Overview
The Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice offers Masters of Arts
and a Doctor of Philosophy degree program in both sociology and criminology.
The primary focus of the program is the preparation of members of the next
generation of sociologists and criminologists by emphasizing systematic
training in theory and research methodology as well as teaching. These advanced
education degrees are intended for persons interested in careers in academia,
public service, or private enterprise. The Department has a large number
of full-time distinguished faculty
(28) from the disciplines of Sociology, Psychology, Law, Criminology, History,
and Criminal Justice. This allows students to work closely with faculty
members while preserving a reasonable breadth of interests. Thus, while
both the Sociology and Criminology degrees rely on strong theoretical and
methodological foundations, they also allow students to tailor a program
that meets their individual needs.
Both the Sociology and Criminology programs are organized around course
work, seminars, research, teaching opportunities, and other related work..
Our goal is to provide students with a wide range of professional experiences.
For more information, please see our Graduate
Policy Handbook.
Click here to view Course
Descriptions.
Important Dates
The Department Offers Fall Admission Only
February 1 - deadline for application to M.A. and Ph.D. program.
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Research Centers
There are two internationally recognized research centers associated with
the Department.
Disaster Research Center
The Disaster Research Center (DRC), established in 1963, was moved to
the University of Delaware in 1985. DRC is one of the world’s leading
centers for social science research on disasters and hazards. Since its
inception, the Center has conducted field studies in over 520 communities
that have sustained the effects of large-scale emergencies, in particular,
natural and technological disasters. The Center’s research program focuses
on group, organization, and community preparations for, responses to,
mitigation of, and recovery from various hazard agents. Current and past
sponsors of the Center’s research activities include the National Science
Foundation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the NOAA Sea Grant
College Program, the U. S. Geological Survey, the Multidisciplinary Center
for Earthquake Engineering Research, and the Public Entity Risk Institute.
DRC has conducted field and survey research in numerous communities in
the United States and has been involved in studies of the major disaster
events of our time, including the 1964 Alaska, 1971 San Fernando, 1989
San Francisco, and 1994 Northridge earthquakes; major hurricane, flood,
and tornado events, and mass-casualty disasters such as explosions and
plane crashes. The Center has also carried out research on significant
civil disturbances, including the 1960s urban riots and the 1992 Los Angeles
unrest. Although its main focus has been on disasters and other community
crises in the United States, DRC is also involved in international research,
and Center personnel work closely with members of the international hazards
research community. Current projects include large-scale studies of flood
evacuation in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, impediments and incentives
to the adoption and implementation of loss-reduction measures, definitions
and measures of social resilience, and research on the organizational
and community response following the September 11 attack on the World
Trade Center.
Center for Drug and
Alcohol Studies. The Center for Drug and Alcohol
Studies (CDAS) was established at the University in 1991 and has been
awarded a series of multi-million dollar research grants from the National
Institute on Drug Abuse. Locally, CDAS has offices in Newark and Wilmington.
CDAS was instrumental in setting up and evaluating a national model of
Therapeutic Community treatment in criminal justice. Recently, CDAS was
included in a small group of Research Centers nationally that will be
leading research in treating criminal justice substance involved clients.
In addition to evaluating treatment programs in criminal justice settings,
other ongoing studies include: The relation of school experiences to adolescent
substance abuse, studies examining the efficacy of AIDS education and
awareness programs, and studies which examine the epidemiology and etiology
of substance abuse in general. CDAS also has major AIDS prevention initiatives
in Florida, Latin America, and the Caribbean. With two offices in the
Miami area and a new center opening this year in Porto Alegre, Brazil,
the focus of these initiatives is the development and evaluation of culturally
specific HIV prevention programs for hard-to-reach and under served populations.
Both Centers offer opportunities for research training for graduate students
including stipends for research assistants and use of data sources.
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Graduate Student Activities
Our students engage in many activities and projects in addition to the usual
course work.
A number of students have published papers, and annually some of our
students are on the program at the national meetings of the American Sociological
Association, the American Society of Criminology, and the Eastern Sociological
Society.
All relevant departmental committees have graduate student representatives.
Through the Disaster Research Center, the Center for Drug and Alcohol
Studies, and other faculty research grants, students have the opportunity
to work on various research projects and to write articles with the faculty.
Advanced graduate students also have the opportunity to teach regular
courses in the department.
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Financial Aid
Financial aid is available to graduate students in
the form of teaching assistantships, research assistantships, tuition
scholarships, and University fellowships. Awards are competitive and
merit-based. Assistantships and fellowships consist of tuition plus a
stipend for the September - May academic period.
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Admission Requirements
Admission requirements are established by the Department
of Sociology and Criminal Justice and the College of Graduate Studies The decision
to admit an applicant to the graduate programs in Sociology or Criminology
is primarily based on the applicant's performance on the verbal and math
GRE's (ideally a total of 1100 is favorable for combined scores), application, official
transcript containing GPA, three letters of recommendation, and statement
of objectives, TOEFL for foreign students, writing sample is strongly encouraged.
Also, if you are graduating with your B.A., do not apply as a Ph.D. student.
You have to apply for your Master's first and then when that is completed
you can go on to receive your Ph.D. Apply for Ph.D. only if you
have your Master's Degree, or if you will be graduating with a Master's Degree
before attending our program. Recommended GPA is atleast 3.5 and above. Application deadline is Feb. 1.
Please
note: The University of Delaware's Graduate
Program Application Form is now available online.
You can go back to the Application Form page to find
out the status of your application.
If you have further questions or request additional information please write to:
Dr. Anne Bowler Director of Graduate Studies Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice University of Delaware Newark, DE 19716 *e-mail: likeen@udel.edu
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Deadlines
The deadline for applications for Fall admission is February 1. The Department offers Fall admission only. GRE's should be taken in October
for admission for the following Fall. (Keep in mind that all materials have
to be recorded by the Graduate School before our office receives them, so
allow extra mailing time)
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