Students can now apply to a new nine-month-long social science’s master’s degree program.
The first Master of Social Sciences Program, or MaSS, will begin fall 2017 and end in June 2018, according to an email announcement sent by UCLA Social Sciences interim dean Laura Gómez. The MaSS program will teach students how to take an interdisciplinary approach in problem-based social science research.
Students in the program will learn how to take a social problem, translate that into a research question and investigate, design and analyze the problem, said Juliet Williams, a gender studies professor and chair of the social science interdisciplinary program.
[Related: Writing center opens new branch catering to social science students]
The social sciences department created a committee several years ago to research what a program like this would require and what the curriculum could be, Williams said. The program was approved last year.
“We were inspired to find a new way to harness the significant strengths that UCLA has across the social sciences and wanted to take the opportunity to resync social sciences in 21st century,” Williams said.
The program plans to enroll 25 students per year. Students in the program will take three courses in the fall, winter and spring each. Seven of those courses were created specifically for the program, and two will be elective opportunities provided by departments in the division of social sciences.
Students in the program will also participate in collaborative research projects and receive hands on research training in working with a variety of research datasets.
Williams said the program will also develop students’ ability to research complex social problems and communicate effectively.
“If we are going to, as social scientists, develop a new deeper understanding of social phenomenon and design interventions that make a real and lasting impact on the world, we need to have interdisciplinary fluency,” William said.
She added the program will make students more attractive doctoral applicants and help them get jobs when they graduate.
“Whether you are thinking about Ph.D. or entering the workforce having the training and the credentialing that this M.A. confers is going to give you a tremendous leg up,” Williams said.
Williams said she thinks potential employers from the marketing, social entrepreneurship, government, and entertainment industries are enthusiastic about the program.
[Related: Student awarded Library Prize for research in sciences, arts and humanities]
MaSS will host an open house Nov. 30 where students will be able to learn more about the program. Applications are open until April 30.