Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work

College of Arts and Sciences

Dr. Philip B. Oldham, Dean

Dr. Martin L. Levin, Department Head

Dr. Xiaohe Xu, Graduate Coordinator, Sociology

Dr. Janet Rafferty, Graduate Coordinator, Applied Anthropology

This department has graduate programs leading to the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in sociology and the Master of Arts degree in anthropology.

Sociology

207 Bowen Hall

PO Box C

Mississippi State, MS  39762

662-325-2495

Admission Criteria—An applicant is required to have completed prerequisite undergraduate courses in statistics, sociological theory, and sociological methodology.  The applicant must submit 1) a completed application form for graduate study at MSU; 2) official transcripts from previous institutions; 3) a GPA of 3.00 on the last two years of baccalaureate work; 4) an academic writing sample in English (a sample of the student’s choice); 5) the General Graduate Records Examination [GRE] scores; 6) three letters of recommendation (from people who know the student’s academic abilities and potential); 7) a statement of purpose (explaining why the student wishes to study Sociology at MSU and how the program at MSU will assist the student in attaining goals).

Program of Study—A student seeking a Master of Science degree in Sociology may select either a thesis or non-thesis option.  A student contemplating entry into a Ph.D. program upon completion of the M.S. must select the thesis option.  Required courses for both the thesis and non-thesis M.S. programs include SO 8103 Graduate Sociological Theory I, SO 8213 Graduate Research Design, SO 8274 Graduate Social Statistics I, and SO 8203 Data Management in the Social Sciences.  A student selecting the thesis option is required to complete a minimum of 24 hours of course work with at least half of the courses at the 8000 level or above plus six hours of research/thesis.  A student selecting the non-thesis option must complete a minimum of 36 hours of course work with at least 15 hours at the 8000 level.

Minimum requirements for the Ph.D. degree include 24 hours of course work in sociological tools (theory, methods, and statistics), nine hours of course work in general sociology, 15 hours of course work in an area of specialization, nine additional hours of electives, and 20 hours of dissertation research.  After completing a sequence of six courses (SO 8203 Data Management in the Social Sciences, SO 8213 Graduate Research Design, SO 8103 Graduate Sociological Theory I, SO 8113 Graduate Sociological Theory II, SO 8274 Graduate Social Statistics I, and SO 8284 Graduate Social Statistics II) a Ph.D. student is required to pass a Ph.D. qualifying examination in the areas of theory, methods, and statistics.  The student typically takes the qualifying exam during the third or fourth semester of study.  After completing all course work, the student takes a comprehensive preliminary examination in the area of specialization.  Areas of specialization include social demography; deviance/criminology and social control; family and gender studies; rural sociology and community; and social inequality.

Graduate minors in Sociology must complete 12 hours of graduate courses in sociology and pass a written examination prepared by the minor professor.  A minor committee member must serve on the student’s graduate committee. 

Provisional Admission—A student who has not fully met the requirements stipulated by the University and the Sociology program for admission may be granted admission as a degree-seeking graduate student with provisional status.  The student must have as his or her initial objective advancement to regular status.

The provisional student must receive a 3.00 GPA on the first nine hours of graduate-level courses on the program of study taken at Mississippi State University (transfer and unclassified graduate hours will not apply) in order to achieve regular status.  If a 3.00 is not attained, the provisional student will be dismissed from graduate study.  While in the provisional status, students are not eligible to hold a graduate assistantship.

Academic Performance—Continuous enrollment in the M.S. program in Sociology is dependent upon a satisfactory evaluation of academic performance and progress toward completion of the degree.  Unsatisfactory performance will result in dismissal from the program.  A student’s performance is deemed unsatisfactory if one or more of the following occurs:

1.       More than two letter grades below a B in a student’s graduate course work;

2.       Failure to maintain a cumulative 3.00 GPA for two consecutive semesters;

3.       More than one unsatisfactory U grade for thesis research;

4.       Two failures on the M.S. Exit Examination or two failures on the M.S. Thesis Defense.

Continuous enrollment in the Ph.D. program in Sociology is dependent upon a satisfactory evaluation of academic performance and progress toward completion of the degree.  Unsatisfactory performance will result in dismissal from the Ph.D. program.  A student’s performance is deemed unsatisfactory if one or more of the following occurs:

1.       More than two letter grades below a B in a student’s graduate course work;

2.       More than one letter grade below a B in a student’s graduate Core I course work;

3.       Failure to maintain a cumulative 3.00 GPA for two consecutive semesters;

4.       More than one unsatisfactory U grade for dissertation research;

5.       Two failures on the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination;

6.       Two failures on the Ph.D. Preliminary Examination;

7.       Two failures on the Ph.D. Dissertation Defense.

All graduate students’ progress will be monitored by the graduate coordinator and/or the student’s major advisor.  If a student’s performance borders on unsatisfactory or if a student is not making timely progress, he or she will be formally notified of the situation and advised accordingly.

Completion Requirements:

Master of Science—Upon the completion of course work for a student’s program of study, a student in the Master’s thesis option program must defend a thesis proposal.  Once the thesis proposal is accepted by the student’s thesis committee, the student may proceed to carry out the thesis research in close consultation with his or her thesis committee.  After the thesis committee unanimously agrees that the thesis is defensible the student must pass a public defense of the thesis.  Additionally, a Master’s thesis option student must enroll for a minimum of six thesis research hours.

A student in the Master’s non-thesis option program must take an exit examination.  The non-thesis exit examination may be taken during the semester that all course work for a student’s program of study is completed or the semester immediately following completion of the course work.  The non-thesis exit examination is a five hour, in-class exam which covers social theory, social research methods and statistic, and general sociology.

Ph.D.—After the completion of course work for a student’s program of study, the successful completion of the Ph.D. Qualifying examination, and the Ph.D. Preliminary examination, a student is admitted into doctoral candidacy.  A doctoral candidate must defend a dissertation proposal.  Once the dissertation proposal is accepted by the student’s dissertation committee, the candidate may proceed to conduct dissertation research in close consultation with his or her dissertation committee.  After the dissertation committee unanimously agrees that the dissertation is defensible, the candidate must pass a public defense of the dissertation.  Additionally, the doctoral candidates must enroll for a minimum of 20 dissertation research hours.

NOTE:  Thesis and dissertation research are subject to review and approval by the University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Graduate Courses—Course prerequisites are noted in parentheses.

SO 6113        Social Organization and Change (SO 1003). 3 hours

SO 6123        Poverty Analysis: People, Organizations and Programs (SO 1003). 3 hours

SO 6173        Environment and Society (AN 1103 or SO 1003 or consent of  instructor) [same as AN 6173]. 3 hours

SO 6203        The Family in the United States (SO 1203). 3 hours

SO 6223        Comparative Family Systems (SO 1203). 3 hours

SO 6233        Juvenile Delinquency (SO 3603) [same as COR 4233/6233]. 3 hours

SO 6273        Sociology of Education (SO 1003 and junior standing). 3 hours

SO 6303        Urban Sociology (SO 1003). 3 hours

SO 6313        Contemporary Muslim Societies (any 1000-level sociology or religion course or permission of instructor) [REL 6313]. 3 hours

SO 6333        Sociology of Sport (SO 1003 and junior standing). 3 hours

*SO 6403      Sociology of Gender (SO 1003 or consent of  instructor). 3 hours

SO 6413        Aging and Retirement in American Society (nine hours of sociology or related disciplines). 3 hours

SO 6423        Health and Society. 3 hours

SO 6433        Sociology of Death and Dying.  3 hours

SO 6513        Correctional Systems (SO 3603). 3 hours

SO 6623        Language and Culture (AN 1103 or consent of instructor) [same as AN 4623/6623 and EN 4623/6623]. 3 hours

SO 6633        Sociolinguistics (SO 1003 or consent of instructor) [same as AN 4633/6633 and EN 4633/6633]. 3 hours

SO 6703        Population Problems and Processes (SO 1003 or consent of instructor). 3 hours

SO 6713        Methods in Population Research. 3 hours

SO 6733        Community: Organization and Relationships (SO 1003). 3 hours

SO 6990        Special Topics in Sociology. 1-9 hours

*SO 7000      Directed Individual Study. 1-6 hours

SO 8000        Research/Thesis. 6 hours

SO 8103        Graduate Social Theory I. 3 hours

SO 8113        Graduate Social Theory II. 3 hours

SO 8203        Data Management in the Social Sciences.  3 hours

SO 8213        Research Design (SO 8274). 3 hours

SO 8223        Techniques of Survey Research (SO 8213). 3 hours

SO 8233        Qualitative Analysis (SO 8213). 3 hours

SO 8243        Spatial Analysis of Social Data.  3 hours

SO 8274        Graduate Social Statistics I (ST 2113 or equivalent). 4 hours

SO 8284        Graduate Social Statistics II (SO 8274). 4 hours

SO 8293        Structural Equations Modeling with Latent Variables in Sociology.  3 hours

SO 8323        Strategies and Tactics of  Planned Change (six hours in the social sciences). 3 hours

SO 8343        Complex Organizations. 3 hours

SO 8403        Seminar in Race Relations. 3 hours

SO 8413        Seminar in Social Stratification. 3 hours

SO 8423        Seminar in Deviant Behavior. 3 hours

SO 8433        Seminar in Criminology. 3 hours

*SO 8503      Seminar in Family. 3 hours

SO 8523        Symbolic Interaction and Social Structure. 3 hours

SO 8603        Seminar in Modernization (six hours in social sciences). 3 hours

SO 8673        Seminar in Social Impact Analysis (SO 4173/6173 or AN 4173/6173). 3 hours

SO 8703        Seminar in Population (SO 4703/6703 or equivalent). 3 hours

SO 8723        Advanced Demographic Analysis and Research. 3 hours

SO 8900        Fields of Sociology. 1-3 hours

SO 8990        Special Topics in Sociology. 1-9 hours

SO 9000        Research/Dissertation. 20 hours

*Denotes courses that are cross-listed with women’s studies.

Applied Anthropology

206 Cobb Institute Building

P.O. Box C

Mississippi State, MS  39762

662-325-2013

Rafferty@anthro.msstate.edu

Graduate study leading to a Master of Arts degree in Applied Anthropology is offered by the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work.

Admission Criteria:

1.       A complete application for graduate study at MSU;

2.       Official transcripts showing credits earned at institutions of higher education;

3.       A 3.00 GPA on the last 60 hours of baccalaureate work;

4.       A statement of purpose explaining why the applicant wishes to study anthropology at MSU;

5.       Scores on the General Graduate Record Examination (GRE);

6.       Three letters of recommendation from people who know the applicant’s academic ability and potential;

A student who is admitted to the program and who has not completed Introduction to Archaeology, Introduction to Biological Anthropology, and Introduction to Cultural Anthropology will be required to take them.  These courses are not offered for graduate credit.  A student who has not taken Anthropological Theory (AN 6123) or its equivalent must take it for graduate credit.  A student who plans to specialize in archaeology/bioarchaeology must complete archaeology field school, including both survey (AN 2516) and excavation (AN 3516) portions, if he or she has not had equivalent courses or field experience.

A student enters the graduate program in the fall or spring semester.  To be considered for admission, all application materials must be received by April 15 (fall admission) or November 1 (spring admission).

A request to waive the internship requirement must be provided in writing to the anthropology graduate coordinator by the graduate student.  The request must give details of previous jobs and experience in applied settings, including length of each, employer, supervisor, and kinds of anthropology-related tasks performed.  The student must arrange for submission of a letter from each agency or firm for which the student claims paid or volunteer work.  Such letters must detail the kinds of work performed, the anthropological knowledge required, and must attest to the student’s satisfactory performance of the work.  This material will become part of the student’s file.  The waiver request will be considered by the anthropology graduate coordinator in consultation with other Anthropology faculty.  If the request is granted, a signed copy of the waiver agreement will be placed in the student’s file.  Credit will not be awarded for waived internships.

Assistantships—Applications for assistantships must be completed separately from admission applications and be submitted directly to the Anthropology Graduate Coordinator.  Assistantship applications may be obtained from the coordinator (contact information below).  An academic writing sample is required as part of the assistantship application.  Assistantship application deadlines are April 1 (for fall semester) and October 15 (for spring semester).

Program of Study—Degree requirements include a thesis, a one-semester- or one-summer-long internship (six hours credit), an oral exam, and 24 hours of graduate course work, at least half of which is at the 8000 level or above, for a total of 36 hours of graduate credit.  A student may elect to specialize either in applied archaeology/bioarchaeology or in applied cultural anthropology.  The program exposes students to proposal writing, consulting practices, and ethics.

The emphasis in applied archaeology/bioarchaeology focuses on cultural resource management.  Specialty areas include archaeological surface survey and excavation methods; artifact analysis; settlement pattern and spatial analysis; environmental archaeology; zooarchaeology; and osteoarchaeology.  The area emphasis is the Southeastern U.S. although principles and methods are adaptable to application anywhere.  Required courses include AN 8203 Readings and Research in Applied Anthropology, AN 6523 Public Archaeology, and AN 8533 Readings in Archaeology: Theory.  Six to seven credit hours of technical elective courses at the graduate level also are required.

The applied cultural anthropology specialization emphasizes medical anthropology; program assessment; and communication in multi-cultural settings.  Ethnographic and qualitative research methods, as practiced in applied settings, are stressed.  Required courses include AN 8203 Readings and Research in Applied Anthropology.

The program focuses on preparing students for placement in the public and private sectors as cultural resource specialists, public health analysts, and program evaluators, as well as preparing them for further graduate study.

Graduate Minor—The department offers a graduate minor in anthropology consisting of 12 graduate hours including AN 6123 Anthropological Theory.  The minor is flexible in content and designed to complement the student’s work in other fields.  Courses taken for a graduate minor in anthropology must be taught by anthropology faculty.  A student selecting this minor must include a minor committee member on his/her graduate committee.

Academic Performance—Unsatisfactory performance in the program will result in dismissal.  Unsatisfactory performance is defined as the failure to maintain a B average in graduate courses attempted after admission to the program, a grade of U, D, or F in two courses, failure of the oral thesis defense, an evaluation of unsatisfactory on the thesis, or any other failure of a required component of the program of study.  Evaluation of graduate grade point averages will occur following the first two regular semesters of course work and every semester thereafter.

Provisional Admission—Students who have not fully met the requirements stipulated by the University and the Anthropology program for admission may be granted admission as a degree-seeking graduate student with provisional status.  Such students must have as their initial objective advancement to regular status.

Provisional students must receive a 3.00 GPA on the first nine hours of graduate level courses on their program of study taken at Mississippi State University (transfer and unclassified graduate hours will not apply) in order to achieve regular status.  If a 3.00 is not attained, the provisional student will be dismissed from graduate study.  While in the provisional status, students are not eligible to hold a graduate assistantship.

Completion Requirements—A thesis is required for completion of the Master of Arts degree in anthropology.

Information—To obtain additional information, contact the Anthropology Graduate Coordinator; Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work; P.O. Box C, Mississippi State, MS,   39759; or visit the website at http://www.msstate.edu/dept/anthropology/

programs, or telephone 662-325-2013.

Graduate Courses:

AN 6123        Anthropological Theory. 3 hours

AN 6133        Medical Anthropology. 3 hours

AN 6143        Ethnographic Methods. 3 hours

AN 6163        Anthropology of International Development . 3 hours

AN 6173        Environment and Society [same as SO 6173]. 3 hours

AN 6303        Human Variation and Origins. 3 hours

AN 6313        Human Identification. 3 hours

AN 6403        Introduction to Linguistics (AN 1103 or consent of instructor) [same as EN 6403]. 3 hours

AN 6523        Public Archaeology. 3 hours

AN 6623        Language and Culture (AN 1103 or consent of instructor) [same as EN/SO 6623]. 3 hours

AN 6633        Sociolinguistics (AN 1103 or consent of instructor) [same as EN/SO 6633]. 3 hours

AN 6990        Special Topics in Anthropology. 1-9 hours

AN 7000        Directed Individual Study. 1-3 hours

AN 8103        Seminar in Applied Cultural Anthropology. 3 hours

AN 8203        Readings and Research in Applied Anthropology. 3 hours

AN 8216        Internship in Applied Anthropology. 6 hours

AN 8303        Bioarchaeology. 3 hours

AN 8513        Southeastern Archaeology. 3 hours

AN 8523        Environmental Archaeology. 3 hours

AN 8533        Readings in Archaeology: Theory. 3 hours

AN 8553        Readings in Archaeology: Applications. 3 hours

AN 8990        Special Topics in Anthropology. 1-9 hours