Certificate Program
A certificate is a Department level recognition that the student has taken specified courses relating to the topic of the Certificate. The purpose of a Certificate is 1) to encourage students to take a series of related courses (tracks within the discipline) and 2) to provide recognition of that effort to an employer. In short, a Certificate is not a degree in the same way that a Bachelor’s degree is earned, but signifies completion of certain academic requirements in a specified area.
There are several things that the Certificate is not. It is not a national program nor does it indicate a proficiency standard set by a Sociology organization or any other professional body other than the Department issuing the Certificate. Each Sociology Department identifies the courses that they feel give the student important knowledge in the particular area.
The Certificate does not replace a Bachelor’s degree. Nor is it an advisable goal in and of itself. It is intended to help the student focus their study in selecting the courses to take. It can have appeal to non-Sociology majors, however. That is, students majoring in Business, Education or Psychology, etc. may want to earn a Certificate to enhance their other degree.
There are two Certificates that a student may earn.
Certificate in Family Relations
Upon completion of the requirements for a baccalaureate degree at Texas Wesleyan University, a student may earn a Certificate in Family Relations if the following courses have been completed with a minimum grade of C for each course. The student must also indicate their intent to earn this Certificate prior to graduation. Students should see the Sociology faculty at their earliest convenience to avoid any problems that may arise. Because of course availability it may take two years to complete.
*Soc 3321 Marriage and the Family
Soc 3342 Changing Roles of Men and Women
WST 3309 Introduction to Women’s Studies
Soc 3322 Family Violence
PLS 3302 Family Law
Psy 2391 Introduction to Counseling
Soc 4394 Internship (to be completed in a relevant area)
The following are not required for the Certificate but are suggested courses that may be useful.
Psy 3372 Crisis Intervention
Psy 3318 Group Dynamics
Psy 2348 Human Sexuality
Psy 3302 Psy of Childhood and Adolescence
*An additional paper on Minority Families must be completed for this Certificate.Text: Family Ethnicity: Strength in Diversity ed Harriette Pipes McAdoo, Sage Pub., 1999
The student should read the text, taking notes on each of the sections. The paper should be 15-20 pages long, typed in a 10-12 point font. Use a title page, but do not use a special cover, especially not a plastic cover. The paper should include a section about each of the minority groups: African American families, Native American families; Spanish speaking American families; Muslim families; and Asian families. Be sure to include in a discussion of the following issues for each minority group.
Economic opportunities and status of the group Integration into American mainstream society
Intermarriage
Retention of traditional customs
Acceptance of the minority group into society
Second generation distance
(note which members are more accepted)
(include factors of language)
Particular hardships faced by the minority families
Strengths of the minority families of this group
Weaknesses of the minority families of this group
Raising children in the minority family
Social mobility of the minority family
Return the paper to the Sociology faculty.
Certificate in Forensic Criminology
A Certificate in Forensic Criminology indicates that the student has selected the courses needed to be able to predict criminal behavior and, in reverse, identify criminal offenders based on criminal, sociological and psychological factors. It does not assure a job, but is intended to give the Criminal Justice graduate an advantage in the professional world. Careers that might be pursued include consultancy, forensic liaison within the Criminal Justice system, and investigation – either private or institutional. Moral character is an important aspect of this area. The student contemplating one of these careers should not have a criminal record, and should have a good credit and work history. Success in the field is dependent upon individual proclivity, ability to maximize informational opportunities, and analytical and deductive skills.
The CRJ degree should include the following course:
CRJ 1301 Introduction to Criminal Justice*
CRJ 3321 Forensic Investigation*
CRJ 3319 Criminal Law and Justice
CRJ 4313 Criminology
SOC 3322 Family Violence
CRJ 3314 Corrections and Community Supervision
CRJ 3320 Victimology
CRJ 4317 Forensic Sociology
CRJ 4316 Criminal and Forensic Procedure
CRJ 4321 Deviant Behavior
NSC 2401 Forensics I
NSC 2402 Forensics II
Two additional courses from the following:
CRJ 3399 Women and Crime
SOC 3316 Sociological Perspectives on Psychology
SOC 2390 Minority Groups
Forensic Psychology (FOR 2450 Forensic Science II at Weatherford)
Criminal Psychology (PSYC 2302 at Weatherford)
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