Graduate Course Descriptions

The LSU General Catalog serves as both the undergraduate and the graduate catalog of LSU. Regulations and degree requirements pertaining only to graduate students are found in the section “Graduate School • Professional Programs.” Detailed descriptions of all degree programs offered through the Graduate School may be found in the Graduate Bulletin, available on request from the Graduate School, 114 David Boyd Hall, LSU, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803. Below you can see a list of graduate courses offered by the Department of Sociology.  

SOCL 7121 Seminar: Classical Sociological Theory (3) 
Prereq.: consent of instructor. Historical survey of sociology with primary emphasis on European (Marx, Weber, and Durkheim) and early American (Mead and Park) sociologists.

SOCL 7131 Seminar: Contemporary Sociological Theory (3) 
Prereq.: SOCL 7121 or equivalent. Current theoretical arguments in sociology.

SOCL 7201 Research Methods in Sociology (3) 
Prereq.: SOCL 2201 or equivalent. Introduction to inferential methods in sociological research; emphasis on interpretation and current research.

SOCL 7203 Advanced Research Methods in Social Science (3) 
Prereq.: SOCL 7201 or equivalent. Also offered as POLI 7963. Survey of advanced methodology in the social sciences; emphasis on general linear model and causal models.

SOCL 7211 Seminar: Methods of Social Investigation (3) 
Research methods in the social sciences; interplay of theory and methods of research; formulation of research problems and design; measurement and scaling; sampling; ethics in research; and critiques of social science research.

SOCL 7213 Specialized Topics in Social Science Methods (2-3) 
Prereq.: SOCL 7203 or POLI 7963 or equivalent. May be taken for a max. of 12 sem. hrs. of credit when topics vary. Also offered as POLI 7964. Recent topics have included:

  • Categorical Data Analysis
  • Demography Techniques and Data Management
  • Ethnography
  • Event History Analysis
  • Longitudinal Data Analysis
  • Qualitative Methods
  • Spatial Analysis
  • Video Ethnography

SOCL 7351 Seminar: Topics in Rural Sociology (3) 
Prereq.: consent of instructor. May be taken for a max. of 9 sem. hrs. credit if topics vary. Specialized areas in rural sociology.

SOCL 7391 Seminar: Topics in Social Organization (3) 
Prereq.: consent of instructor. May be taken for a max. of 12 sem. hrs. credit if topics vary. Specialized areas in social organization. Recent topics have included:

  • Poverty
  • Stratification

SOCL 7491 Seminar: Topics in Social Institutions (3) 
Prereq.: consent of instructor. May be taken for a max. of 12 sem. hrs. credit if topics vary. Specialized areas in social institutions. Recent topics have included:

  • Education and Inequality
  • Globalization
  • Race
  • Religion
  • Sociology of Health & Illness
  • The Family

SOCL 7591 Seminar: Topics in Social Issues (3) 
Prereq.: consent of instructor. May be taken for a max. of 9 sem. hrs. credit if topics vary. Specialized areas in social issues. Recent topics have included:

  • Community
  • Criminology
  • Ecology of Crime
  • Gender and Crime
  • Gender and Sexuality
  • Policing and Race
  • Race & Criminal Justice
  • Sociology of Disaster

SOCL 7691 Seminar: Topics in Social Interaction (3) 
Prereq.: consent of instructor. May be taken for a max. of 9 sem. hrs. credit if topics vary. Specialized areas in social interaction. Recent topics have included:

  • Self and Identity
  • Social Interaction
  • Social Networks and Social Capital

SOCL 7791 Seminar: Topics in Population and Ecology (3) 
Prereq.: consent of instructor. May be taken for a max. of 6 sem. hrs. credit if topics vary. Specialized areas in population and ecology.

SOCL 7901: Independent Reading (3) 
Prereq.: successful completion of at least one year of graduate work. “S”/“U” grading.

SOCL 7902: Independent Research (3)
Prereq.: successful completion of at least one year of graduate work. “S”/“U” grading.

SOCL 7903 Proseminar in Sociology (1) 
Required for both MA and PhD candidates. Contemporary research and critical issues in sociology. “S”/“U” grading.

SOCL 7904 Proseminar in Sociology II (2) 
Required for PhD candidates. Contemporary research and critical issues in sociology. “S”/“U” grading.

SOCL 8000 Thesis Research (1-12 per sem.) 
“S”/“U” grading.

SOCL 8900 Research in Sociology (1-6) 
Open only to students engaged in a specific, organized research project under faculty supervision. Student must be engaged in design and implementation of research and analysis and interpretation of data. “S”/“U” grading.

SOCL 9000 Dissertation Research (1-12 per sem.) 
“S”/“U” grading.