Admission Requirements

Applicants are encouraged to apply to the program during their junior year and must meet the following requirements:

• The student must be currently seeking a B.A. or B.S. degree in one of the concentrations of the Sociology program.
• The student must have completed a minimum of 90 credit hours before being formally admitted to the M.A. program and beginning graduate coursework.
• The student must have completed STAT 325  , SOCIO 423   and SOCIO 431   and a minimum of six additional credit hours in Sociology or Criminology.
• The student must have earned a GPA of 3.5 in the major and 3.0 overall.

Application Process

Students should apply to the program during their junior year. Applications should include the following:

• A completed on-line application to the K-State Graduate School with paid application fee.
• A statement of objectives indicating professional goals relative to the M.A. degree
• Three letters of recommendation; at least two of them must be from KSU Sociology faculty who are familiar with the student’s ability.
• Official transcript(s) of all undergraduate course work completed at the time of application.
• A sample of written work (e.g. research paper, essay).
• The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) must be taken before starting graduate coursework. Students applying without having taken the GRE may be admitted on a probationary basis. They will then be considered for regular status after taking the GRE. 

Applications are evaluated by the Graduate Admissions Committee, which will provide a recommendation to the Director of Graduate Studies about an applicant’s suitability for the program.

Program Guidelines

The bachelor’s degree normally requires 120 undergraduate credit hours and the M.A. degree 30 graduate credit hours.  However, the program allows a maximum of 9 credit hours of graduate courses to be counted toward both the undergraduate and graduate degrees. 

• Students may begin taking graduate courses during their 4th year of the program.
• Graduate courses must be completed with a minimum GPA of 3.0.
• The bachelor’s degree may be awarded at any time following the completion of the undergraduate degree requirements.  Alternatively, the B.A./B.S. degree and the M.A. may be awarded concurrently following the completion of the M.A. degree.
• Students must choose one of four options in the M.A. program – Sociology, Sociology-CAFÉ, Sociology-Social Inequalities, Criminology. 

M.A. in Sociology

Students pursuing the M.A. in Sociology are required to complete 12 hours of “core” courses.

M.A. in Sociology - Criminology

Students pursuing the M.A. in Sociology with a concentration in Criminology are required to complete 12 hours of “core” courses.

M.A. in Sociology - Community, Agriculture, Food, and Environment

Students pursuing the M.A. in Sociology with a concentration in Community, Agriculture, Food, and Environment (CAFÉ) are required to complete 12 hours of “core” courses.

M.A. in Sociology - Social Inequalities

Students pursuing the M.A. in Sociology with a concentration in Social Inequalities are required to complete 12 hours of “core” courses.

Thesis/Exam/Report (6 credit hours)

The remaining 6 hours required to finish the degree must be completed with one of the following options:

• Take 6 hours of SOCIO 899  Master’s Thesis Research and successfully complete a Master’s Thesis on a research topic related to Sociology.
• Complete 6 additional hours of elective graduate courses in Sociology and successfully pass the M.A. Comprehensive Examination.

Complete 3 additional hours of elective graduate courses in Sociology, take 3 hours of SOCIO 898  Master’s Report Research and successfully complete a Master’s Research Report on a topic related to Sociology-Social Inequalities.