Admission Requirements

The coursework may include classes in other graduate programs such as public administration, education and criminal justice. All course work for the Master of Arts degree in sociology may be taken on the Colorado Springs campus, although students may, at their option, take up to 8 credits of appropriate and approved courses at the Denver or Boulder campuses.

Admission to the M.A. program at Colorado Springs, however, does not relate to admission to the graduate programs at Denver and Boulder.

Admission Requirements

Fall application deadline is February 1st for fellowship consideration and April 15th  if not. Spring application deadline is November 15th.

Students are required to submit a complete application by the deadline dates. A complete application includes an application, letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, and transcripts from all institutions of higher education attended by the student. If an applicant does not have a complete application submitted by the deadline date, their application will not be considered for admission. It is the applicants responsibility to contact the UCCS Sociology program to determine if a complete application is on file.

Admission as a Regular Degree Student:

To be admitted as a regular degree student, an applicant must have:

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university or have completed work equivalent for such a degree and equivalent to the degree given at this University
• An undergraduate overall grade-point average of at least 3.00*
• Adequate preparation to begin graduate study in sociology
• Show promise for advanced study and research, as judged by the applicant's previous scholastic record

Streamlined Application

The Streamlined Application is designed to offer outstanding UCCS students and alumni an expedited application to graduate school in participating programs.

If you are interested in applying, please fill out the regular application. Once you select that you have previously attended UCCS, it will ask you if you will be submitting the streamlined application.

Submit the application, a $60 non-refundable application fee, and all required supporting documents. 

Requirements for Streamlined Applications:

• Must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25 and minimum program specific GPA of 3.33
• Must be about to graduate or graduated in the last 3 years
• Application requires a goal statement

Admission is streamlined pending review of application by departmental faculty. No letters of recommendation are required. Please follow this link from the UCCS Graduate School website to download the form.

Aligned Majors

The sociology graduate program will accept aligned majors from Anthropology, Geography and WEST. These students do not need to complete any additional courses beyond the four we already require to submit the Intent application.

International Students

Sociology MA Students:

• Paper Based TOEFL: 600
• Internet Based TOEFL: 100
• IELTS: 7
• Accepts ELS Level-12 and ACT Compass (270): no
• Conditional Admission: no
• Others/ Exemptions: none
• Need GRE/ GMAT: No
• Contact: Jeffrey Montez de Oca, Rosemary Kelbel

Upon the successful completion of your online application, you will receive a private link to upload each foreign post-secondary transcript from institutions you have attended. These transcripts must include all courses and grades, must be issued in the original language, and be accompanied by certified English translations when applicable.  This service is provided at no cost for UCCS applicants.  More details will be communicated to you via email after we received your completed application. Please make sure to check your email for the uploading instructions.

English Requirement for International Students:

Please see the UCCS Graduate School webpage about language proficiency requirements.

 Background: 
Accepting ACT Compass & ELS and offering conditional admissions may potential increase the international student applications.

 ACT Compass Test (270/300) and ELS (Level 112) are equivalent to TOFEL(80/120) and IELTS (6.5/9) at the undergraduate level and at the College of Engineering and College of Business. ACT Compass test is our own English proficiency test for UCCS Intensive English Program. ELS is the world-largest English Proficiency Training School where UCCS has agreement with. Level 112 is their highest level.  

Conditional Admissions is offered at undergraduate level and some graduate programs. Conditional Acceptance allows each department review students' application without their language score. Many of sponsored International students need the conditional letter to apply for their scholarships from home country. All the conditional admitted students have to submit the passing English Proficiency Score in order to get full admissions and study at UCCS.

Application Process

• Applications are submitted to the UCCS Graduate School website online.
• Submit three letters of recommendation from instructors at academic institutions. If academic recommendations cannot be secured, please contact the graduate director to determine under what circumstances letters from past or current employers would be acceptable. In addition, students must address in their statement of purpose why three letters of references could not be secured from academics and briefly describing the people who are writing the letters of recommendation and their relationship to the applicant.
• Be recommended for admission to the regular degree status by the Graduate Faculty in the Department of Sociology

Fee Waiver Process

The sociology department provides a waiver for the application fee only to students applying to the Public Administration, MPA/Sociology MA Dual Degree program. The department does not provide a waiver for any other reason.

Statement of Purpose

As part of the application process students are required to write a statement of purpose. It is required that the statement of purpose have one inch margins, double spaced, 12 inch font and be at least two pages long. In addition, the  file should be saved as an MS Word file and will be uploaded as part of the online application. Students should strive to write a persuasive statement of purpose that makes an argument that the applicant is an ideal candidate for the UCCS Sociology program.

The following are suggested content: the statement might identify why an applicant desires to study Sociology and explain which areas (theory, research methods, or substantive areas) they want to focus their studies. The document could also show how achieving an MA degree for the UCCS Sociology program fits with personal and professional goals. An applicant may also identify which faculty they would want to take courses from and explain why. If a potential student is interested in developing research skills to become a stronger Ph.D. applicant, they could identify which faculty they want to work with.

Admission as a Provisional Degree Student

Students are notified of provisional status via their email acceptance letter sent by the graduate director. Students may be admitted provisionally for the following reasons:

1. An undergraduate major in a field other than sociology
2. Undergraduate record shows strong potential but the student struggled with core classes essential for successful completion of a graduate degree in Sociology at UCCS
3. Cumulative undergraduate GPA is below 3.0

Students admitted provisionally in categories 1 and 2 must complete the provisional course(s) listed in their acceptance letter (SOC 5150 Modern Social Theory and/or SOC 5020 Proseminar in Social Statistics) prior to Graduate Theory (SOC 5160) and/or Research Methods (SOC 5070). Students admitted provisionally under category 3 must maintain an overall 3.0 GPA or higher for their first 9 units and take at least one core course each of their first two semesters, which can include the advanced methods courses; SOC 5050 does not fulfill this provision.

Students in categories 1 and 2 are required to pass provisional courses with a B+ or better and must take these courses in their first semester at UCCS. Provisional students cannot work as teaching/research assistants and are not permitted to take more than five credit hours per semester. Students can only take provisional course(s) once and only are permitted to withdraw from the class if there is a special dispensations (i.e., medical and/or family reasons). Failure to attempt to complete the provisional courses within the first semester will result in the student's dismissal from the graduate program. If extenuating circumstances exist that hampers the student's ability to complete a provisional course(s) in the first semester, students can secure a one-time exemption from the graduate director. Upon completion of the provisional requirements, students are no longer considered provisional students and can work as teaching/research assistants and enroll in more than five credit hours.

People that apply under category 3 should address their GPA in their cover letter and how they will maintain academic excellence in the UCCS Sociology Master’s program. Although not required, they may also choose to submit additional supporting documents such as a writing sample, GRE scores, or other evidence of potential success in graduate studies.

Course Load Policy

To help ensure the success of graduate students, the UCCS Sociology Department requires students enroll in no more than ten (10) credit hours per semester. Students who desire to take more than ten (10) credit hours will need to meet with the Graduate Director for approval.

Transfer Credits

No more than eight (8) semester hours from other accredited institutions or in non-degree coursework may be transferred toward the master's degree in Sociology at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. All transfer credits must be cognate to Sociology and approved by the Sociology Department and the Graduate School by the beginning of the semester prior to that in which the student will graduate. All transfer credit hours must be graduate credit hours and completed within six years of the start of course work. If a student completes a graduate course at another institution and wants to transfer the credits into the UCCS Sociology program, the course term for the transfer credits at the other institution is considered the start date of course work. Work done earlier will not be accepted for the degree unless validated by a special examination covering the content areas of the course.

Plagiarism Policy

According to the UCCS LAS Plagiarism Policy, plagiarism is the use of distinctive ideas or words belonging to another person, without adequately acknowledging that person's contribution. Below is the UCCS sociology's departmental policy regarding plagiarism: 

• First offense-the professor has the discretion to at the minimum assign zero points for the assignment and report the offense to the Dean's office.
• Second offense-a student will fail the course and be placed on departmental probation. 
• Third offense-will result in a student's expulsion from the graduate sociology program.

Five-Year Program

The traditional MA program in Sociology is designed to allow completion in one year (fall, spring and summer semesters) of full-time study by those who have a strong background in Sociology. The possibility of completing the MA degree with only a fifth year of study is enhanced for students who complete appropriate graduate level courses while an undergraduate, if these courses are not counted toward the total number of hours required for completing the BA degree. Students may apply for up to eight hours of such course work to be counted toward fulfilling the MA requirements, in much the same manner as graduate credits earned in graduate programs in other departments may be transferred toward the MA degree in sociology.

Financial Assistance

A limited number of graduate assistant-ships for new and continuing students are available from the Sociology Department. These are awarded on the basis of both need and merit in compensation for assisting with departmental programs of instruction and research. Contact the Sociology Office for application forms and deadlines. Additional support in terms of financial aid and scholarship be available from the Graduate School https://www.uccs.edu/finaid/eliginfo/grad