Introduction

Please click here to see Sociology department information.

The Combined BA/MA (4+1) program in Sociology provides a coherent, progressive educational experience that prepares students for either immediate entry to a master's level career or continued study in a PhD program. The BA/MA application process is competitive, as the program is designed for highly-qualified students who are capable of an expedited program. Students choose from four options for their Culminating Project that completes the master's degree: either a 6-credit thesis; a 3-credit applied experience plus a 3-credit paper; an approved fifth graduate-level elective (totaling 15 credits of electives) plus a 3-credit report; or an extended coursework path that includes 18 credits of electives (up to 9 credits outside of Sociology), plus a final portfolio of the candidate’s most representative work. The program also offers four concentration areas (Crime, Law & Deviance; Health & Society; Family & Social Services; and Community & Urban Sociology) for students seeking specialization in high-demand career areas.

These degree requirements are subject to periodic revision by the academic department, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences reserves the right to make exceptions and substitutions as judged necessary in individual cases. Therefore, the College strongly urges students to consult regularly with their major and graduate advisor and CLAS advisor to confirm the best plans of study before finalizing them.

Program Delivery

• This is an on-campus program.

Declaring This Major

• Click here to go to information about declaring a major.

General Requirements

To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the three areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.

• CU Denver General Graduation Requirements    

• CU Denver Core Curriculum

• College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Graduation Requirements   

• Click here for information about Academic Policies

Program Requirements

While students are completing a BA degree in sociology, they may also complete some of the requirements for an MA degree in sociology by participating in the BA/MA program using the following guidelines:

1. The student must apply and be accepted for participation in the BA/MA program prior to completion of the BA degree in consultation with both the undergraduate and graduate advisors. Students must complete a 4+1 intent form to formally declare this program, as they work very closely with undergraduate and graduate advisors to ensure they are on track and completing requirements as necessary.
2. Students should officially declare their intent to complete this program by their junior year and apply to the graduate program during the semester they intend to graduate with their BA.
3. Up to 12 semester hours of graduate-level course work may be taken as an undergraduate and applied toward the MA degree. With prior approval, these courses may also be applied toward the Sociology BA.
4. Students must apply to and complete the MA in Sociology requirements.
5. Students must complete a minimum of 53 SOCY credit hours.
6. Students must complete a minimum of 16 upper-division (4000-level and above) with no more than12 graduate (5000-level and above) SOCY credit hours.
7. Students must earn a minimum grade of C- (1.7) in all undergraduate courses that apply to the major and must achieve a minimum cumulative major GPA of 2.0. Students must earn a minimum grade of B (3.0) in all graduate courses that apply to the degree requirements. Courses taken using P+/P/F or S/U grading cannot apply to undergraduate or graduate program requirements.
8. Students must complete a minimum of 13 SOCY credit hours and all graduate level coursework with CU Denver faculty.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete the following program requirements:
Complete all of the following required courses:		20
SOCY 1001	Understanding the Social World
SOCY 2001	Inequalities in Social World
SOCY 3115	Quantitative Methods & Analysis
SOCY 3119	Qualitative Methods
SOCY 3140	Sociological Theory
SOCY 5000	Professional Seminar: Sociological Inquiry
Complete a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 36 SOCY elective credit hours. At least three credit hours must be completed at the 4000-level or higher. A maximum of nine credit hours may be taken at the graduate level from the following list of courses		12
SOCY 5016	Social Theory
SOCY 5024	Seminar: Research Methods I
SOCY 5183	Seminar: Quantitative Data Analysis
SOCY 5193	Seminar: Qualitative Data Analysis
Total Hours		32

To learn more about the Student Learning Outcomes for this program, please visit our website. 

To review the Degree Map for this program, please visit our website.