Student Research Projects

A key component of faculty involvement in student education is the opportunity for students to work directly with faculty on research. The Department of Sociology has been particularly involved in collaborative research with students.

Professor Huggins has worked with students to develop a research grant on the underclass in Schenectady. She has conducted research with students in São Paulo, Brazil, and has directed Senior Theses on such field research topics as urban gangs, prostitutes, and Latinos/as in Schenectady.

Professor Kaplan has conducted research with Union students on fishing communities and marine life. They have worked together at Union and at the Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institute on Cape Cod. Her students have also conducted research with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and human service agencies in the Capital District of New York State.

Students may conduct research as part of an Internship in Human Services.

There are opportunities to engage in supervised and collaborative research with faculty over the summer through the Dana Foundation Summer Fellowships.

Dana interns have helped Professor Huggins conduct research about political systems.

Student Dana interns worked on Professor Kaplan's Marine Policy research at the Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institute on Cape Cod.

Summer Research Opportunities

Financial support has come to many departmental majors through Union's Internal Education Foundation (IEF). Some have used this money to conduct research in Arizona, Miami, and Brazil. IEF funding has also supported students' local research projects.

A social sciences computer laboratory provides both stand-alone and micro-computer capability and access to the College's VAX cluster. This is in addition to the college-wide network of computer terminals.

Sociology Senior Thesis

The Department's two-term Senior Thesis project gets all majors involved in field and/or survey research. The Department keeps examples of completed theses on file.

Some of the topics being researched by our 2002-2003 academic year seniors are:

Ross Appleton- Misplaced Activism: The Failure of the United Nations and Other Relief Organizations to Adequately Address and Augment the Somali Crisis

Vanessa Berman- Conflict Resolution Services (CRS): Discrepancies between organizational goals and client-service outcomes

Melissa Cistoldi- Loose Networks, Strong Norms: Comparing Al Queda and the Mafia

Angie DeSilva- A Study of Whether Motivations for Belief in God Impact Mental Health

Anil Gupta- Human Experimentation in Nazi Germany, Japan and the United States - It’s Societal and Ethical Implications

Robyn Kurland- Fighting to Be: Understanding the Complex Nature of Black Female Activism in the United States Today

Dan Lombreglia- The Growing Use of Sports Supplements Among College Athletes: An Exploration of the Causes and Consequences

Sarah Osowski- The Effects of the Family and the School on Children’s Educational Achievement and Attainment

Michael Rosenthal- Programs and Policies: The United States Fight Against Organized Crime

Erica Scopetti- The Short and Long-term Effects of Maternal Employment on Daughters

Lauren Selchick- Alternate Dispute Resolution: An Examination of youth court programs as a mechanism for coping with juvenile delinquency

Jamera Simmons- Bigger Than Hip Hop

Sanya Spooner- Elderly Care in Jamaica: A Comparative Study of Urban and Rural Nursing Home Care Delivery

Abby West- Binge Drinking: Does Athletic Participation Make a Difference?

Kelly Whalen- It's 3:00 do you know where your kids are and what they're doing?
Jessi Wisoff- Title IX, Women's Athletics and Self Esteem

Adriana Zavala- Pollution, Danger and Sex: What is the Japanese approach to AIDS?

Click here to view the Senior Thesis Guidelines.