DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY, CRIMINOLOGY, AND ANTHROPOLOGY

There are numerous scholarship opportunities available to students, both through the university, the College of Letters and Sciences and the Sociology, Criminology, and Anthropology Department. To make life a little easier, all of the university's scholarship applications and requirement listings are available online.

• Hadley G. Klug Memorial Scholarship
• Michael T. Remer Sr Criminology Scholarship
• Dean Goza Sociology Scholarship
• Chuck and Martha Heinrich Scholarship

• The J.T. von Trebra Outstanding Senior Award (A formal plaque of recognition given in honor of an achievement)
• The Patricia Searles Outstanding Junior Award (A formal plaque of recognition given in honor of an achievement)

Student Interests and Presentations

With the department including Sociology, Criminology and Anthropology, the research that students are involved in is quite diverse! Check out what students are studying and how many of them got involved by utilizing the grants and fellowships provided by the Undergraduate Research Program here at UW-Whitewater. See website for a list of all grant and fellowship opportunities and deadlines. Students have presented their research at local, regional, and national conferences.

Alumni Graduate Studies

Several students graduating from our department have gone on to get their Master's and Ph.D. degrees in graduate schools. Undergraduate research is a great jumping off point for graduate education.

Career Triads for Sociology and Criminology Majors

Criminal Justice Organization

The Criminal Justice Organization (CJO) is a student-run organization for any student interested in the study of criminology, criminal justice, or any profession in the criminal justice field. You need not be a major in criminology to join. As will most student organizations, it is free to join, and you may attend meetings and events that suit your schedule. Events over the years have included things like Narcan training, exploring and processing a mock crime scene, CPR/AED training, finger-printing and canine unit demos, gun safety, coffee with police officers, field trips to prisons and/or drug courts, and presentations by FBI field office agents, county medical examiners, domestic violence reduction advocates, criminologists, and more. The group meets 1-2 times per month, and they include social outings as well.

UWW Empower

Some students have trouble finding a job and FALSELY think the solution is to keep going to school. They think that graduate school is just a continuation of their undergraduate education and will magically result in a good job. Here are some things to keep in mind.

Graduate and professional schools vary greatly. There are master's and doctorate degrees in many fields (Criminology, Sociology, Anthropology, etc.) and professional schools (Public Health, Law). Getting accepted and the intensity of the program vary widely. Some (e.g., master's degree in local university) are not too competitive but others are extremely difficult to enter and very expensive ($40-50,000 per year tuition). Do not think that going to graduate school as just an extra year or two of your undergraduate education.

Getting into a top graduate or professional school is very competitive. Top graduate or professional schools get dozens more applicants with GPA's over 3.8 than they can accept. A high GPA may get your "foot in the door" but you need more to be competitive. You also need high scores on the GRE (Graduate Record Exam), LSAT or similar standardized test, several very good letters of reference from professors who really know you, and some experience doing an undergraduate research project. A low GPA (i.e., defined as about 3.0 overall) means you might be able to get into a small, low-prestige graduate program. Just remember, the better the graduate program, the harder it is to get in, but the better the chances of you being able to land a good job afterwards.

A graduate or professional degree is not a job guarantee. Some people with master's degrees, law degrees and PhD's have trouble finding jobs. There are PhDs driving taxis because they did not go to a top graduate school, do extremely well in graduate school, and master the professional academic way of life. While there are unemployed people with master's dgrees and PhDs, but not as many as unemployed people with bachelor's degrees. Adding more degrees is not a simple solution to starting a good career, it is only one part of the puzzle.

Know what you want to do. Graduate and professional schools seek bright and highly motivated people who have a good sense of their direction in life. Directionless people rarely succeed and they tend to "wash out" and leave graduate school without a degree. If you are going to graduate school "because there was nothing better to do" the odds of success are low. You need a clear vision, a plan, very strong work ethic, and a passion to learn if you are to succeed.

Do your research and be prepared to relocate. The state of Wisconsin has two PhD programs in Sociology, and one (UW-Milwaukee) is small and only a few years old. The other PhD program is at UW-Madison. It is usually rated in the top 5 - in the world. It accepts top students from anywhere and gives no preference to students from Wisconsin. While there are about 200 PhD programs in a field like Sociology (far fewer in Criminology or Anthropology), they vary a lot by prestige, specialization, how graduate students are treated, etc. Some graduate schools fund almost no incoming students, others give 90% of their accepted students financial aid or related job on campus.You should write to multiple graduate schools to get information, visit the graduate schools to talk with faculty and students, and ask your professors or people in the career that is your goal as part of the process of deciding where to go.

Be ready for the long haul and intense work. A master's or law degree involves 2-3 years of intense work. PhD programs typically require 5-8 years full-time beyond the bachelor's degree. In more prestigious, stronger programs the work load can be intense. A beginning graduate-level course might require 3-4 times of the work/effort as an upper-level course at the undergraduate level on the same topic. There are a lot of essay tests and research papers, with few if any multiple choice tests. The PhD is a research degree, so you better enjoy doing research if your goal is the PhD. Self-confidence, organization, and good writing and speaking skills are important for success in graduate school as in most areas of professional life.

Start early. Most graduate schools award scholarships, fellowships, teaching assistants, etc. only to early applicants. Most graduate schools only accept students in fall, and they often have deadlines in January. This means you need to start the process of applying about a year in advance of your date of entry. Ideally, you need to start thinking seriously about graduate school by your junior year of college if you plan to begin a graduate program, law school or similar program the fall after graduation.

You can download and print off this information here [PDF]

The Department has a very active internship program that has been in operation for over three decades. Interested students can be placed in internships in a variety of occupational settings. The internships, which are taken by a majority of majors, enable students to gain valuable employment experience and learn to apply classroom knowledge to solving real-world social problems. 

Internship Opportunities

Business Management and Marketing - The Department has some limited internship opportunities in the business management/marketing field. In the past we have placed students with the City of Whitewater, Generac, Verlo Mattress, etc.
Investigation (non-law enforcement) - The Department has internship placement opportunities for students interested in non-law enforcement investigation careers. In the past we have placed students with the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, Wisconsin Office of the Public Defender, and other private security companies.
Juveniles - The Department has internship placement opportunities for students interested in working with juveniles both involved and not involved in the corrections system. In the past we have placed students with the Milwaukee County Juvenile Services, Rock County Juvenile Diversion Program, Rock County Juvenile Probation, Walworth County Restorative Justice Program, Mentoring Positives, Opportunities Incorporated, Boys and Girls Club and YMCA.
Adult Probation/Parole - The Department has internship placement opportunities for students in adult probation/parole careers. In the past we have placed students with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (Probation/Parole Services) across Wisconsin and State of Illinois.
Human Resource Management - The Department has some limited internship opportunities in the human resources field. In the past we have placed students with the City of Whitewater, Beloit, Community Action, as well as other private human resource firms.
Law Enforcement (local, state, and federal) - Investigation (non-law enforcement) - The Department has internship placement opportunities for students interested in law enforcement careers. In the past we have placed students with numerous Wisconsin cities, as well as County Sheriff's Offices, and some limited Federal agencies (i.e., U.S. Marshal's Service).
Paralegal - The  Department has some limited internship opportunities in the paralegal field. In the past we have placed students with the Rock County Circuit Court, Wisconsin Department of Safety & Professional Services, Wisconsin Office of the Public Defender and private law firms.
Public Health - The Department has some limited internship opportunities in public health. In the past we have placed students with the Huntington Place, Stoughton Hospital, Community Action.

Interested in an Internship?

Students must have completed 85 credits of university coursework, including some coursework related to their internship, and have an overall GPA of 2.0 or higher. Internships are assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Yes, the following are internship deadlines:
I want a Fall internship-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐Must meet with Internship Coordinator on or before April 30
I want a Spring internship-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐Must meet with Internship Coordinator on or before October 16
I want a Summer internship-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐Must meet with Internship Coordinator on or before February 12

Yes and No. While a student can initiate a preliminary discussion with a proposed agency, the Internship Coordinator must work out all the details, review, and approve of an internship placement. You must meet with the coordinator even if you have made some initial contacts and have ideas about a possible placement.

Students may use up to 6 internship credits towards their major, and an additional 6 credits toward the 120 credits needed for graduation. Typically, students receive 3 credits for every 10 hours per week of internship work, with most students working 20 hours per week.

Yes, students must register for SOC 493 credits during their internship. Students must receive permission from the department to register for SOC 493. Internship credits are taken on a pass/fail basis.

Most commutes to agencies are between 20-45 minutes.

Yes, you will be enrolled in an online course while completing your internship. As an intern, your primary job is completing your weekly internship hours and doing a good job at your placement site. For the class component of your internship, you will keep a weekly log documenting your activities as an intern, write two reflection papers about their experiences as an intern, create a LinkedIn account, and meet twice with the internship coordinator during the semester.