Bowling Green State University
About the Program
The Department of Sociology offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in sociology. We have four substantive specialties including demography, criminology/deviant behavior, and social psychology in addition to family studies. We also feature a strong graduate training program in quantitative methods. There are eleven faculty members specializing in family. The department is home to two major federally-funded research centers, the Center for Family and Demographic Research (CFDR, one of 18 population centers in the country), and the National Center for Marriage Research (NCMR, the only one in the country). Faculty members have brought in over $9 million in research funding in the past five years. Current research foci include cohabitation, child well-being in cohabiting unions, cohabitation among older persons, family violence, widowhood, adolescent romantic relationships and sexuality, covenant marriage, gay marriage, causes and consequences of the decision to marry, exchange of support between adult generations, fertility, and many others.
Program Overview
| Area | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| Family Science | 25% | |
| Demography | 25% | |
| Criminology | 25% | |
| Social psychology | 25% |
Address & Contact Information
Undergraduate Program
- The Family
- Population and Society
- Sociology of Aging
- Sociology of Gender
- Family Violence
- Minority Groups
- Fertility and Family Planning
The undergraduate program focuses on the development of knowledge and skills to understand contemporary research on family behaviors and relationships. Majors are required to take courses in sociological theory, research methods, and statistics in addition to introductory sociology. Students may approach the study of the family from either a social psychological or demographic perspective, or both. Internships are also available, and a solid background in theory and research methods is provided.
Graduate Program
- Family Theory & Research
- Social Psychology of the Intimate Dyad
- Family Demography
- Sociology of Aging
- Fertility & Family Planning
- Adolescence
- Family Violence
- Sociology of Gender
- Population & Society
Master's Level
Doctoral Level
All doctoral students select a major and a minor area of study from among family; criminology/deviant behavior; demography; social psychology; and research methods (minor only). Students must pass a comprehensive written examination in their major area; the dissertation is expected to be in that area as well. Assistantships involve working with faculty members on both teaching and research. Doctoral students are given training in teaching and will normally teach at least one undergraduate class during the course of their programs. Publication of original research, both with faculty and independently, is strongly encouraged and emphasized.
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Master's students take required courses in theory, methods, and statistics. Those specializing in family also take at least three seminars in the area and write their master's theses on a family-related topic. Students on assistantship are assigned to work with a faculty member in the family area on his or her teaching and research. An advisor is chosen during the students second semester in residence. Requirements for the program are normally completed within two years.