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Graduate Courses

Sociology and Anthropology

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Course Descriptions:

SYA6125: Development of Social Theory3
Prerequisite:  Admmission to graduate program or permission of graduate director. This course surveys the corpus of theoretical works within sociology generally termed "classical" theory. The course traces the history and development of sociological theorizing from its inception to the early 20th century.
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SYA6305: Quantitative Research Methods I3
Prerequisites: Admission to the graduate program or permission of instructor. This seminar provides a basic, but intensive, introduction to qualitative methods of sociological research. The course will provide students with the ability to formulate research questions, collect quantitative data, prepare data for analysis, and become better able to critically interpret quantitative social science research.
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SYA6308: Population Analysis3
Prerequisites: Admission to the program or Permission from the Graduate Program Director. This course is designed to examine population change in the U.S. In particular, this course addresses the impact of population change on social program development and delivery. Special emphasis will be placed on how the changing demographic profile impacts U.S. economic and social issues as well as within the global context.
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SYA6315: Qualitative Research Methods3
Prerequisite:  Admission to the Graduate Program or permission of the Graduate Director. This course will introduce students to a variety of qualitative research methods, including participant observation, interviews, open-ended surveys, and archival research. Strategies for compiling and organizing data, and using qualitative evidence to support an argument will also be discussed.
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SYA6455: Quantitative Research Methods II3
Prerequisites: SYA 6305 or consent of graduate director. The course is designed for graduate students to gain advanced training in quantitative data analysis. This course will teach students to organize and summarize important characteristics of data as well as make inferences about unknown characteristics of a population based on sample data.
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SYA6657: Evaluation and Program Analysis3
Prerequisites: Admission to Program or Permission of Graduate Director. The course provides a sociological introduction to evaluation and program analysis. The course is designed to introduce students to the theoretical base and practical application issues of evaluation research. In this course students will examine a number of evaluation studies that incorporate a variety of research methods.
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SYA6909: Directed Independent Studyv. 3-6
Prerequisites: Permission of the Instructor and Graduate Program Director. This course is designed to allow students to address issues not presented in primary course listings.
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SYA6938: Special Topics in Sociology3
The course will cover variable topics in sociology. The course may be repeated for a total of 9 credits under different topics with permission of graduate advisor.
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SYA6941: Practicum in Applied Sociologyv. 3-6
Prerequisites: SYA 6305, SYA 6455, SYA 6315 This course provides internship experience in applied sociological research. Students will combine course instruction with work in an approved research setting. Students may take up to six hours of internship credit, and students completing a six-hour internship may apply to use this experience in lieu of a thesis or comprehensive exam.
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SYA6975: Masters Thesisv. 3-6
Prerequisite:  Permission of the Graduate Program Director. This course is required for students using the Masters Thesis Exit Option for the degree.
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SYD6426: Urban Sociology3
Prerequisite:  Admission to the graduate program or permission of graduate director. This course examines the ways that sociologists have come to understand the working of cities, as well as what sociologists have learned about society in general by making the city their object of study.
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SYD6515: Environment and Society3
Prerequisites: Admission to Graduate Program or permission of Graduate Director. The course provides a sociological approach to environmental problems. Specifically, the course examines four central issues surrounding environment problems: (i)the nature, scope, and social consequences of environmental problems; (ii) the human causes of environmental problems; (iii) the human responses to environment problems; and (iv) an alternative way of thinking about and responding to environmental problems.
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SYD6605: Community and Society3
Prerequisites: Admission to Graduate Program or permission of Graduate Director. This course examines community from a sociological perspective, including theoretical explanations of community cohesion and change, methods of studying community, and examples of community studies. The course will also address community organizations and economic development, including organizing by communities of interest, as well as contemporary claims that community in the U.S. is under threat.
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SYD6706: Race Relations3
Prerequisite:  Admission to the program or permission of the Graduate Director. This course is designed to provide students with a sociological overview of the history of racial and ethnic relations in American Society, and to critique the social, economic and political consequences this history has had on various racial and ethnic populations. It will examine the role of British Colonial settlers and the adjustments of subsequent immigration groups, emphasis on relative adjustment to the dominant group, conflict among and between various groups, and their influence on the nature of American culture in religion, politics, economics and education.
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SYO6535: Social Stratification3
Prerequisites: Admission to program or by permission of Graduate Director. This course provides a sociological introduction to stratification in the United States. Specifically, the course is designed to introduce students to the theoretical base, empirical research and applied aspects of social and economic stratification in U.S. society.
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SYO6545: Organizations and Work3
Prerequisite:  Admission to Graduate program or permission from Graduate Director. The purpose of this course is to introduce the major theoretical approaches used to study and understand complex formal organizations and work. This will include the assessment of administrative, management, and organizational theories and their applications. Focus will be on the structure, internal process, and environments of different forms of organization, how these influence the effectiveness of organizations, and how they impact on jobs, occupations, and the labor process.
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SYP6447: Social Change and Development3
Prerequisites: Admission to Graduate Program or permission of Graduate Director. The course provides a critical examination of major problems confronting less developed countries. Specifically, problems of growth, equity, and environmental sustainability are situated in a critical perspective informed by modernization, dependency, and world-system theory.
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SYP6667: Sociological Approaches to Culture3
Prerequisites: Admission to the program or Permission of Graduate Director. The course provides an introduction to how sociologists understand the role of culture in social life, drawing on contributions from scholars working in the Production of Culture tradition, as well as Cultural Studies. The course will also examine theoretical approaches to culture.
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SYP6668: Analysis of Subcultural Perspectives3
An in-depth study of subcultures in American society, and the cultural wholeness of lifestyles often labeled deviant in the society. Special emphasis will be given to gaining an understanding of the perspectives of others.
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SYP6735: Sociology of Aging3
Prerequisites: Admission to the graduate program or permission of graduate director. This course is an introduction to the sociological study of aging. During the semester we will deconstruct stereotypes of the aged, analyze the changes we face as we grow older and how individuals adapt to such change, analyze family relationships which include caregiving relationships, discuss health and financial security issues, and analyze how government policy will be affected by changes in the age structure of our society. All of the topics above will be placed in an historical and cross-cultural context.
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