations and communities responsible for supporting families and individuals.
Cities are instrumental sites for the creation, reproduction, and expression of social life. Community and Urban Sociology is a disciplinary sub-field dedicated to the theories and research on communities and urban settlements. Students engage with multiple dimensions of urban and community life in preparation for work in public and community service, government and policy work, and the private sector. Topics emphasized in this concentration include poverty and inequality, racial and ethnic segregation, health disparities, gentrification, housing and homelessness, and the formulation and administration of policies and services addressing these problems. This training offers a foundation for careers in government, human and social services, research, policy analysis, and business, and for continued study in Sociology, Urban and Regional Planning, Demography, Population Health Science, and Public Administration.
MA Program Learning Outcomes
Degree Requirements
How to Apply
Contact the Graduate Program Director with questions about the program:
Dr. Adam Lippert
Email: adam.lippert@ucdenver.edu
Phone: 303-315-2146
Office: Lawrence Street Center, 1380 Lawrence Street, Suite 420
Students are accepted for fall only
Apply by March 15th
Missed the deadline? Request late consideration from Dr. Adam Lippert
