Archived Courses and Graduate Course Catalog
Archived Fall Courses [in MS Word format]
Fall 2008
Fall 2007
Fall 2006
Fall 2005
Fall 2004
Fall 2003
Fall 2002
Archived Spring Courses [in MS Word format]
Spring 2009
Spring 2008
Spring 2007
Spring 2006
Spring 2005
Spring 2004
Spring 2003
Spring 2002
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.
Sox 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.
So 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 541-542 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 Writing for Publication
This course will prepare graduate students to publish sociological research. In particular, students will develop their skills to communicate more effectively in writing. Students will receive and respond to critiques of their writing, provide constructive critiques about other students' writing, evaluate published articles, and improve their general writing skills via a combination of in- and out-of-class exercises. At the end of the semester, students will submit a paper to a sociological journal.
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 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 medical 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
Mate selection, family roles, gender roles, the socialization process, and other aspects of family life have changed dramatically over the last half of the 20th century, and these changes have had profound effects on individuals at every stage of the life course. The course begins with an overview of classical and contemporary theories that attempt to conceptualize and explain how families have changed and how they currently function. We then examine historical and contemporary research that tests these theories. In this latter part of the course we will move through the life course, focusing on gender role socialization, mate selection, marriage, effects of children on parents, socialization and development of children, midlife transitions, aging, divorce, single parent families, and gay and lesbian families. Where the literature is available, we will examine how family processes vary by class, race, and ethnicity, focusing particularly on the dynamics of new immigrant families
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.
Soc 600 Project Guidance (1-12 credits)
Soc 605 Design of Inquiry
Designed for students about to develop their Ph.D. dissertation proposal. The course requires students to evaluate proposals of experienced investigators, to criticize evaluations and to develop and criticize their own proposals.
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 Social Statistics I: General Linear Model
Examines regression-based techniques in social science, including multiple regression, dummy variable analysis, covariance designs and residual analysis. Non-experimental sample statistics are emphasized (Students should have a basic background introductory statistics before enrolling in this course.)
Soc 608 Social Statistics II: Causal Methods
Advanced topics in multiple regression, time-series analysis, factor analysis, categorical data analysis and exploratory data analysis. (Students need a background in multiple regression techniques.)
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)