Doctor of Philosophy - Sociology

Course Requirements

Degree Requirements

1. Of the 60 required course credit hours, a maximum of 9 hours may be used as flex credits toward any combination of the following: Independent Study; Directed Reading; an approved 600-level Sociology course that is unavailable at the 700 level; and/or an approved 700 level course in a related discipline.
2. A minimum of 63 credits must be completed in 700-level Sociology courses, including dissertation credits.
3. Students are strongly encouraged to enroll in SOC 709 – Learning to Teach Sociology. Doctoral students who have completed their comprehensive exams and SOC 709 may be eligible for autonomous teaching. Doctoral students teaching their own autonomous courses must be simultaneously enrolled in SOC 710 – Teaching Practicum, Teaching Practicum; after one semester of taking SOC 710 for credit, graduate student instructors may audit the class.
4. Any grade below a B will not be accepted for graduate credit. A grade below a B will result in probation. If a student receives two grades below a B, in the same or different courses, s/he will be separated from the program.
5. A student may be on academic probation a maximum of two times during their graduate career in Sociology; a third probation will result in separation from the program.
6. No student shall be allowed more than 2 simultaneous grades of Incomplete, except in the case of documented and approved emergency or medical leave.
7. In consultation with his/her advisor, a student will organize a dissertation committee of at least three departmental members. In addition, a fourth member from outside the department, known as the Graduate College Representative, must be appointed. An additional committee member may be added at the student and department’s discretion. Please see Graduate College policy for committee appointment guidelines.
8. Post-Bachelor’s students must complete 3 credits of Professional Paper before defending their Professional Paper and submitting it to a reputable sociology journal for peer review. Students will establish an Examination Committee, hold a professional paper proposal meeting, author and defend an original piece of research or theory which is then signed-off on by committee members and submitted for peer-review to a reputable sociology journal. The paper need not be accepted for publication for the student to continue matriculating in the program, but the manuscript must make a significant scholarly contribution and be of a high enough quality to merit peer review.
   1. Students must orally present and defend their completed professional paper to her or his Examination Committee, and receive majority approval. There are five possible grades for the professional paper: Pass with Distinction; Pass; Conditional Pass with Rewrites (to be completed within two weeks of notification); Terminal Pass (pass but separated from program after graduation); or Fail.
   2. After a successful defense of their professional paper, students must receive signatures of support from their Committee Chair and a majority of other Committee members prior to submitting their article manuscript to an approved peer-review sociology journal.
   3. Students may complete this stage of the program only after successfully completing all 20 required credits, as well as a minimum of 12 credits of electives (including up to 3 flex credits).
   4. Students may not take any comprehensive exams or complete more than 40 course credits before successfully completing this step in the program.
   5. Students who do not successfully complete this requirement in a timely manner (before completing 40 credits) will be placed on probation.
   6. After successful completion of all required courses (a minimum of 32 total course credits), 3 credits of professional paper, and this professional paper process (proposal, research, writing, oral defense and journal submission), students must submit all required paperwork to the Graduate College for completion of the Master of Arts in Sociology.
9. Post-Bachelor’s students who, for personal, professional or academic reasons, decide not to continue on for a Ph.D. may be eligible for an optional exit plan with a Masters degree.
10. Dissertation credits may only be taken after the student successfully defends his/her dissertation prospectus and submits required paperwork to the Graduate College. Students may not take more than 6 dissertation credits per semester.
11. In addition to a minimum of 60 hours of course work, 12 hours of dissertation credits, and successful completion of the professional paper process as described above, a doctoral student must successfully pass 2 comprehensive examinations in their chosen areas of specialization. Students should refer to the detailed guidelines governing the comprehensive exam process in the Graduate Programs Handbook (see Appendix 1).
12. The Area of Specialization comprehensive exams will be offered once a semester; students may only take 1 of these exams per semester. Intention to take a comprehensive exam must be given to the graduate coordinator and senior management assistant by the second week of the semester in which students intend to take the exam.
13. Students may not take a comprehensive exam until they have completed all required course work in these areas.
14. These specialty area comprehensive exams should reflect logical and substantive depth and breadth of knowledge of these areas. Students are expected to prepare for the comprehensive exams by reviewing class materials, meeting with their Graduate Advisory Committee, meeting with faculty sitting on the Areas of Specialization committees, looking at copies of old exams, and doing systematic independent preparation.
15. There are 4 possible grades for the comprehensive exams: Pass with Distinction; Pass; Conditional Pass with Rewrites (to be completed within two weeks of notification); or Fail.
16. A student must retake a failed comprehensive exam within one semester and successfully pass on the second attempt in order to remain in the program. A second failure in the same area will result in separation from the program. During the period of time between the initial Fail on a comprehensive exam and the re-take, the student may not take any other comprehensive exams.
17. Both comprehensive exams must be completed prior to the student’s dissertation prospectus defense and advancement to candidacy.

Graduation Requirements

1. The student must submit all required forms to the Graduate College and then apply for graduation up to two semesters prior to completing his/her degree requirements for both the Master’s and Doctoral portions of the program.
2. Doctoral students are required to complete a minimum of 12 credits of dissertation credits: SOC 799 - Dissertation , write an original dissertation of substantial quality and length on a sociological topic, and successfully defend this work in front of the student’s Graduate Advisory Committee.
   1. Students must work with their Graduate Advisory Committee to ensure quality research, analysis and writing of the comprehensive exams and dissertation.
   2. Satisfactory performance on an oral defense of the dissertation prospectus to be held after the successful completion of all course work and the four comprehensive examinations is required. The oral defense will cover the student’s dissertation proposal and any deficiencies on the comprehensive exams or in the student’s program of study. Upon successful completion of the oral defense of the dissertation prospectus, the student may advance to candidacy and enroll in dissertation credits.
   3. Upon completion of the dissertation, a final oral defense will be held in front of the student’s Graduate Advisory Committee.
   4. Committee members must unanimously pass the student on her or his oral defense for the Ph.D. to be conferred.
3. The student must submit and successfully defend his/her dissertation by the posted deadline. The defense must be advertised and is open to the public.
4. After the dissertation defense, the student must electronically submit a properly formatted pdf copy of their dissertation to the Graduate College for format check. Once the dissertation format has been approved by the Graduate College, the student will submit the approved electronic version to ProQuest. Deadlines for dissertation defenses, format check submissions, and the final ProQuest submission can be found here. 

Course Requirements

Degree Requirements

1. Of the 12 elective credit hours, a maximum of 6 hours may be used as flex credits toward any combination of the following: Independent Study; Directed Reading; an approved 600-level Sociology course that is unavailable at the 700 level; and/or an approved 700 level course in a related discipline.
2. A minimum of 45 credits must be completed in 700-level Sociology courses, including dissertation credits.
3. Students are strongly encouraged to enroll in SOC 709 - Learning to Teach Sociology. Doctoral students who have completed their comprehensive exams and SOC 709 may be eligible for autonomous teaching. Doctoral students teaching their own autonomous courses must be simultaneously enrolled in SOC 710 - Teaching Practicum, Teaching Practicum; after one semester of taking SOC 710 for credit, graduate student instructors may audit the class.
4. Any grade below a B will not be accepted for graduate credit. A grade below a B will result in probation. If a student receives two grades below a B, in the same or different courses, s/he will be separated from the program.
5. A student may be on academic probation a maximum of two times during their graduate career in Sociology; a third probation will result in separation from the program.
6. No student shall be allowed more than 2 simultaneous grades of Incomplete, except in the case of documented and approved emergency or medical leave.
7. In consultation with his/her advisor, a student will organize a dissertation committee of at least three departmental members. In addition, a fourth member from outside the department, known as the Graduate College Representative, must be appointed. An additional committee member may be added at the student and department’s discretion. Please see Graduate College policy for committee appointment guidelines.
8. Dissertation credits may only be taken after the student successfully defends his/her dissertation prospectus and submits required paperwork to the Graduate College. Students may not take more than 6 Dissertation credits per semester.
9. In addition to a minimum of 39 hours of course work and 12 hours of dissertation credits, a doctoral student must successfully pass 2 comprehensive examinations in their chosen areas of specialization. Students should refer to the detailed guidelines governing the comprehensive exam process in the Graduate Programs Handbook. (See Appendix 1).
   1. The Area of Specialization comprehensive exams will be offered once a semester; students may only take 1 of these exams per semester. Intention to take a comprehensive exam must be given to the graduate coordinator and senior management assistant by the second week of the semester in which students intend to take the exam.
   2. Students may not take a comprehensive exam until they have completed all required course work in these areas.
   3. These specialty area comprehensive exams should reflect logical and substantive depth and breadth of knowledge of these areas. Students are expected to prepare for the comprehensive exams by reviewing class materials, meeting with their Graduate Advisory Committee, meeting with faculty sitting on the Areas of Specialization committees, looking at copies of old exams, and doing systematic independent preparation.
   4. There are 4 possible grades for the comprehensive exams: Pass with Distinction; Pass; Conditional Pass with Rewrites (to be completed within two weeks of notification); or Fail.
   5. A student must retake a failed comprehensive exam within one semester and successfully pass on the second attempt in order to remain in the program. A second failure in the same area will result in separation from the program. During the period of time between the initial Fail on a comprehensive exam and the re-take, the student may not take any other comprehensive exams.
   6. Both comprehensive exams must be completed prior to the student’s dissertation prospectus defense and advancement to candidacy.

Graduation Requirements

1. The student must submit all required forms to the Graduate College and then apply for graduation up to two semesters prior to completing his/her degree requirements for the program.
2. Doctoral students are required to complete a minimum of 12 credits of dissertation credits: SOC 799 – Dissertation , write an original dissertation of substantial quality and length on a sociological topic, and successfully defend this work in front of the student’s Graduate Advisory Committee.
   1. Students must work with their Graduate Advisory Committee to ensure quality research, analysis and writing of the comprehensive exams and dissertation.
   2. Satisfactory performance on an oral defense of the dissertation prospectus to be held after the successful completion of all course work and the four comprehensive examinations is required. The oral defense will cover the student’s dissertation proposal and any deficiencies on the comprehensive exams or in the student’s program of study. Upon successful completion of the oral defense of the dissertation prospectus, the student may advance to candidacy and enroll in dissertation credits.
   3. Upon completion of the dissertation, a final oral defense will be held in front of the student’s Graduate Advisory Committee.
   4. Committee members must unanimously pass the student on her or his oral defense for the Ph.D. to be conferred.
3. The student must submit and successfully defend his/her dissertation by the posted deadline. The defense must be advertised and is open to the public.
4. After the dissertation defense, the student must electronically submit a properly formatted pdf copy of their dissertation to the Graduate College for format check. Once the dissertation format has been approved by the Graduate College, the student will submit the approved electronic version to ProQuest. Deadlines for dissertation defenses, format check submissions, and the final ProQuest submission can be found here.