Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology

Advisor:
Susan Caulfield,
Room 2509, Sangren Hall

The Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology prepares students for careers in sociological research and teaching. Broad training in sociology is provided through a wide variety of courses and research experiences.

Guided individually by a doctoral committee, students are provided with core training in general sociology, theory, and research methods. Beyond this, students concentrate in two areas of sociology that are selected from important and active areas, such as applied sociology, criminology, comparative sociology, gender and feminism, social psychology, and race and ethnic relations and sociological theory.

Course work in a cognate area complements knowledge gained in selected specialties and the discipline as a whole.

Admission Requirements

Master’s degree in sociology.
Grade point average of 3.25 in all graduate work, and the completion of the Graduate Record Examination.
Applicants who hold a master’s degree in a related field may be admitted to the program, but may be required to make up deficiencies as a condition of admission.
Applicants must supply a biographical statement, a writing sample, GRE scores, and three letters of recommendation from academic and/or professional sources to: Graduate Admissions Committee, Department of Sociology.

Financial Assistance

A number of departmental, University, and governmental assistantships, fellowships, and associateships are available to qualified students. Educational opportunities and part-time employment may be available through the facilities of the Leonard C. Kercher Center for Social Research. Research through the Center includes studies of education, mental illness, marital roles, race relations, group dynamics, deviant behavior, comparative institutions, and numerous other topics. Graduate students frequently participate in these studies.

Additional information and application forms may be obtained from the department.

Program Requirements

1. Coursework

Complete, beyond the master’s degree, at least sixty hours of course work and dissertation credits, selected in consultation with the student’s doctoral committee.

2. Complete a minimum of six hours of cognate courses from outside the Department of Sociology.

The courses selected should be in a field of knowledge related to the student’s major interest.

3. Demonstrate competence in two research tools selected from a foreign language

Other than English, research methods, and statistics.

4. Pass oral and written examinations in two departmental areas of concentration selected from:

applied sociology
comparative sociology
criminology
gender and feminism
race and ethnic relations, sociological theory and
social psychology.

5. Complete 15 credit hours of the following course

And submit a dissertation that is acceptable to the Department’s graduate faculty and shows evidence of competence to design, carry out, and report an original sociological investigation.

SOC 7300 - Doctoral Dissertation Credits: 15 hrs.

6. Criteria and procedures for meeting these requirements

Are described in detail in the department’s Graduate Handbook.