Overview
Students in the Sociology, Human Services, and Crime Studies Department can develop their teaching and research skills through one-on-one experiential learning opportunities with faculty. Assistantships come in the form of Research Assistantships or Teaching Assistantships. Independent Studies can be taken at multiple levels. A Senior Thesis is an entire research project that fulfills the capstone requirement of our majors. We recommend students considering graduate school complete a Senior Thesis.
As the Chronicle of Higher Education notes, “Engaging in research as an undergraduate has been shown to foster meaningful mentoring relationships, raise retention and graduation rates, and increase the odds of enrolling in graduate school and finding employment, according to the Council on Undergraduate Research.” (see the full article: A New Way to Build Belonging: Freshman Research).
Types of Individual Experiences
A Teaching Assistant is someone who has taken a course, performed well, and now has something to offer other students taking the same course. A TA is a resource for helping students learn good study habits, effectively work on projects and papers, lead discussions, give presentations, and fulfill other needs in the classroom as determined by the Professor. Undergraduate students are not involved in grading their peers.
In the Sociology, Human Services, and Crime Studies Department, any course is potentially open to including a TA. However, there is a need for help with Social Research Methods (2009), Research and Analysis (3009), and Sociological Theory (3005)—the core coursework.
Often the Professor will take the lead and request you to become a TA, but it is also possible for you, the student, to take the initiative and ask to become a TA. You must have a professor and a course in mind to setup the TA. To qualify you must have received at least a B in the course and have Junior standing.
A Research Assistantship is when a student wishes to participate in and support a research project that is led by a faculty member. Most of the faculty on campus are active scholars and getting involved in their projects may lead to presentations at professional conferences and possible publication in peer-reviewed journals or book chapters.
An Individual Course Enrollment (ICE) allows students to take a course that is in the academic catalog, but not listed on the schedule as being offered in the desired semester. You take the course as an individual enrollment rather than joining a section with other students.
The following courses are always available for ICEs:
- SOC 2008 Social Science Journal (3 s.h.): this course allows you to participate in running the undergraduate journal, SOAR.
If you would like to take a course not listed, please reach out to the Professor who teaches the course or to the Department Chair to inquire about the ICE.
An Independent Study differs from a Research Assistantship because it involves a project led by the student with the support of a faculty member—the roles reverse. An independent study may be taken at the 2XXX or 3XXX levels. At the 4XXX level, we suggest the Senior Thesis option as a capstone course (see below).
A Senior Thesis acts much like an upper-division Independent Study but also works as a capstone course. It also allows students to graduate with honors in the major. Any student wishing to pursue a Senior Thesis must have already been a Teaching and/or Research Assistant and have Senior standing.
Please visit our Internships page for more information.
Sign-Up
When you have created your individual experience with the department, you can begin the paperwork with the University.
You apply for your credit here:
(Click Individual Course Enrollments to begin)
Here is a helpful tutorial to assist you with Individual course Enrollments: video tutorial
Funding Opportunities
There are several opportunities for students to receive financial support for their individualized work.
Please visit: Student Grant Program for Research & Creative Activity | SUNY Oneonta