Please give me a serious answer.
What's a solid alternative degree to an M.A. in sociology?
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Depends what kind of job you want to get with it.
I dont know any jobs that would specifically and only want a sociology MA. Whereas a stats MA or a social work MA have a direct pipeline into careers.
If you're doing a masters to get a job, then the alternatives to sociology are statistics, social work, MPH, MPP, MPA etc (depends on the country you want to end up in also).
If you want an MA in sociology for itself -- this also can direct you to careers but I dont know what your criteria is for 'alternatives'.
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Save for the joy of learning or being in school, there is absolutely no reason why anybody should ever get a terminal MA in sociology, or a terminal MA in any non-applied field across the humanities and social sciences, for that matter.
Have to agree. Terminal MA means your hopes of a better job are dead.
Universities and programs push their students toward MAs with no real direction for grads afterwards. Those with applied focus are better situated generally just because they often have better ties with potential internships and employers.
MA training is good for many on the way to a PhD, but man, beyond that it has little value. I'm trying to help an MA candidate find a job in a city of about 250K, and it sucks to tell them that they basically are going to have to start at entry level in a state or university (non faculty) job, or go back and get a teaching certificate, or hold out for a hard to get community college job.
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Chicago's MCSS is brand new, so there's essentially no information about the job or admissions prospects of its graduates. I'd decide whether James Evans' work interests (or persuades) you, because the program is very much shaped by his tastes.
Chicago's MPSS program has been around for decades, and has some legitimacy as a stepping stone for a PhD in sociology. I don't know what its graduates who don't go on to a PhD wind up doing, but many do show up in top PhD programs later on.
Can't speak to Columbia's QMSS.
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QMSS will prepare you really well for a soc PhD program. If you can hack it...most soc PhDs couldn't take that many courses in stats that quickly and absorb it.
Is anyone here acquainted with Columbia's QMSS or Chicago's Masters in Computational Social Science?
Would they qualify as good alternatives for someone willing to consider a soc PhD later on but not ready to make a commitment yet?