Graduate Programs

Social Science Master's Program (M.S.)

Degree Requirements

General Track

• Completion of the 36-unit program of study.
• Completion of 18 units of required courses. The offerings within the core program of study for this track will include:

SOSC 600 Interdisciplinary Approaches to Global Problems (3)

SOSC 601 SOSC 602 SOSC 603 SOSC 604 SOSC 605 SOSC 606 SOSC 609

The Geographer's View (3) The Historian's Approach: Comparative History and Historiography (3) The Economist's Perspective (3) East Asian Security Issues, 1945-Present (3) American Politics in the 21st Century (3) Sociological Insights (3) Developmental Human Learning: A Life Span Approach (3)

• Completion of 18 units beyond the Required with 12 units required within a selected discipline and 6 units required within any of the other five program disciplines.
• Students choose their departmental disciplinary emphasis.
• Within each disciplinary emphasis students choose between the thesis and professional presentation options.

Thesis Option

• 500-700-level courses (two from selected discipline) (9 units)
• 600-700-level courses (any other discipline) (3 units)
• Thesis (Within track department) (6 units)

• 500-700-level courses (in selected discipline) (12 units)
• 600-700-level courses (any other discipline) (6 units)
• Professional Presentation

*Students must deliver a peer-reviewed presentation for a university, local or national conference, organized by their chosen discipline or give a presentation to an assembly of Towson University faculty and program peers.

NOTE: Earn a Graduate Certificate in Family-Professional Collaboration with your elective units and some additional course work. Turn to page 92 for more information.

Final Portfolio

The program requires that all students (Thesis and Presentation Option), in both tracks, prepare a final portfolio of their work under the direction of their track adviser.
For portfolio submission requirements, please visit our website at

• Master of Science Social Science

Exit Interview
Each graduating student must schedule an exit interview with the program director to be held no later than two weeks prior to the end of the term in which the student has applied for graduation. For details, please visit our website.

Global Analysis Track

Degree Requirements

• Completion of the 36-unit program of study.
• Completion of 15 units of core requirements.
• Demonstration of language proficiency at the intermediate level. Four terms of college level foreign language training are required to complete this requirement. Students may complete this by taking Elements I and II and Intermediate I and II at Towson University or by passing an Equivalence Examination at the intermediate level, administered by the Department of Modern Languages each November. Students who have taken several years of a language in high school will need to consult the chair of Modern Languages to determine the necessary steps needed to fulfill this language requirement.

  The offerings within the core program of study for this track will include:

SOSC 600

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Global Problems (3)

And four of the following courses:

SOSC 601 SOSC 602 SOSC 603 POSC 6xx CLST 6xx

The Geographer's View (3) The Historian's Approach: Comparative History and Historiography (3) The Economist's Perspective (3) Comparative National Security (3) Culture, Power and Inequality (3)

Electives

Students may follow one of two plans when choosing electives in the global analysis track. Students may choose between a Regional Focus and a Topical Focus. The Regional Focus allows students to focus their studies on a particular region of the world (e.g., the Middle East or Latin America), whereas the Topical Focus allows students to take a broader, more topical approach, focusing for instance on inequality and power from a comparative perspective. For both plans, it should be noted, students must consult with the program advisor in selecting appropriate courses.

Regional Focus

Under this plan, at least three (3) of the five (5) electives, taken from the following list, must consist of courses related to the geographical region of emphasis, subject to the discretion of the program adviser.

Topical Focus

Under this plan, students may choose any five (5) of the following courses, but the program advisor will oversee the selections to maintain that thematic and topical goals are met.

NOTE: Students should keep in mind the Graduate School's policy that only three (3) courses at the 500 level can be applied to the graduate degree.

The offerings within the core program of study for this track will include:

ANTH 530 ANTH 567 ANTH 568 ANTH 569 ANTH 6XX GEOG 511 GEOG 562 GEOG 564 GEOG 565 GEOG 568 HIST 511 HIST 513 HIST 530 HIST 5XX HIST 607 HIST 621 HIST 684 HIST 6xx HIST 6xx PHIL 502 POSC 509 POSC 512 POSC 551 POSC 557 POSC 591 POSC 7xx PSYC 532 SOCI 533 SOCI 625-630 SOSC 6xx SOSC 7xx WMST 605

Korea and Globalization (3) Peoples of the Middle East (3) Globalization in Cross-Cultural Perspective (3) Tradition and Revolution in Latin American Society (3) Postcolonial Anthropologies (3) Cultural Geography (3) Geography of Africa (3) Geography of East Asia (3) Geography of the Middle East (3) Geography of Latin America (3) History of Modern Southeast Asia (3) Revolutionary China (3) Nationalism in 20th Century East and Southeast Asia (3) Israel/Palestine: Conflicting Pasts, Conflicting Presents (3) Latin America and the United States (3) African History Through Literature (3) Disease and History (3) Studies in the History of the Modern Middle East (3) East Asian Security Issues, 1945 to Present (3) Philosophies of China and Japan (3) Comparative Political Systems (3) The Latin American Policy of the United States (3) The Government and Politics of Latin America (3) Seminar: Use of Force in International (3) Seminar in Contemporary United States Foreign Policy (3) Graduate Internship in NGO/Government Organization (3) Cross-Cultural Psychology (3) Political Sociology (3) Special Topics in Social Science (3) Contemporary Issues in Social Science (3) Graduate Overseas Study (3) Women in International Context (3)

Students may also select other electives not listed above, subject to the approval of the program advisor.

Thesis

Six (6) units are required to complete this component. Students choosing the Regional Focus plan must write the thesis in their area of regional focus. Students choosing the Topical Focus are encouraged to pursue a thesis in their particular topical area.

There is no "professional presentation" option for the global analysis track of study.

Final Portfolio

The program requires that all students prepare a final portfolio of their work under the direction of their advisor.

 

For information on all matters related to admissions, fees, or registration, please contact the Graduate School at 410-704-2501.

College of Graduate Studies and Research
7800 York Road, Suite 216

Phone: 410-704-2501
Fax: 410-704-4675
E-mail: grads@towson.edu