bubawizwam

I'm interested in everyone's thoughts on unfunded masters programs. On another post, the majority of people stated that they would not attend an unfunded PhD program. Does the same go for masters programs? What if attending an unfunded masters program allows one to later attend a funded PhD program? Does one bite the bullet for the MA to get the full-ride PhD?

This discussion seems to be focused on unfunded PhD programs. What are everyone's thoughts on unfunded masters programs that will likely lead to funded PhD programs?

Ha, UC-Riverside didn't seem to mind rejecting me today. I guess they love me not.

Rejection e-mail from UC-Riverside.

So when will UCR start with their acceptances? I saw one rejection. They haven't already sent out acceptances, have they?

I got my first notification. Rejected by OSU.

I hope they haven't sent out all of their acceptances yet!

main man

trouble maker

I'm interested in criminology/deviance. University of Maryland-College Park (Criminology program) University of Delaware Ohio State University Emory University of North Carolina-Wilmington University of California-Riverside

book burning

book return

I appreciate everyone's advice. I apologize for requesting so much help on my SOP, and recognize that I have used a lot of space in the forum for my own personal needs. I hope that this editing process can benefit another graduate school hopeful, typing aimlessly on his or her computer to create the essay that will wow admission committees. The suggestions everyone offered have been immensely helpful. It can be difficult to see so much criticism of my work, but I believe that it has helped me create a stronger essay. For my most recent draft, I reworked my introduction and tried to better market myself, writing more of my past research experience. I hope that this is the last draft that I will need to post before making my final alterations. I am concerned that I write too much about the topic of my senior thesis to the point of distracting from the skills I learned. I would appreciate any feedback, and hope that I am one step closer to a strong final product. ____ I am beckoned to the study of criminology and deviance. Who are the boys and girls titled deviants and delinquents, and what impact do school intervention programs have on their lives? There is no shortage of schools for deviant and delinquent youth, each which tout a particular philosophy of “treatment.” As a graduate student at Ohio State University, I would direct my interest in deviance and criminology to the study of such “prevention” and “rehabilitation” school programs. School programs follow a variety of intervention models, each rooted in assumptions about deviancy. As a graduate student, I would research school intervention programs, identify the assumptions they use to determine “treatment” plans, and evaluate the effectiveness of these programs in addressing juvenile delinquency. Such research not only has practical implications for school and communities, but also has the potential to add to sociological theory. I believe that schools’ assumptions of deviancy will likely mimic contemporary social theories of crime. If such correlation were present, a school’s success rate would potentially indicate the effectiveness of a social theory to explain juvenile delinquency. To undertake such research, I would select a sample of schools that self identify as addressing juvenile and adolescent delinquency. I would conduct a qualitative examination of school websites, program literature, and informal interviews to determine school philosophies on deviance. I would also engage in quantitative analysis from school and state records to evaluate program effectiveness, as measured by a set of parameters such as student recidivism rates. This data could then be examined to better understand the distinct approaches that education-based prevention programs use, their effectiveness, and the ability of contemporary social theory to explain juvenile and adolescent delinquency. Although this is a large task, I know that I have the qualities needed to be a successful graduate student and skilled researcher. As a junior at The College of XXX, I demonstrated my quantitative knowledge skills as the teaching apprentice for an upper-level social statistics course. I was responsible for grading and correcting homework, holding weekly office hours, and providing general classroom support. I frequently met with students outside of my office hours to review the uses of SPSS, explain the difference between t-tests and ANOVA test, model hypothesis testing, and review how to calculate confidence intervals. Come exam time, I offered additional study sessions to interested students to assist with creating study guides, completing final projects, and answering general test questions. In my senior year, I undertook a year-long independent research project culminating in a 100+ page thesis titled Examining the Cultural Transmission of Chinese Mythical Beings: A Lesson in Hermeneutics. To understand the ways in which Chinese mythical beings were transferred across cultures and languages for Western audiences, I worked closely with two advisors who guided me through the independent research process in tasks such as conducting literature reviews, submitting a research proposal to the Human Subjects Board, and determining proper sampling and interviewing techniques. I conducted a content analysis of numerous Chinese myths to examine the terminology used to identify and describe the mythical beings. To create a visual snapshot of my findings, I designed a taxonomy to compare Western and Chinese creatures. Additionally, I applied for and was granted university funding to allow for traveling to New York City’s Chinatown, where I interview 10+ Chinese and Chinese-Americans regarding their knowledge of Chinese mythical beings. Following my trip, I transcribed each interview and analyzed the data for common themes. I then turned to social theorists such as Hans-Georg Gadamer, for his theory of hermeneutics, and Max Weber, for his concept of Verstehen, to explain the trends I observed regarding the transmission of Chinese mythical beings across languages and cultures. After completing my analysis and submitting my written thesis, I then successfully defending my research to a panel of three sociology professors. Following the completion of this paper and its defense, I presented my research at a campus forum, explaining my findings to students, professors, and local residents. My work in the sociology department earned me membership to Alpha Kappa Delta in my senior year. The department of sociology at Ohio State University is uniquely equipped to help me reach my academic and professional goals. OSU’s department of sociology places a strong focus on deviance and criminology while other schools gloss over this sociological subset. Access to the Criminal Justice Research Center allows for high-quality research in the field as a graduate student, and professors such as Douglas Downey, Dana Haynie, and Christopher Browning ensure professional mentors with interests intersecting my own. Additionally, I am eager to utilize the resources offered by the Sociology Teaching Resource Center, which I trust will help me develop the skills necessary to become an efficient teacher of sociology. I believe that Ohio State University will help me to become a true student of sociology— a field researcher, a statistician, a social theorist, a writer, and a thinker. In turn, I promise to bring integrity, energy, and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. I will stay late after class to discuss questions that had been brewing in my head throughout the day’s lecture and discussion. I will bond with my cohort while debating the merits of using the works of European social theorists to explain non-European social phenomena. I will utilize all the resources available and look to be a resource to others. I am ready to be the type of student that I hope to one day foster as a teacher.

I can cut out the first two paragraphs of the essay completely and add in a bit more about the class I TA'd. I was really debating how detailed I should be in discussing my senior thesis. I can talk about the sources I used, theorists I read, etc., but my current research interests are significantly different from that paper.

I'm sure that you are all quite sick of my SOP drafts by now, but I'm hoping for some feedback on my newest creation. I'm taking a new approach. Armed guards escorted me to a large room. Fifteen young men were seated around three tables. “Welcome to XXX Juvenile Correctional Facility,” one man said. I was surrounded by criminals: murderers, arsonists, drug dealers, and more. An older woman handed me a piece of paper. “Deviance and Criminology,” it read. I glanced over the paper; it was my syllabus. Professor XXX taught this course many times before, but in this particular year she took a risk. Fifteen students were from The College of Wooster, and fifteen were from a maximum-security juvenile detention center. We were not there to study the inmates; they were our classmates. From the moment I entered the classroom I was hooked. Not only did I have Durkheim, Merton, and Sutherland introducing me to sociological theories of crime and deviance, but I also had classmates with unparalleled knowledge of the criminal justice system. While that course ended over five years ago, my academic interest in criminology and deviance has held steadfast. My thoughts linger on my classmates, the young men placed behind lock and key. How did these young men, men who I came to consider friends, find themselves engaging in deviant and criminal acts? Was there no one in their homes, schools, or communities who sought to intervene? When I think about these individuals, I cannot quiet these thoughts. As I prepare myself to embark upon the academic journey known as graduate school, I know where my coursework will take me. I am beckoned to the study of criminology and deviance, the engagement of juveniles within the justice system, and the institutional intervention programs designed to correct juvenile delinquency. Institutions use numerous programs in an attempt to address the issue of juvenile and adolescent delinquency. In particular, I am interested in intervention programs within the educational setting. There is no shortage of schools for deviant and delinquent youth, each which tout a particular philosophy of “treatment.” As a graduate student at Ohio State University, I would direct my interest in deviance and criminology to the study of such “prevention” and “rehabilitation” school programs. I propose a study of school intervention programs to determine assumptions regarding the causes of deviancy and the effectiveness of these programs. Additionally, I intend to examine the relationship of programs’ assumptions to already established social theories of deviance, and the degree to which current theories prove applicable to contemporary American society. To undertake such research, I would select a sample of schools that self identify as addressing juvenile and adolescent delinquency. I would conduct a qualitative examination of school websites, program literature, and informal interviews to determine school philosophies on deviance. I would also engage in quantitative analysis from school and state records to evaluate program effectiveness, as measured by a set of parameters such as student recidivism rates. This data could then be examined to better understand the distinct approaches that education-based prevention programs use, their effectiveness, and the ability of contemporary social theory to explain juvenile and adolescent delinquency. Although this is a large task, I know that I have the qualities needed to be a successful graduate student and skilled researcher. As a junior at The College of XXX, I demonstrated my quantitative knowledge skills as the teaching apprentice for an upper-level social statistics course. I was responsible for grading homework, holding office hours, and providing classroom support for SPSS. In my senior year, I undertook a year-long independent research project culminating in a 100+ page thesis titled Examining the Cultural Transmission of Chinese Mythical Beings: A Lesson in Hermeneutics. I wrote literature reviews, studied and applied social theories, applied for and received research funding, traveled to conduct interviews, transcribed conversations, and coded data. Following the completion of this paper, I presented my research at a campus forum, explaining my findings to students, professors, and local residents. My work in the sociology department earned me membership to Alpha Kappa Delta in my senior year. The department of sociology at Ohio State University is uniquely equipped to help me reach my academic and professional goals. OSU’s department of sociology places a strong focus on deviance and criminology while other schools gloss over this sociological subset. Access to the Criminal Justice Research Center allows for high-quality research in the field as a graduate student, and professors such as Douglas Downey, Dana Haynie, and Christopher Browning ensure professional mentors with interests intersecting my own. Additionally, I am eager to utilize the resources offered by the Sociology Teaching Resource Center, which I trust will help me develop the skills necessary to become an efficient teacher of sociology. I believe that Ohio State University will help me to become a true student of sociology— a field researcher, a statistician, a social theorist, a writer, and a thinker. In turn, I promise to bring integrity, energy, and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. I will stay late after class to discuss questions that had been brewing in my head throughout the day’s lecture and discussion. I will bond with my cohort while debating the merits of using the works of European social theorists to explain non-European social phenomena. I will utilize all the resources available and look to be a resource to others. I am ready to be the type of student that I hope to one day foster as a teacher.

Someone on this forum gave me some outstanding advise to look for the ASA's (American Sociological Society) publication of graduate schools. It lists school concentrations, professors, their research interests, etc. I went from picking a school from the blue and looking at it online to systematically examining sociological programs. http://www.asanet.org/journals/guides.cfm It's the ASA's Guide to Graduate Departments of Sociology. They were sold out of the latest edition when I was trying to buy it, so I found an older version on Amazon. There had been some changes in faculty, etc, but it still gave me what I needed. Hope that helps! ___

Hello everyone! I'm not sure how many of you are perusing the forum yet, but I was hoping for some feedback on a very rough draft of my statement of purpose. I know it still needs work and probably another section about what I'll bring to the school, but I want to make sure that it is at least partly coherent so far. I applied to a few schools last year and didn't get in, and I have significantly truncated my old essay and reworked it into this. I'm going to personalize the last paragraph for each school, too. Getting Schooled It was a typical fall afternoon, about 2:45pm. I remember the time, not because of any particular affinity for remembering fine details, but because school had just let out. I was several months into my first year of teaching elementary special education in a west Baltimore public school, and I was once again walking toward the corner where I would wait for the local bus to pick me up. As I turned from the school, James called out to me. “Ms. Swoveland, where you headed? You takin’ the bus?” James was not my peer, but one of my fourth grade students. “Hello James,” I responded cheerfully, “I am taking the bus. I take it to and from school every day.” “Why you do that?” You too poor to afford a car? The school don’t pay you enough?” he asked me playfully, hoping to push my buttons. I spouted off a well-rehearsed story about my concern for the environment. After my environmentally-friendly spiel, James threw a candy wrapper on the sidewalk, cocked his head to one side, gave me a mischievous grin and responded, “Ms. Swoveland, I’m gonna stick someone up and steal their car.” “You’re going to stick someone up and steal their car?” I asked. “Yeah, then I’m gonna give you the car,” he said smugly. “You’re going to stick someone up, steal their car, and give it to me,” I repeated. “Yeah, then I’m gonna call the po-lice and have you framed,” he said matter-of-factly, arms crossed over his chest, a big smile on his face. I cannot quite recall my response to his devious plot, but I remember thinking about it my entire bus ride home. I still think about it to this day, nearly two years after it happened. As I recall that event, I cannot help but think about James’ future. I can vividly picture him attending juvenile court several years from now, perhaps resulting in probation, or even a detention facility. Despite my ability, and the ability of teachers as a whole, to identify high-risk children, the public schools are surprisingly unprepared to prevent, or even reduce a child’s deviant or criminal tendencies. Why, I wonder, are we so poorly equipped to help children like James, with many visible risk factors for crime, from following down a criminal path? It is this phenomenon, the linkage between public elementary schools and juvenile delinquency, which I hope to study as a graduate student at Ohio State University. While clearly an overwhelming subject, I am interested in three distinct elements: school-based deviance prevention programs; classroom management systems and school behavioral plans; and government policy concerning behavior in schools. I believe that an examination of these three categories will provide a comprehensive view on the prevention of deviance and crime among elementary age students. It is easy to view the social phenomenon of the school-to-prison pipeline using only one perspective or one methodology, but I believe that it is important to embrace a fusion of macro and micro perspectives, and employ a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, to fully grasp the depth and entanglement of deviancy within our schools, our government, and our culture. Specifically, data can be gleaned through meta-analysis of studies reviewing delinquency prevention programs, content analysis of interviews I would conduct with teachers and administrators concerning school and classroom behavior management systems, and statistical analysis of government-gathered survey data. While a large task to undertake, I believe that the department of sociology at Ohio State University is uniquely equipped to help me in this endeavor. While every graduate school touts top-notch facilities, distinguished faculty, and unique research opportunities, Ohio State University proves itself as a top-contender in the field of sociology. OSU’s department of sociology places a strong focus on developing future professors, researchers, and lifelong learners of sociology. Offering graduate teaching assistants formal instructional in the effective teaching of sociology and providing additional support through Sociology Teaching Resource Center shows the department’s dedication to creating future scholars. Additionally, the department of sociology is closely aligned with my particular interests in deviance and criminology, offering a concentration in crime and community while other schools gloss over this sociological sub-set. Access to the Criminal Justice Research Center allows for high-quality research in the field as a graduate student, and professors such as Douglas Downey, Dana Haynie, and Christopher Browning ensure professional mentors with interests intersecting my own.

Hello All! I'm working on applying again for Fall 2012 after an unsuccesful attempt this year, and I am planning on retaking the GRE this August. I've taken the test twice before and have a best score of 1200. Both times my verbal score was significantly lower than my quantitative score, despite the fact that I have much stronger verbal skills than I do quantitative. However, my mediocre vocabulary and ability to find relationships between even the strangest of words didn't work out so well when solving analagies. On August 1st they are switching to a new version of the GRE which eliminates analogies and antonyms, instead focusing on sentence completion and reading comprehension. I believe I sill do significantly better on this version of the test (at least in terms of the verbal section). My concern, however, is that schools will disregard newer scores and focus more on the older scores. Has anyone heard anything from any graduate schools? Will one set of scores be prefered to the other? Will they consider the higher score from each test, despite scoring differences? For example, if I do much better in terms of percentage on the new verbal section but still have a higher score on the old quantitative section, will they recognize this or simply refer to the highest score on any one test? Oh, and for those not aware, the new test will have a different composite score. Any thoughts are appreciated!

Sure, I'd love to see your SOP. I figure the more I see the better prepared I will be to edit mine. I'm having a heck of a time trying to weave together my interests. The best thing I can come up with so far is an insatiable curiosity, perhaps to see things from a different point of view. Learning Chinese and studying Chinese history and culture allowed me to view a whole range of new thoughts and perspectives I was unable to see before. Teaching allowed me a view of a chaotic system that I had only been able to examine as a student. I'll have to ponder this more.

Oooh, another question. My current job is so far outside of the realm of sociology and is a real bore. In my SOP is it okay to completely ignore what I currently do and focus on my teaching experience and undergrad experiences, or do I somehow work in what I currently do? I have trouble talking about what I currently do in a positive light, so I was hoping to avoid the topic, but I also don't want it to look like I fell off of the face of the Earth after leaving my teaching position.

I'd love to see your SOP. PM it on over! I just ordered the ASA's Guide to Graduate Studies in Sociology that someone mentioned above. (I think I just butchered the title some.) It was on back order on the ASA site, and the newest edition I could find on Amazon was from 2005. I'll have to order Asher's book next. My next question is, do I need to scrap my entire SOP and start from scratch, or can I preserve certain sections? Also, does anyone have more school suggestions now that they've seen more of my interests?

I have a quick question on some of the abbreviations you used. DGS=department of graduate studies? NSF GRFP=? I guess I don't quite get how I talk about myself, my accomplishments, etc without simply spewing back my resume.

I didn't find your comments to be the least bit harsh. They were very helpful. So you think it's fine to focus on just one element of the research interest I listed, such as focusing on school-wide behavior management systems and how they impact juvenille delinquency? As for the length, so many people have trouble making papers, etc. long enough, but I always have the opposite problem! I guess I felt that by including more information, more detail, that I was showing my ability to do think through a research idea.

If anyone is going to Hopkins and wants to know about Baltimore, feel free to message me. Baltimore gets a bad reputation, but it's not a bad place to live.

Hello Everyone! Sorry I dropped off this site a bit, but I figured that I would step away from the whole thing for a week or so and come up with a new game plan. I've decided that I'm just going to aim for Fall 2012 admissions and hopefully come up with some sort of fun job for the year, perhaps abroad. My Chinese is getting a bit rusty, so maybe I'll try to teach English in China for a bit... So here are the there schools I applied to: UMD-College Park, UT-Austin, and Stanford. I thought the programs looked good, the courses sounded interesting, and the locations were appealing. (I'm currently in Baltimore.) I took the GRE twice, my verbal scores are 560 and 530. My quantitative scores are 590 ad 640. I graduated magna cum laude and have departmental honors in sociology and am a member of phi beta kappa and alpha kappa delta. I TA'ed social statistics my senior year of undergrad, and that professor is writing my a LOR. My undergraduate thesis was all qualitative research, however, and my two advisers on that project are my other two LORs. I was close with all three professors and know they're rooting for me. I've also kept in touch since graduating in 2009, and they all read and reread my SOP several times. My undergraduate degree was in sociology and Chinese studies. My thesis is called "Examining the Cultural Transmission of Chinese Mythical Beings: A Lesson In Hermeneutics." I think it is just about the most interesting topic ever, but it's way too long and too abstract to have a shot at being published. My junior thesis is more likely publishable and has been my writing sample with my applications, but it is also fairly abstract. It examines the tripartite division of the Chinese spirit world (gods, ghosts, and ancestors) and argues that there should be a forth category, the demonic. Despite the fact that I get super excited about Chinese mythology and religion, I want my graduate work to be a bit/a lot more practical. After I graduated, I started teaching elementary special ed. in the Baltimore City public school system. The kids were wonderful but the system was so corrupt that I left. I decided that I wanted my graduate work to have the potential to impact the public school system or the kids being left behind by it. I've been working a pretty lame 8-5 cubicle job this past year and hoping to get into grad school. Now here I am. I feel like my interests are torn between sociology of education and criminology and deviance. Hell, throw in a more generalized social stratification. I do not want a straight up sociology of education program or just a criminology program. I want a program that is not afraid to be a bit interdepartmental. The world's problems aren't going to be solved by thinking inside the box, so why train students to do just that. I am not entirely sure if I would want to follow an academic track post-graduation and hope to work as a professor or if I'd like to do policy research. They both interest me. I thought about writing up my specific research interests, but I'm actually going to paste my SOP below so you can see what sort of a mess you're working with here! Please forgive my ramblings, but my week away from the site clearly wasn't quite long enough to fully organize my thoughts. Additionally, I really appreciate everyone's advice and contributions here. It makes me proud to be a (future?) sociologist to have so many like-minded people cheering me on and helping me out. Getting Schooled It was a typical fall afternoon, about 2:45pm. I remember the time, not because of any particular affinity for remembering fine details, but because school had just let out. I was several months into my first year of teaching elementary special education in a west Baltimore public school, and I was once again walking toward the corner where I would wait for the local bus to pick me up. As I turned from the school, James* called out to me. “Ms. Desperate Grad School Applicant, where you headed? You takin’ the bus?” James was not my peer, but one of my fourth grade students. “Hello James,” I responded cheerfully, “I am taking the bus. I take it to and from school every day.” “Why you do that?” You too poor to afford a car? The school don’t pay you enough?” he asked me playfully, hoping to push my buttons. I spouted off a well-rehearsed story about my concern for the environment. After my environmentally-friendly spiel, James threw a candy wrapper on the sidewalk, cocked his head to one side, gave me a mischievous grin and responded, “Ms. Desperate Grad School Applicant, I’m gonna stick someone up and steal their car.” “You’re going to stick someone up and steal their car?” I asked. “Yeah, then I’m gonna give you the car,” he said smugly. “You’re going to stick someone up, steal their car, and give it to me,” I repeated. “Yeah, then I’m gonna call the po-lice and have you framed,” he said matter-of-factly, arms crossed over his chest, a big smile on his face. I cannot quite recall my response to his devious plot, but I remember thinking about it my entire bus ride home. I still think about it to this day, nearly one year after it happened. As I recall that event, I cannot help but think about James’ future. I can vividly picture him attending juvenile court several years from now, perhaps resulting in probation, or even a detention facility. I would like to believe that my thoughts are ridiculous, and terribly off base. However, delinquent youth frequently exhibit many characteristics of their deviance and criminality within the school, often foreshadowing their futures. Studies have found that “many elementary school teachers report that they can tell who will eventually end up in the juvenile justice system by observing students as young as ten years old. And for the most part, their predictions are accurate.”[1] Despite teachers’ ability to foresee a child’s journey into the juvenile justice system, they are surprisingly unprepared to prevent, or even reduce a child’s deviant or criminal tendencies. Why, I wonder, are we so poorly equipped to help children like James, with many visible risk factors for crime, from following down a criminal path? As a PhD student at The University of Maryland-College Park, I would use my sociological imagination to carefully deconstruct and analyze the public school system’s inability to address the needs of elementary school students with high risk factors for engaging in crime, and identify the skills schools need to teach these students. While clearly an overwhelming subject, I am interested in three distinct elements of the public education system: school-based deviance prevention programs; classroom management systems and school behavioral plans; and school and government policy concerning behavior in schools. I believe that an examination of these three categories will provide a comprehensive view on the prevention of deviance and crime among elementary age students. It is easy to view the social phenomenon of the school-to-prison pipeline using only one perspective or one methodology, but it is important to embrace a fusion of macro and micro perspectives, and employ a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, to fully grasp the depth and entanglement of deviancy within our schools, our government, and our culture. Juvenile delinquency is a complex issue, rooted deeply in our social structure, and cannot be fully grasped without looking at the many different structural elements creating and affecting child deviance. By examining the three areas of the public school system proposed above, data can be gathered from both the individual, or micro-level, and the institutional, or macro-level presenting a full spectrum of the phenomena molding juvenile deviancy among America’s disadvantaged public school students. Specifically, data can be gleaned through meta-analysis of studies reviewing delinquency prevention programs, content analysis of interviews I would conduct with teachers and administrators, and statistical analysis of government-gathered survey data. Comparing and analyzing such a variety of information will provide a comprehensive view of what our society is doing within our public schools to keep elementary school students from ever reaching the justice system’s courtrooms. Numerous studies have identified protective factors that can minimize the impact of a student’s inherited risk factors. However, many schools struggle to utilize these protective factors, such as teaching conflict resolution or creative problem solving skills. With teachers already overwhelmed with daily tasks and the concern of making “adequate yearly progress” (AYP), it becomes inconceivable in many teachers’ minds to add additional subject matter to the already packed curriculum. However, numerous school-based deviance prevention programs are available that teach valuable protective skills without adding any significant additional work to teachers’ busy schedules. One program, Life Skills Training (LST), is a clear example of such a beneficial, manageable program. Materials include a teacher’s manual and detailed lesson-plans, which are designed to teach students “a variety of cognitive-behavioral skills for problem-solving and decision-making, resisting media influences, managing stress and anxiety, communicating effectively, developing healthy personal relationships, and asserting one’s rights.”[2] A 2006 study among 4,858 sixth-grade students in New York City found that students exposed to the LST program showed a marked decrease in delinquent behaviors over the span of one year. With reviews of LST programs showing such optimistic results, I believe that a meta-analysis of research conducted on the impact of such delinquency prevention programs would shed light on numerous options currently available to schools that can slow the school-to-prison pipeline, increase students’ protective factors, and teach them the skills they need to avoid involvement in present and future criminal activity. The responsibility for teaching skills that reduce student delinquency cannot be placed solely on highly structured prevention programs. Small, often mundane aspects of public education, such as classroom and school-wide behavior programs, must also be examined. These address the very culture of schools, and their views and perceptions of students and student deviance. Through semi-structured interviews with elementary classroom teachers and school administrators, it is possible to understand the current methods in which schools attempt to address, punish, correct, and sometimes inadvertently foster students’ deviant behavior. Such interviews will also reveal how school personnel directly respond to and impact student (mis)behavior. A wide spectrum of classroom management systems, ranging from physical punishment and shaming, to rewarding and addressing only positive behavior, flourish within America’s public schools. It is therefore important to talk to those who are responsible for administering these systems, such as teachers, guidance counselors, and principals, to identify their perceptions on student deviance, punishment versus rewards, what works and what does not, whether or not suspension is beneficial, and so forth. Without an awareness of current administrator and teacher views on addressing student deviance, it is impossible to truly understand what must happen for sustainable improvements to occur. After conducting numerous interviews among elementary, public school personnel, it will be possible to identify current trends already in place in schools, to assess whether or not these trends match proven best practices, and to determine what is missing that might help divert students from the path toward prison. Understanding the behavioral practices being used in schools, however, will not provide a complete picture of our nation’s impact on juvenile delinquency in schools. It is also important to examine the state and national legislation regarding student behavior and punishment, as this provides the framework with which public school teachers and administrators work. Educational policy, such as Zero Tolerance policies and laws governing school suspension and expulsion play a critical role in how student deviance is viewed and treated. A statistical analysis of government-collected data examining such variables as juvenile crime rates, suspensions rates, and number of expulsions against a variety of demographic factors would allow for a clear picture of the correlation between government policies and student delinquency. Reviewing such data would paint a picture of the effectiveness (or lack of effectiveness) of educational policies on educational practices and, most importantly, student delinquency. Through an examination of school-based deviation prevention programs, interviews with public school personnel regarding school and classroom behavior management systems, and statistical analysis of government data regarding educational policy, I hope to help students like James* avoid a seemingly predetermined path towards delinquency. Another part of me, however, simply wants to create a new way to reconnect with the Baltimore City public schools. While I spent my first year out of college teaching special education in a west side school, I eventually left the profession. Despite my love for the students and a passion for learning, I found the public schools, and my school in particular, to have an unexpected, and at times undesired, impact on students’ development. From man-handling the students, to disregarding federal law mandating special education, to even changing answers on the Maryland standardized tests, my school was not a place that fostered positive student growth. While it often pains me to think that I left my students in the current educational environment, I am certain that pursuing my PhD in Sociology will eventually allow me to make significant long-lasting change in the public school system. As I now pass my days in my cubicle, holding a standard 8-5 office job, I can’t help but yearn for more. Selling electromagnetic components does not satisfy my intellectual curiosity and desire to improve the social conditions of disadvantaged youth. Furthermore, I miss my undergraduate days of hiding away in the campus library, researching Chinese mythical beings and typing away on my thesis, “Examining the Cultural Transmission of Chinese Mythical Beings: A Lesson in Hermeneutics.” I think thoughtfully to heated discussions over lunch, debating the merits of using the works of European social theorists to explain non-European social phenomena. I fondly recall staying after class with a friend just to talk to my professors about the class readings and questions that had been brewing in my head throughout the day’s lecture and discussion. My co-workers joke about my insatiable curiosity, as I ask questions about capacitors and resistors that we sell for pennies each. What I want, in addition to researching the prevention of criminality and deviance among elementary school students, is to return to a place where asking questions is not a nuisance but a positive quality, where reading books is not just a diversion from the monotony of daily life, but a means to satisfy a hunger for new thoughts and new ways of viewing and impacting the world. I believe that the University of Maryland-College Park will help me to become a true student of sociology— a field researcher, a statistician, a social theorist, a writer, and a thinker. I believe that the University of Maryland-College Park’s sociology PhD program produces students who do not just know facts, but know how to think and learn and communicate ideas clearly and effectively. As a PhD candidate, I promise to bring integrity, energy, and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. I will be the type of student that I hoped to foster as a teacher. I am ready to feel once more at home. <br clear="all"> [1] John Aarons and others, Dispatches from Juvenile Hall: Fixing a Failing System (New York: Penguin Books, 2009), 152. [2] Gilbert J. Botvin and others, “Preventing Youth Violence and Delinquency through a Universal School-Based Prevention Approach,” Prevention Science 7 (2006), 404.