Worried about applying with just a minor

[Rose22]

Hello,

I am an American who will be applying to Canadian masters programs in Sociology, but I'm a little worried. Most of the schools I've looked at say you need a bachelor's in Sociology or a related discipline. I don't think my major can be considered 'related', it's a BA in Modern languages with an emphasis in Spanish.

I do, however, have what I consider to be a strong minor in sociology. At the time of application, I will have completed eight upper division courses in Sociology, including statistics, sociological methods, and sociological theory.

The semester after that, my last semester, I will be enrolling in 3 more courses, including a senior research seminar, but this will be after my applications have been placed.

I have the following questions:

1. Will the 8 courses at the time of application be seen as substantive enough for consideration?
   
2. Would I stand a better chance by waiting a year and having those three extra courses? Is the opportunity cost worth it?
   
3. If not, can I at least make mention somewhere in my application of the final 3 courses?
   

I am taking pretty much the same number and types of sociology classes that a BS in Sociology major at my institution would take. The reason I can't call it a double major is that my school doesn't offer a BA in sociology, so I'd have to go for the BS option which would mean I'd have to take on extra non-sociology electives to be awarded two degrees.

Edited June 22, 2012 by Rose22

[aberrant]

Although I'm not a sociology major whatsoever, I personally think that these 8 upper division courses may not make you a well-prepared applicant for their masters program -- simply based on the assumption that a sociology major would probably take a lot more courses than a minor. (I took at least 13 upper division courses excluding labs for my major).

If only the extra 3 courses that you'll be taking, or a total of 12 courses, would be similar or equivalent to the total coursework of a sociology major at your alma mater or another other school (like you have mentioned), then you might still considered as a less competitive applicant compare to a regular sociology major applicant, with similar research experience and academic performance like yours. If I am in your shoes, I will apply for the next cycle (or even the cycle after) and I'll take as many sociology courses (hopefully graduate level courses/coursework?) as possible -- so that even though my degree is minor in sociology, I would have been exposed and learned just as much as (if not more than) a normal / regular sociology major. Hopefully by doing that adcoms won't look down on my minor as a watered down degree/certificate in sociology.

Edited June 22, 2012 by aberrant

[Rose22]

Thanks for the information! I'm hoping someone who did social sciences can chime in. It's quite funny, because I just finished my requirements for my Spanish major. I had to take 8 upper division courses in Spanish to major in it, and no more than 10 courses would count. The ironic bit is that once I have finished my degree, I'll have taken more upper division classes in my MINOR than I did in my declared major.

I really hope that I'll stand a chance in the admissions game.

[aberrant]

try to post your question here, you may get more response:

http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/46-sociology/