Masters Funding for Sociology or Masters in Social Work?

[kbirch]

Hey all,

I'm in a similar, "What if no one accepts me?!?!?" freak out, especially since I applied last year and my application is strong, so I'm thinking if this year isn't it, I need to do some soul searching if I want to find a way to improve in a drastic way.

I keep hearing people talk about funded Masters, and I'm wondering how I can find out more about those. How do you know if a masters program has good funding? What's the likelihood of applying and then getting funding/tuition reduction? I don't think going deep into debt for a sociology masters will necessarily be good in the long run, since I'll never make a ton of money...

Thanks to anyone who has info on this!

Good luck to all.

[Darth.Vegan]

I'd also like to know what other Masters programs provide funding. I know WashU often provides funding to well qualified applicants for example.

[lovenhaight]

The best way to hunt for these is to just look at program websites. Some programs include a tuition waiver and stipend, some just a stipend...they're almost as varied as PhD programs in terms of what they offer. If a program that you're interested in doesn't discuss funding, email or call their graduate director.

[penpen]

I know a bunch of Canadian programs offer funded terminal masters degrees. If you are open to getting your masters outside the US and then applying to American PhD programs later, then you should look into this.

[elw4y8]

I don't know much about other programs, but I can tell you that UNC-Charlotte does provide funding to many of its students. There are a number of TA positions available throughout the year, mostly in Research Methods, Quantitative Methods, and one or two writing-intensive courses. Some second year students have been invited to work on a long-term NSF-funded research project. The typical funding package includes an out of state tuition waiver, tuition remission, and a fair (albeit not enormous) stipend . The department is very strong, with a number of faculty members publishing regularly in top journals. The current president of the SSS is also in the department. It's a good place to be, and regularly places its graduates in top PhD programs. I don't think it's too late to apply, and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Edited February 15, 2012 by elw4y8

[allhandsonthebadone]

Glad this thread came back up.

I just want to ask about fit vs. connections when it comes to apply to terminal MA programs. If all goes to hell, I have had a long time correspondence with a professor who has very similar interests and really wants to work with me. However, the schools is hardly a name university, the department is pretty small, and it doesn't seem to have connections. There seems to be other programs that seem to have connections but do not offer the resources to pursue my interests.

Obviously it would be preferable to have both; but would it be better to have a department which supports your interests so you can show work in your areas of interest once applying for PhD programs or ones that has connections to PhD programs even though what would be studied would be peripheral to my main interests?

[allhandsonthebadone]

In addition there seems to be a lot of people who have had lots of success in their application cycle out of an MA program this. I think a lot of us would be appreciative to know where you guys went and a little about your background so we can get an idea of what schools are successful at placing their students and to also know there is a tomorrow if an application cycle goes bust. elw4y8 provided a great example.

[michigan girl]

From my experience, you are more likely to get better funding in a social work master's program.

You also have to consider how much rankings matter to you. Second- and third-tier sociology master's programs may offer you decent funding packages.