Report of the Academic Program Review Committee (APRC) for the Department of Sociology
Review period FY2012-2014
Approved March 23, 2015
1. Quality, productivity and viability of the unit
Quality of the unit: The quality and productivity of the faculty and the quality of the undergraduate and
graduate programs of the Department of Sociology have steadily increased since its first self-study
review in 1995. Productivity has increased in spite of the loss of five research-active senior faculty. In
2012 the department had 22 faculty members: two professors, eight associate professors, eight
assistant professors, and four lecturers. New hires have been primarily at the rank of Assistant
Professor.
Productivity of the unit, research: During the review period, faculty members produced 72 journal
articles, giving an average of 3.21 articles per faculty member. In 2012, articles published in 2010 and
2011 were cited 166 times (own citations omitted) for an average article citation count of 6. Impact
factors for journal articles (Web of Knowledge) ranged from 0.2 to 3.74 where the average for the
journals in which faculty members publish was 1.52. The faculty published seven books, three of which
were new editions of previously published books, and eight chapters in scholarly books.
External funding, including a grant from NSF and one from NIH totaled $748,540, which is higher than
for faculty at peer departments. The department is interdisciplinary, with faculty members collaborating
with faculty in the Institute for Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies, the Gerontology Institute, the
Health Policy Center, and the School of Public Health. About half of the faculty’s research is focused on
addressing urban challenges.
Productivity of the unit, teaching: The outside reviewers indicated that the department faculty
members are known for their commitment to teaching and commended them for their efforts in
meeting the university goal to have all students regardless of their background succeed in higher
education. GTA-Bs teach many of the introductory and core courses. The graduate students who teach
are well trained and mentored. The credit hours generated by the department faculty remained fairly
consistent at about 11,600 per year during the self-study period.
Overall viability of the unit: The external reviewers acknowledged the impressive progress and current
level of excellence of the department and indicated that the department “has become, in less than two
decades, a force to be reckoned with in the broader discipline, but there is so much more it could do,
and should do, to build on” its previous successes.
Viability of undergraduate programs: The Department of Sociology has approximately 600
undergraduates, which is an increase of about 100 students since the last self-study. Few incoming
freshman declare sociology as their major, and most of the majors are either transfer students or
students choosing Sociology after taking departmental courses. The department majors are ethnically
diverse with an average high school GPA of 3.19 and average SAT score of 1000. The majority of the
majors receive financial aid from Pell Grants or Hope Scholarships. The graduation rates fell from 67% in
2009 to 33% in 2011 but increased to 43% in 2012. The reason for this was not discussed, and plans for
improving it were not provided.
On average, 18 different undergraduate courses are taught per year. Each instructor has complete
control of the course material. Courses have very few prerequisites, which means that students do not
take courses in increasing difficulty in sequence. It was stated that faculty teaching is innovative but
details were not provided. The student survey indicated that students were well satisfied with the
program but would like more diversity of electives to choose from and more opportunity to have
research experiences with faculty. The departmental advisor was credited with significantly enhancing
student progress and satisfaction. A Critical Thinking Through Writing (CTW) course is used in place of a
capstone course, and the designation for one of the CTW courses rotates among the advanced courses.
Only about 12 of the majors participate in the honors program per year. Undergraduate signature
experiences include paid research assistants on faculty funded projects, internships at off campus
organizations, and study abroad programs. However, relatively few undergraduate majors have
participated in these experiences.
Although learning outcome targets were met by the majority of the students, the self-study did not
reveal how assessment of learning outcomes was used to improve curricula.
Viability of the master’s program: The stand alone master’s program was eliminated in 2011 and
replaced with a combined BA/MA (2011) and an MA/PhD program begun in 2000. The five-year BA/MA
started accepting students in 2014 and is available only to exceptionally qualified undergraduates.
Viability of the PhD program: The national ranking of the graduate program by U.S. News and World
Report rose from a previous 93 to 76 in 2013. The department has 103 PhD students. Both the number
and quality of the PhD students increased during the self-study period. Students are accepted into one
of three concentrations: Race and Urban Studies; Family, Health, and Life Course; and Gender and
Sexuality. Since the last self-study, the number of required graduate courses was reduced from 20 to 16
to be more consistent with other programs in the discipline. Due to recent loss of senior faculty and the
increase in the number of graduate students, the student to graduate faculty ratio has increased from
3.4:1 to 4.7:1. Students who enter the MA/PhD program who do not already have a master’s degree
obtain one after two years.
Seven graduate students received stipends from extramural grants to faculty. A subset of PhD students
(32) has received funding to become instructors of record (GTA-B). A few others have varied higher
levels of funding from 2CI or Dean’s Office stipends, but many appear to get little or no funding or
teaching experience. The external reviewers indicated that this creates a detrimental two-tier system
among graduate students. The self-study did not reveal data about student publications except for one
on the teaching training program for GTAs developed by the department published by a faculty member
and three former students.
Learning outcome data were obtained but not analyzed by the department, and no information was
provided about how the data were used to improve the program. The graduate student survey indicated
a deficiency in available research opportunities and support for research, publication, and conference
presentations. The department graduated an average of seven PhD and three MA students per year
during the self-study period. The self-study did not reveal the average length of the PhD Program
although the longest one was 17 years. Eighty-six percent of the graduates of the graduate programs
were employed, with 46% in higher education.
2. Viability of the goals and recommendations
Goals of the unit:
1. Broaden the research base.
2. Become central to the university’s global and cities initiatives.
3. Enhance the educational experience of undergraduate majors.
4. Significantly strengthen the graduate program.
Recommendations of the external reviewers:
1. Create a Social Science Research Center as a means of enhancing innovation in scholarly
research.
2. Hire a new chair “who will provide leadership for the multi-method strengths and range of
sociological approaches” of the department. The need for a new chair arose after the self-study
was completed.
3. Enable greater program concentration flexibility to facilitate graduate student recruitment, to
be consistent with the directions of the discipline, and to enhance competiveness for funding.
Recommendations of the committee:
The APRC committee supports the recommendations of the external reviewers. We have the following
additional recommendations.
1. Take advantage of GSU’s capability of enforcing course prerequisites to restructure the BA and
BA/MA programs to enhance student success. Use assessment of learning outcomes to improve
curricula.
2. Develop more research opportunities for graduate students, which will likely require hiring more
faculty members or reducing the size of the PhD Program to obtain a more favorable student to
faculty member ratio. The proposed increase in undergraduate research opportunities with
faculty does not seem feasible in the context of the heavy load of faculty mentoring of graduate
student dissertation projects.
3. Obtain more internal and/or external funding through teaching and research for PhD students
to address the perceived two-tier approach to graduate student support and facilitate timely
completion of the PhD degree.
The committee believes that the goals of the Department of Sociology, recommendations of the
external reviewers, and recommendations of the committee are consistent with and supportive of the
GSU Strategic Plan.