Graduate Course Catalog and Archived Courses

Graduate Course Catalog

[skip to 600 level courses]

Soc 503 Social Research Methods

Introduction to basic concepts and procedures for answering social service research questions. Topics include logic of social inquiry, ethics, research designs, sampling, measurement, data collection and the research report.

Soc 504 Basic Statistics for Social Science

Systematic survey of statistical methods applicable to social research: probability, multiple and partial correlation analysis; analysis of variance and covariance.

Soc 507 Marriage and Family Relations

Course focuses on historical, cross-cultural, and contemporary variations in marriage and family relationships; particular attention to how class, race and gender shape family processes, the life course, child outcomes, and parental well-being. Readings, discussions, and term projects provide a knowledge base in current theoretical, methodological, and substantive issues in the sociological study of the family.

Soc 509 Society and the Individual

Examines the role of cultural and group determinants and the process of socialization in the development of the individual.

Soc 511 Theories and Problems of Social Change

Analysis of social and cultural change with examination of important past and current theories.

Soc. 516 Research Strategies

Examination of the nature and scope of controlled experimentation in sociology.

Soc 518 Demography

Scientific study of population processes, including fertility, mortality and migration and population composition, including age, sex and race.

Soc 520 Sociology of Development (formerly Modernization and Development)

Examines the linkages between developed and underdeveloped societies and the problems of social change and modernization in Third World societies.

Soc 522 Urban Sociology

This course examines various aspects of the contemporary city including urban status systems, race relations, deviant behavior, mass culture, and suburbia.

Soc 523 Hierarchical Linear Models (2 credit hours)

Starts with refresher on ANOVA to prepare for learning the principles of Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) technique. Participants will learn to analyze survey data, especially for structured data where respondents are nested within families, schools or neighborhoods; longitudinal data with therapy groups and repeated measures

Soc 524 Foundations of SEM (2 credit hours)

Refresh and retrain in regression and ANOVA to prepare to move into “path analysis” and “confirmatory factor analysis.” Covers basic SEM concepts; review of moderators, mediators; introduction to AMOS; illustrative examples of regression; path analysis (for recursive models) and reliability; path analysis for non-recursive models; path analysis: moderation and mediation; measurement models (CFA); assessing model fit; CFA special topics: multiple groups and longitudinal models

Soc 525 Race and Ethic Relations

Theoretical and practical problems of intergroup prejudice and discrimination are examined.

Soc 527 Special Topics in Urban Sociology (formerly Ecology)

Special issues in social and spatial analysis.

Soc 531 Qualitative Research Methods

Examines non-statistical research methods, using historical documents and public records, in-depth interviews and literary and biographical materials.

Soc 539 Sociology of Juvenile Justice

A critical review of the contemporary social research on the juvenile justice system; looks at the social and legal process leading to juvenile court dispositions.

Soc 540 Gender and Society: Theory

Examines issues in critical theory, feminist theory, and discourse theory as they relate to the mainstream of discipline of American sociology.

Soc 541 Sociology of Health and Illness

Examines the social inequalities that structure the experience of illness and access to health care.

Soc 542 Medical Sociology

Examines the interlocking institutions comprising the health care system.

Soc 551 Social Stratification

Examines theoretical and empirical issues and problems in social stratification.

Soc 555 Sociology of Aging

Theory and research integrates theory, empirical research and public policy issues.

Soc 556 Special Topics

The description of this course varies from semester to semester. Please consult the Sociology Department for more information regarding this course for this semester.

Soc 562 Sociology of Law

Major theorists and selected problem areas are examined. Course includes examination of dispute process, deviance and social control, administrative and regulatory institutions, the legal profession and comparative legal systems.

Soc 563 Sociology of Higher Education

Analysis of social structure and interrelations of colleges and universities in the U.S.

Soc 565 Sociology of Culture

Examination of major schools of thought that have connected the cultural realm to social life and practice, including the formative traditions of cultural studies: the Frankfort School and the Birmingham School. Further study of the impact of various contemporary analytic approaches on cultural studies, i.e. structuralism, poststructuralism, and postmodernism. Engage theoretical frameworks through socially oriented studies addressing some of the following subjects, possibly including critical race and gender studies, popular culture, semiotics, subcultures, “high” culture, mass media culture, and consumption studies.

Soc 566 Sociology of Culture: Advanced Topics

Soc 567 Sociological Theory, Classical

Examines major developments in social theory from Comte to Weber and Marx.

Soc 568 Sociological Theory, Contemporary

Covers major developments in social theory since Weber and Marx, including mainstream American theory, German critical theory and new French theory.

Soc 575 Selected Topics Readings

Special topics in sociology determined by individual faculty interest.

Soc 576 Special Topics

The description of this course varies from semester to semester. Please consult the Sociology Department for more information regarding this course for this semester.

Soc 577 Sociology of Religion

Examines recent sociological theory and research in the area of religion.

Soc 578 Survey Research

Examines sampling, measurement and analysis issues in survey research.

Soc 580 Seminar on Group Dynamics

Soc 582 Special Topics in Aging - Health, Life Course and Public Policy

Few people wake up in the morning and think “I want to get old.” However, when you consider that the alternative to aging is death, it is clear that sociologists have rich social phenomena to explore if we are to understand how individual experiences and social structures intersect to create a widespread social fear of aging. Combine this fear with population aging and claims that social policies will be unable to sustain an elderly population in the future, and you have a perfect storm for timely and exciting sociological research. Do not be afraid. This is NOT a course exclusively about elderly people. Rather, it is a course that explores theory and method relating to systematic investigation relating to adult aging (18+) and the life course. We will use sociological theories and empirical works to investigate how adults in modern societies negotiate the sequential life stages of adulthood and later life, considering the transitions and trajectories that shape our own aging experiences. Depending on the size of the class, students may also gain hands-on field research experience studying mid-life and older adults in Western New York and Southern Ontario. This course will have content of interest to students whose interests include; aging or life course analyses; systematic study of adulthood; the impact of public polices on individual choice and behavior; and cross-national comparative research. Prerequisite: SOC 606 or permission of the instructor.

Soc 585 Advanced Topics in Theory (formerly Micro-Sociological Theory)

Examines key issues in sociological theory, and in the theory of science in order to ground advanced graduate students.

Soc 587 Criminology

Examines theories of crime and deviance as presented by classical and contemporary theorists. The required readings represent a range of theoretical descriptions and analyses. Perspectives on the interdependence of the criminal and the Criminal Justice System will be discussed. Lastly, critical issues in law enforcement will be surveyed.

Soc 588 Work and Family

This seminar provides students with an introduction to the sociological approach to work, family, and the intersection of these two social institutions. Theoretical, methodological, and substantive issues in the literature will be discussed.

Soc 591 Family and Life Course I

This course examines major family-related events associated with stages in the life course (e.g. childbearing, union formation, marital dissolution) as well as aggregate changes in family life occurring in recent decades. Emphasis is placed on examining the ways in which individual development and well-being are linked to family status and family dynamics. A range of theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of family and the life course is offered.

Soc 592 Advanced Topics in Criminology

Advanced topics in Criminology selected by the faculty member for research and discussion.

Soc 593-595 Special Topics

The description of this course varies from semester to semester. Please consult the Sociology Department for more information regarding this course for this semester.

Soc 599 Supervised Teaching

Admission only by consent of the Graduate Committee. Teaching assignments within the Department delegated to each registrant, whose work is supervised by a member of the staff.

600 LEVEL COURSES

Soc 600 Project Guidance (1-12 credits)

Soc 605 Design of Inquiry
Designed for students about to develop their Ph.D. dissertation proposal or who are in the process of developing a paper for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Students in this course are expected to develop and execute an original research project that will lead to presentation at an appropriate regional or national conference and ultimately publication in a peer-reviewed journal. This course is designed to provide students with practical, hands-on experience conducting (primarily quantitative) social science research. This course will cover how to develop and refine a research question, how to identify and select an appropriate data set to answer your question, how to identify the appropriate analytic technique to test your hypotheses, and how to write up research results in a clear and convincing manner. As part of the course, students will be required to present their findings to the class in a mock conference format and submit a final paper that is of a quality suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed journal.

Soc 606 Social Research Methods I: General Approaches

Advanced general course in social science research methods covering such topics as the logic of social inquiry, research design, sampling, measurement and data collection.

Soc 607 Stats for Soc Research I
Introductory statistical concepts are covered including descriptive statistics, probability, sampling distributions, expected values, hypothesis testing, tests of significance, measures of association, and if time permits, introduction to regression analysis. Statistical programming software may be used.

Soc 608 Stats for Soc Research II
Prerequisite: SOC 607 or equivalent. This course introduces regression analysis. Topics include bivariate regression, multivariate regression, tests of significance, regression diagnostics, indicator variables, interaction terms, and the general linear model. Other topics may be addressed such as logistic regression and multinomial regression. Statistical programming software may be used.

Soc 612 Teaching Sociology

Desgined for sociology graduate students who will be serving as teaching assistants or instructors or who plan topursue a career teaching sociology at the college or university level. Course covers pedagogical issues cental to teaching/learning at the college level such as learning styles, classroom climate and culture, and aims to help students improve skills at various teaching activities (including leading discussions, lecturing, and evaluating and motivating students).

Soc 613 Sociology of Gender

Introductory-level course that will provide an overview to the Sociology of Gender. Given the growth and vitality of this field of sociology over the last thirty years, the course is necessarily selective. We will concentrate on recent empirical studies and the classical theoretical concepts and claims that undergird them.

Soc 651 Education and Stratification
Examines the relationships between social stratification and education. Will focus on social science research that has looked at how social class affects education and how education affects social class.

700 LEVEL COURSES

Soc 700 Thesis Guidance (1-12 credits)