Department of Sociology | University of Maryland

Coordinator: Suzanne Bianchi | (301) 405-6409 | sbianchi@socy.umd.edu

The Gender, Work, and Family specialization investigates the relationship between the sociology of gender and the two closely related fields of family sociology and the sociology of work. It is the focus on the intersection of these established fields of study as a coherent whole that makes the Gender, Work, and Family specialty an innovative program. Students have the opportunity to take courses and engage in research on the connections among gender, work, and family and pursue a specialization that is unique among American departments of sociology.

A major strength of the Gender, Work, and Family specialty is the breadth of teaching and research interests represented among its core faculty. Faculty members’ expertise spans the areas of Political Economy (particularly Development and Social Stratification), Social Demography, Social Psychology, Race and Ethnicity, Military Sociology and Theory. This greatly facilitates the examination of Gender, Work, and Family issues at different levels of analysis (e.g., macro versus micro) and from a variety of perspectives (e.g., socioeconomic, demographic, social psychological, theoretical). It also encourages attention to diversity along economic and racial lines and emphasizes the importance of international comparisons in the study of gender, work, and family.

Faculty Interests

The faculty members active in the area include Suzanne Bianchi, Patricia Hill Collins, Sonalde Desai, Bonnie Dill (Women’s Studies), Sandra Hofferth (Family Studies), Joan Kahn, Bart Landry, Annette Lareau, Laura Mamo, Melissa Milkie, Harriet Presser, Mady Segal, and Reeve Vanneman.

Faculty include those whose research and teaching combines the study of gender with the study of development (Desai, Vanneman), social psychology (Milkie, Segal), social demography (Bianchi, Desai, Kahn, Presser, Vanneman), social stratification (Bianchi, Landry, Lareau, Vanneman), race and ethnicity (Collins, Dill, Landry), military sociology (Segal), and theory (Collins, Mamo).

Academic Program

The core course of this specialty area, which will normally be taken first, is SOCY 644: Gender, Work, and Family. For the Ph.D. specialization in this area, SOCY 644 is required, as well as at least two courses from the following:

SOCY 635 Social Aspects of Fertility
SOCY 637 Demography of the Labor Force

SOCY 640 Population Policy in Social Context

SOCY 641 Work and Family Policy
SOCY 651 Gender and Development
SOCY 652 Diversity in the Military
SOCY 653 Family Demography
SOCY 654 Military Families
SOCY 665 Gender Stratification
SOCY 682 Race, Gender, and Class
SOCY 699 Race, Gender, and Nationalism
SOCY 858 Research Seminar in Gender, Work, and Family

Or an equivalent course in Women’s Studies (taught by Dill) or in Family Studies (taught by Sandra Hofferth) with approval of the specialty area coordinator.

Students are encouraged to take more than three courses in the specialty area to prepare themselves for research and teaching in this area and for the specialty area exam. They are also generally expected to take their two elective courses outside the other specialty area in which they are concentrating (e.g., a student specializing in Demography and Gender, Work, and Family is encouraged to take two courses from the above list that are outside the area of demography). This is to enhance a student’s exposure to issues and perspectives in the study of Gender, Work, and Family.

Graduate students have the opportunity to augment their study of gender issues (and enhance future employment prospects) by obtaining a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies (in addition to their degree in Sociology). The Certificate requires a minimum of 18 credit hours: a core requirement of 9 credit hours (WMST 601 Advanced Feminist Theory, WMST 611 Power, Gender, and the Spectrum of Difference, WMST 621 Women’s Studies Across the Disciplines) and 9 additional credits chosen in consultation with their Women’s Studies graduate advisor. (NOTE: Students must apply to the Women’s Studies Graduate Certificate Program; applications are considered twice a year (April 15 and November 15).

Graduate Student Research Opportunities and Employment

A specialization in Gender, Work, and Family will qualify students to teach a number of attractive and popular sociology courses. These include mainstays of many sociology programs, such as family sociology, gender and society, and work and the family. Research opportunities in each of these areas are also exceptionally good and are likely to remain so in the future. Additionally, those who choose to pursue the Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies enhance their employment prospects in Women’s Studies programs.