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The Community. Indianapolis, the capital of Indiana since 1825, is the largest city in Indiana and the hub of the nation's fourteenth largest metropolitan area. IUPUI's downtown location provides easy access to the Indiana State Library, the central facility of the Indianapolis - Marion County Public Library, the Indiana State Archives, and the Indiana Historical Society archives and research facilities. The city also has numerous public and private social service agencies and facilities, which can provide opportunities for student internships and research.

Career Opportunities. Sociologists with a Master's degree have enhanced opportunities to gain employment in a wide variety of settings. Research-related positions can be found in hospitals, medical centers, state and local government planning units, and social service agencies. Administrator or staff positions in community health agencies, youth programs, nursing homes, social service centers and community mental health centers, and other agencies are also available. Another avenue for careers is teaching social science subjects at junior high and senior high school, as well as in junior colleges and technical schools. Finally, opportunities exist for researchers and administrators in national research firms and in private "think tanks", including openings for management analysts, market researchers and human resource professionals.

The Department. The IUPUI Department of Sociology offers a Master of Arts degree and a Minor Ph.D in Sociology. The M.A. degree is designed to prepare its students for conducting applied and policy-oriented research, and to equip those already in the workforce with the critical skills necessary for assessing and applying sociological knowledge in their everyday responsibilities. Currently, the program features three formal areas of concentration—family/gender studies, medical sociology, and work/organizations. The program of study culminates in either an internship or thesis experience. The faculty in Sociology is engaged in a wide variety of scholarly activities including research, journal editing, and community service-related projects. Students will have opportunities to participate in these activities with faculty members and through Department- sponsored internships. The program is designed to accommodate the needs of both full and part-time students.

The IUPUI Department of Sociology offers a Master of Arts degree specifically designed to prepare its students for careers conducting applied and policy-oriented research, and to equip those already in the workforce with the critical skills necessary for assessing and applying sociological knowledge in their everyday responsibilities.

As part of the M.A. program, students are required to choose an area to concentrate their course work. The program features three formal areas of concentration—family/gender studies, medical sociology, and work/occupations. Students must successfully complete 12 credits of courses (no more than two independent readings among them) from one of these concentration areas (described in detail below).

Degree: Master of Arts in Sociology with an applied emphasis, granted by the Indiana University Graduate School.

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FAMILY/GENDER CONCENTRATION

The Sociology of Family and the Sociology of Gender are exciting and significant fields in contemporary sociological research and thought. The goal of the specialization is to engage students in in-depth and theoretically grounded analyses of these different, yet related fields of family and gender. Courses in this concentration have the potential to influence how students think about families and gender, how they live their own lives, and how they address public policy issues. In addition, our course offerings provide students with an understanding of how these issues affect children, adolescents, people with disabilities, and older citizens. Our faculty itself has diverse specializations within the sociological studies of the family and of gender that both broaden and deepen students' interests. For example, among our faculty's expertise are family policy, both in the United States and in countries abroad, such as Sweden and China; new trends in U.S. partner- and family-formation; the global impact of HIV+ on family life and women; and the particular case of the family which has a member with a disability or with chronic illness. With a concentration in the Sociology of the Family and the Sociology of Gender in our department, there are many avenues for professional employment, and some of our students form bonds with agencies and individuals that eventuate into jobs after their graduation.

Combined with course work in research methods and statistics, graduates in this sub-field are prepared to apply what they have learned in jobs as varied as:

Graduate Seminars
To fulfill the course requirements for the family and concentration, students may choose from among the following graduate course offerings:

Family/Gender Faculty
The faculty in the Family and Gender concentration at the present time are: Robert Aponte, Wan Ning Bao, David Bell, Carol Brooks Gardner, Linda Haas, Marci Littlefield, Lynn Pike, Suzanne Steinmetz, Colin Williams, Gail Whitchurch (Adjunct with Communication Studies)

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Medical Sociology Concentration

The Medical Sociology concentration is designed for students seeking applied research and policy careers in public and private health, mental health, and social service organizations and agencies, as well as those who plan to apply to Ph.D. programs with a medical sociology concentration. Courses examine the phenomena of health, illness, disability, mental health issues; the social organization of health care delivery; and differential access to medical resources. The Medical Sociology Faculty has identified three broad educational and training goals of the medical sociology concentration program: (1) Students will understand and appreciate the broad range of theoretical and methodological sociological approaches for studying health, illness, and healing. (2) Students will develop a thorough understanding of the organization and function of health care systems and policies both in the United States and around the world. (3) Students will be trained to work in health care settings as applied masters-level sociologists and apply their theoretical and methodological skills to practical problems in health, illness, and healing.

Combined with course work in research methods, theory, and statistics, graduates in this sub-field are prepared to apply what they have learned in jobs as varied as:

academic teaching and academic research
government planning, research, and regulatory agencies
hospital and health institution policy and research
citizen advocacy in such areas as health and disability

Affiliated Medical and Research Centers

Some of the Sociology faculty members have appointments in the School of Nursing and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, where they teach, consult, and conduct and supervise research. They provide bridges to relevant courses, field experiences, internships, and research opportunities in these professional schools, and their associated medical, nursing, and hospital facilities. The partnership of IU, Riley, and Methodist Hospitals (Indiana University Medical Center – IUMC), nationally recognized as a successful collaboration providing outstanding health care for its region, is located on the IUPUI campus and expands opportunities for students and the University’s capacity to conduct cutting-edge research. In addition to the School of Medicine and Nursing, IUPUI has graduate programs in Health Administration and Policy, and Public Health, and students may take elective courses in these programs.

Graduate Seminars
To fulfill the course requirements for the medical sociology concentration, students may choose from among the following graduate course offerings.

SOC-R 515: Sociology of Health and Illness

SOC-S 526 Sociology of Human Sexuality

SOC-S 560 Topics: Gender and Health

SOC-R 585: Social Aspects of Mental Health and Illness

SOC-R 594: Internship in Medical Sociology

SOC-R 610: Sociology of Health & Illness Behavior

SOC-R697 Individual Readings in Medical Sociology

Medical Sociology Faculty
The core faculty in the Sociology of Medicine at the present time are: David Bell, Carrie E. Foote, Carol Brooks Gardner, William Gronfein, Betsy Fife (Adjunct with the School of Nursing), and Eric Wright (Adjunct with the School of Public and Environmental Affairs).

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WORK/ORGANIZATION CONCENTRATION

The organizations and work concentration of the applied Masters in Sociology program at IUPUI seeks to develop a macro understanding of the larger institutional order - politics, economics, and social structure (work, organizations, and social networks). Knowledge of the internal and external challenges confronting organizations, as well as the changing dynamics of the workplace, permits graduates to use their expertise in a wide range of occupations.

Combined with course work in research methods and statistics, graduates in this sub-field are prepared to apply what they have learned in jobs as varied as:

state and local government positions
executive positions for non-profits or social service organizations
business consultants and analysts
survey researchers and evaluation specialists
leaders/staff of social change organizations

Graduate Seminars

To fulfill the course requirements for the work and organization concentration, students may choose from among the following graduate course offerings:

SOC-R 517: Sociology of Work

SOC-R 525: Gender and Work

SOC-R 594: Internship in Work/Organizations

SOC-S 613: Complex Organizations

SOC-S 612: Political Sociology

SOC-R 697: Individual Readings in Organizations/Work

SOC-S 560: Topics: Family and Work

The faculty in the Work and Organizations concentration at the present time are: Robert Aponte, Ain Haas, Linda Haas, Najja Modibo, Peter Seybold, Robert White, and Pat Wittberg.

Note: A student may count no more than one internship course towards their concentration area and a maximum of two combined reading and internship courses towards their concentration area.

Degree Requirements: Total of 36 credit hours, distributed as follows: 12 credits of basic courses (Sociological Theory, Quantitative Methods, Qualitative Methods and Sociological Statistics); 12 credits in an area of concentration (family/gender studies, medical sociology, or work/organizations; 6-9 credits of electives; and 3-6 credits thesis or internship.

Course Load: The normal course load for full-time students is 3 courses (9 credit hours) each semester. For part-time students it is 1-2 courses (3-6 credits) each semester. Course loads may vary for students with Assistantships and Fellowships.

Transfer Credits: The Graduate School limits transfers from other institutions to 8 credits with a grade of B or above. Graduate work with a grade of B or higher obtained from other IU locations may be applied towards an MA in Sociology. Requests for transfer credit from other graduate institutions will be evaluated for acceptance by the graduate committee after a student has been admitted into and completed 6 credits in the IUPUI sociology M.A. program. The Department requires that the last 18 credits must be completed in its program.

Time Limit: Students must complete all requirements for the M.A. degree within five years.

Additional information on the MA in Sociology can be obtained at the IUPUI Sociology website (www.iupui.edu/~slasoc/MA.htm), by calling the Sociology Office Coordinator at 317-274-8981, e-mail: sociolog@iupui.edu, or by writing to the address below.

Address correspondence to:

Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Sociology
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
425 University Blvd. CA 303
Indianapolis, IN 46202-5140

Students who are candidates for the Ph.D. degree in other departments may obtain a minor in Sociology at IUPUI. The intent of the minor is to develop multidisciplinary skills, exposing students to theories and methods outside their major department. The Ph.D. minor in Sociology has an unstructured curriculum that can provide students a foundation in basic areas in Sociology and the opportunity to study advanced sociological theory, qualitative and quantitative research methods, and statistics.

Students wanting to minor in Sociology should initially meet with an advisor in their home department, and then contact the Director of Graduate Studies in Sociology.