Academic Advising

Student academic advising is a continuous process in the department. Undergraduate advisers are available for consultation throughout the academic year. The department recommends that students check the program requirements in the department office before filing the Declaration of Major form. Undergraduate majors are encouraged to consult with the department to establish a tentative plan of study and to meet with a department advisor each semester. Students should leave their mail and e-mail addresses with the department office so that they can receive notifications concerning the class time table, new classes, and other departmental information of interest to majors.

 

Financial Assistance

Students can receive financial assistance through various campus scholarships, loan programs, grants and the work-study program. Students who are interested should contact the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office.

 

Sociology Club and Honor Society

The Sociology Club is open to all students majoring in Sociology as well as students who are interested in this field but have not yet declared a major. Club activities include service projects in the community, sponsorship of community speakers on campus, participation in local and regional professional meetings, and learning about internships and research opportunities. The department has a chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta, a national honorary society for Sociology students.

 

Special Student Award

A special award was established as a memorial to Edward Tomich, Ph.D., professor of Sociology from 1964 to 1976. On the recommendation of the department faculty, the Edward Tomich Award is given annually to a senior student majoring in Sociology who exemplifies an indomitable spirit; a commitment to the struggle for human welfare; an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and personal growth; an unwillingness to be cowed by authority or the superficialities of status; a readiness to ask the more difficult questions while being ready to accept the uncertainty of answers; and an appreciation of the value of theoretical knowledge about human interaction in everyday life.

 

Cooperative Programs

The department cooperates with several other programs on the campus by jointly listing courses at the undergraduate level. Students may benefit from combining one of these areas of study with their major:

• Black Studies
• Family Studies
• Gerontology
• Honors program
• Urban Studies
• Women's and Gender Studies
• Criminal Justice & Criminology
• Latina/Latino Studies Program

Center on Aging Studies

Haag Hall, Room 208
(816) 235-1744
http://cas.umkc.edu/AgingStudies/  

The Center on Aging Studies, which is part of the College of Arts and Sciences, is an interdisciplinary unit concerned with education, research, resource development and community activities designed to understand and improve living conditions of the older population. Among the areas of research and training are health care systems and health promotion, caregiving, grandparents raising grandchildren, volunteerism, intergenerational relationships, Social Security, social identity and self development, and aging in other cultures. The Center seeks to bridge the gap between knowledge and its application in the development of services and policies.

The Center, in conjunction with the College of Arts and Sciences Continuing Education Division, administers an undergraduate minor and a graduate certificate program in Gerontology. Students interested in this area of study should contact the Center on Aging Studies at (816) 235-1744.

The Center on Aging Studies has built on its location in the heartland with emphasis on issues of aging in rural and urban areas. The Center works closely with the University of Missouri Extension throughout the state.