Major Requirements: The Bachelor of Arts in Sociology requires 42 hours of major courses, which include a combination of different sociology classes, and some global studies, criminology, and psychology. In addition, students choose 9 hours of career-emphasis elective courses that help prepare them for future interests, such as graduate school or their career path in sociology.

Electives: Students complete 24 hours of elective courses in any area of study they choose. These courses do not have to relate to the major.

General Education Requirements: The degree requires 54 hours of general education courses that students complete over four years in addition to their major courses and electives.

View and download the full degree plan for our Sociology major (PDF).

A few examples of courses students in this major take:      

Self and Society – Sociology is the study of how groups, organizations, and individuals behave in society.  In this course you will learn how to ask sociological questions and analyze social life to understand how things like culture, socialization, power relations, social institutions and group interaction affect individuals. 

Beauty, Bodies, and Sexuality – What is the definition of a “normal” and “beautiful” body? How do age, gender, race, social class, sexual orientation, and sexuality shape how bodies are perceived and treated? In this course you will examine these questions, as well as others, through an analysis of the historical and contemporary beliefs and social norms associated with beauty and sexuality.

Families and Intimate Relationships – Sociology is based on the idea that society organizes people’s lives and that individual experiences both reflect and reproduce cultural ideals and patterns. In this course you will explore how the family as a social institution interacts with other institutions and how these larger processes (economic, political, global) shape family, as well as how individual family experiences shape the social world.

What You Will Learn

Study institutions like family, politics and religion, and how power is distributed in society. Sociology helps you understand why some groups maintain the status quo while others upend and reshape society. It helps you see an event like a crime wave as the tip of an iceberg and identify the larger social and historical forces at work under the surface.

Research

Sociology majors learn methods for conducting research to understand social phenomena. You’ll have the opportunity to present your work at the St. Edward’s Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression or at a professional academic conference, where you can learn about the careers in research and academia and build your network.

Internships

All Sociology majors complete an internship of at least 75 hours at a community organization with a mission focused on some form of social justice. Here is where you will apply your knowledge of social inequality; diversity and inclusion; critical thinking; effective communication; and social justice. Sociology majors recently have interned at the following sites:

• Texas Civil Rights Project 
• People Organize in Defense of Earth and her Resources (PODER) 
• Austin Partners in Education 
• Casa Marianella 
• Urban Roots 
• Autism Society of Austin 
• Breakthrough Central Texas 
• Youth Advocacy 
• Posada Esperanza 
• Texas Victims Services Association 
• Mothers Against Drunk Driving 
• Trinity Center 
• Girls Rock Camp! – Austin
• Interfaith Action of Central Texas 
• Youth Rise Texas 
• Communities in Schools 
• Grassroots Leadership 
• Go Austin/Vamos Austin 
• The SAFE Alliance
• Texas Advocacy Project 
• YWCA 
• Sierra Club 
• Mujeres Inspiradas en Sueños, Metas y Acciones
• Minorities for Equality in Economy, Education, Liberty and Justice Center 
• National Alliance on Mental Illness

Service Opportunities

Campus Ministry offers numerous service programs open to all students, regardless of major or religious affiliation. Give back to your community and learn about real-world efforts to address the challenges you’ve learned about in class.

S.E.R.V.E Austin is a weekly, semester-long volunteer commitment at a specific site where you’ll develop relationships with immigrants and refugees, children at an after-school program, young adults working on their GED, the elderly or the formerly homeless.

S.E.R.V.E. 1 Day events are Saturday-morning programs that include breakfast, transportation to the site, lunch and a reflection. These one-day projects often involve physical labor, like cleaning up a park, removing invasive species or painting a school.

Service Break Experiences give you the chance to travel to another community, volunteer and learn about local life. SBEs are built on ongoing relationships between St. Edward’s and the service location and require students to prepare – educationally and spiritually – for several months beforehand. The trips incorporate structured reflections so you’ll integrate what you’ve learned and use it to fuel your charity and justice work going forward. A hallmark of SBEs is their emphasis on living simply – you’ll leave your phone and other luxuries behind.

Students who are interested in learning more about the science of human interaction or who will benefit from the expanded perspective in their chosen career should consider pursuing a minor in Sociology. The Sociology minor requires 18 hours of coursework.

Students who minor in Sociology are required to take the following courses:

• Self and Society
• Social Theory
• Topics in Sociology
• Race, Class and Gender
• Two upper-division sociology courses

At St. Edward’s, our faculty are outstanding scholars, practitioners, teachers and mentors who bring energy and enthusiasm to our vibrant learning community. They take pride in getting to know you, helping you achieve your goals and celebrating your successes.

View a list of our faculty members and their contact information on the Department of Applied Behavioral Analysis, Criminal Justice, Social Work, and Sociology webpage.

This major is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). To meet accreditation standards, students are required to apply for and undertake a social work field internship, demonstrate competencies in 9 core areas, complete a portfolio and participate in an exit interview prior to graduation. Please see the Social Work Major Degree Requirements (PDF) and the Social Work Program Student Handbook (PDF) for additional information, or contact Social Work Program Director Dr. Laurie Cook Heffron, LMSW, at lheffron@stedwards.edu.

An Application for Admission is required before proceeding to upper-division social work courses. Applications must be submitted to the program director on or before October 1 in fall and February 1 in spring. The application, self-assessment form, and Code of Conduct are available online and as a PDF. You can also download it as a Word document.

What You Will Learn

You’ll learn professional ethics that will guide you through difficult decisions, as well as strategies for taking care of yourself while you help other people.

Experiential Learning

You’ll get out into the field right away. Your Introduction to Social Work course requires 40 hours of service learning, where you’re volunteering for course credit at an organization connected to your major. This is your chance to give back while observing, listening, and understanding what social work looks like in practice.

More information can be found in the Social Work Program Practicum Manual (PDF).

Student Learning Assessment Outcomes

Recent student learning assessment outcomes are available here:

• 2020–2021 Student Learning Assessment Outcomes (PDF)
• 2021–2022 Student Learning Assessment Outcomes (PDF)
• 2022–2023 Student Learning Assessment Outcomes (PDF)
• 2023-2024 Student Learning Assessment Outcomes (PDF)
• 2024–2025 Student Learning Assessment Outcomes (PDF)
   

Internships

During your senior year, you’ll complete an intensive, 400-hour internship in the community. This is an opportunity to get hands-on experience in a dimension of social work that particularly interests you. You’ll choose an organization that matches your interests and take on real-world responsibilities, supervised by a practicing social worker. A sample of community organizations St. Edward’s students have recently interned with includes:

• Communities in Schools
• Health Alliance for Austin Musicians
• Lifeworks
• Project Transitions
• SAFE Alliance
• Texas Advocacy Project
• The Sobering Center
• UT Law Immigration Clinic

During your internship, you’ll experience the realities of social work, including the challenges of working with different personalities and the fact that change takes time. You’ll also interact with social workers and other professionals in the field, which gives you an opportunity to build your network.

Service Experiences

St. Edward’s offers many other opportunities to meet people from different backgrounds, apply what you’ve learned in class, and be of service. 

Study abroad immerses you in unfamiliar settings and cultivates understanding of people from other cultures. 

Service Break Experiences, offered through Campus Ministry, give you the chance to travel to another community, volunteer and learn about local life while living simply. 

Campus Ministry’s S.E.R.V.E. Austin is a structured service program that meets weekly for an entire semester. You’ll help a nonprofit with specific tasks while learning about an issue like senior care, immigration, education, youth development or homelessness. 

These experiences help you apply the theory you’ve discussed in class, come face to face with ethical dilemmas and become better prepared to address them.

The Social Work program also offers professional development workshops and continuing education credits for licensed social workers and other mental health professionals. Here are a few examples of Social Work events.

• Detention and Migrant Justice
  A panel of experts joins us to help the campus community understand immigrant detention, its scope and impact, and the role that various professions and community members play in supporting immigrant rights in this context.
• The Unfinished Business of Our Childhoods: Helping to Heal the Childhood Trauma Wounds of Helpers Through Authentic Supervision
  A continuing education webinar for social workers and other mental health professionals.
• Operation Lone Star and SB 4: Know Your Rights
  A continuing education training webinar for social workers and other mental health practitioners and social service providers.

Offered through the Social Work Program, the Minor in Social Welfare provides students a foundation in social welfare, focusing on social justice, human behavior and development, diversity and cultural competence. Students will learn about the history of the U.S. social welfare system, the theories of behavior used to support various social programs, and how issues of race, social class and gender intersect in the social welfare system.

View the Requirements for a Minor in Social Welfare (PDF). 

At St. Edward’s, our faculty are outstanding scholars, thought leaders, teachers and mentors who bring energy and enthusiasm to our vibrant learning community. They take pride in getting to know you, helping you achieve your goals and celebrating your successes.

View a list of our faculty members and their contact information on the Department of Applied Behavioral Analysis, Criminal Justice, Social Work, and Sociology webpage.

Major Requirements: The BA in Criminal Justice requires 33 hours of core criminal justice major courses, which include a combination of foundation courses about the criminal justice system, corrections, law enforcement, theory, research methods, and statistics. Students then select 15 hours of upper level courses that align with their interests, i.e. Victimology, Drugs and Crime, Juvenile Justice, etc. 

General Education Requirements: The degree requires 54 hours of general education courses that students complete over four years in addition to their major courses and electives.

View and download the full degree plan for the major (PDF).

A few examples of courses students in this major take:

• American Court System – The history, structure, law and mechanics of criminal prosecution and adjudication in the United States.
• Crime, Justice, & Diversity - This course examines and critically analyzes the reflexive relationship and observed disparities between social constructions of race, ethnicity, gender, crime and justice. 
• Mock Trial – Explores effective advocacy, appropriate professional conduct, and trial preparation.  Students have the opportunity to participate in direct and cross examination of witnesses, opening statements, closing arguments, and the introduction of evidentiary exhibits.

What You Will Learn

This is a field that engages both the head and the heart: You will learn the law, how to process information, make smart decisions, people skills and the empathy contribute to something greater than yourself.

Experiential Learning

In Mock Trial, you’ll learn about the jury trial system by staging a trial for a fictional case. Each student in your class will act as both a lawyer and a witness. You’ll learn how to present opening statements and closing arguments, direct and cross-examinations of witnesses, and introduction of evidentiary exhibits. The class will introduce you to legal reasoning and argument in the context of trial advocacy.

In Victimology, you’ll complete the Texas Victim Assistance Training, a statewide educational program that trains new victim advocates in the basics of service delivery. Then, you’ll have the option to complete an additional 30 hours of more specialized credits in victim service training. Or, you can volunteer 20 hours with an organization that provides service and education for crime victims. Students have worked with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Austin Police Department Victim Services, and the SAFE Alliance. In these settings, you’ll see real-world applications of what you’ve learned in class. This training background also can make you a more attractive candidate for future jobs and internships.

Internships

Internships help you understand professional work conditions and how the material you’ve learned in class looks in the real world. Students have interned with these organizations:

• Sobering Center Austin
• Juvenile Probation
• Austin Police Department
• Travis County Sheriff’s Office
• Travis County District Attorney’s Office
• Criminal Defense Attorney 
• Women’s Storybook Project of Texas - Nonprofit working with incarcerated mothers

Student Organizations

Alpha Phi Sigma is the national criminal justice honor society.

Phi Alpha Delta, the pre-law organization, meets weekly to listen to guest speakers, learn about the law school admission process, participate in mentorship programs, do service work and learn about internships. The club also has a mock trial team that competes in events hosted by the American Mock Trial Association and Phi Alpha Delta. The team has traveled to Washington, D.C., to compete.

Students who are interested in doing work related to the criminal justice system can expand their knowledge and experience by getting a minor in Criminal Justice. A minor in Criminal Justice is particularly helpful for students who are interested in pursuing criminal investigations and enforcement.

Required Courses for a Minor in Criminal Justice, General (18 hours):

• Administration of Justice
• Criminal Law
• Criminology
• 9 hours of the following upper division criminal justice courses

Required Courses for a Minor in Criminal Justice, Pre-Law (18 hours):

• Introduction to Criminal Justice
• Criminal Law 
• American Court System
• Criminal Procedure and the Constitution
• 6 hours of upper division criminal justice courses

Required Courses for a Certificate in Pre-Law (12 hours):

• Criminal Evidence and Proof
• Crime, Justice, and Diversity
• Mock Trial
• Criminal Procedure and the Constitution

Students must satisfy all General Certificate Requirements to be eligible to complete this certificate.

At St. Edward’s, our faculty are outstanding scholars, thought leaders, teachers and mentors who bring energy and enthusiasm to our vibrant learning community. They take pride in getting to know you, helping you achieve your goals and celebrating your successes.

View a list of our faculty members and their contact information on the Department of Applied Behavioral Analysis, Criminal Justice, Social Work, and Sociology webpage.

The Master of Education in Applied Behavior Analysis program prepares students to create transformational change in the lives of clients and their families. Program Director Dr. Cayenne Shpall explains how this program at St. Edward’s University leads to graduates making a significant impact. Check out this helpful Q&A with Dr. Shpall.

Learning Goals

With your MEd in Applied Behavior Analysis, you’ll be prepared to:

• Employ a deep understanding of applied concepts and principles of behavior analysis.
• Practice effective research methods including measurement principles, data analysis and experimental design.
• Understand behavior change in clients and specific procedures to help create positive change.
• Conceptualize, analyze and implement effective applied behavior analysis programs.
• Demonstrate advanced knowledge of the theoretical foundations of ethical and professional conduct.

Career Outcomes

The rising diagnosis rate for children with autism spectrum disorder has led to a demand for specially trained professionals. The career outlook for behavior analysts is strong, with nationwide growth projected at 20% by 2029. That growth level is considered significantly faster than average by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, projecting long-term career stability. 

With your advanced degree, you’ll be highly sought after for career opportunities in K–12 schools and other professional settings that serve individuals with developmental and behavioral disorders.

Image

The Online Master of Education in Applied Behavior Analysis is a 30-credit hour program that you can complete in 21 months while working full-time. Courses are offered in a 7-week accelerated online format and taken one at a time. The program culminates with experience-based courses — Practicum I: Seminar Course and Practicum II: Supervised Clinical Experience. 

Semester 1

Principles of Applied Behavior Analysis I

Foundations of Behavior Analysis

Semester 2

Ethical Issues and Professional Standards in Applied Behavior Analysis

Behavioral Research Methods

Semester 3  

Functional Behavior Assessment

Development of Applied Behavioral Analysis Intervention Programs

Semester 4

Organizational Behavior Management

Child Development: A Behavioral Systems Approach

Semester 5

Practicum I: Seminar Course

Practicum II: Supervised Clinical Experience
 

The Association for Behavior Analysis International has verified the above courses toward the coursework requirements for eligibility to take the Board Certified Behavior Analyst® or Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst® examination. Applicants will need to meet additional requirements before they can be deemed eligible to take the examination.

For detailed degree requirements and course descriptions, please see the Graduate Bulletin or request more information.

If you want to make a difference for children and young people with autism or other disabilities and special needs, the online Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis from St. Edward’s University could be right for you. In as few as 14 months, you can develop the skills and knowledge you need to pursue certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) in schools and other settings — all while continuing to work in full-time employment.

This non-degree graduate certificate can be completed while also pursuing an online graduate degree or as a stand-alone certificate. Learn more about the Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis.

At St. Edward’s, our faculty are outstanding scholars, practitioners, teachers and mentors who bring energy and enthusiasm to our vibrant learning community. They take pride in getting to know you, helping you achieve your goals and celebrating your successes.

View a list of our faculty members and their contact information on the Department of Applied Behavioral Analysis, Criminal Justice, Social Work, and Sociology webpage.
 

At $37,260, the Master of Education in Applied Behavior Analysis (MEd-ABA) degree is a smart investment. The knowledge and skills acquired in this program prepare you to take the Board Certified Behavior Analyst® exam and enter a rewarding career as a BCBA. 

Tuition* includes all course fees but does not include books, comprehensive fees or other course materials. Once accepted to the program, you are required to submit a $500 non-refundable tuition deposit. Deposits are applied toward tuition and secure your place in the upcoming class.

*Tuition is subject to change at the discretion of the St. Edward’s University Board of Trustees.

Financial Aid

The St. Edward’s University Financial Aid Office provides information about financial aid opportunities available to graduate students. Please visit our Financial Aid page or call us at 512-387-3110 for additional details.

To apply for the Master of Education in Applied Behavior Analysis (MEd-ABA) program, students are required to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university. Review application steps, key dates and requirements for the program.

Need more information? Please contact an Enrollment Counselor at 512-326-7501.