Appendix D: Dual-Title PhD and Certificates 

The Dual-Title PhD and certificates described below are not necessarily an exhaustive list of the possibilities currently available to sociology graduate students. Students are encouraged to investigate whether other certificates offered by other departments are available or have become available since the last revision of this handbook.

Dual-Title PhD in Sociology and Gerontology

Sociology doctoral students are eligible to complete a Dual‐Title PhD in Sociology and Gerontology. There is no separate application process. Students apply as usual to the doctoral program in Sociology via the electronic application for graduate study.

Once admitted to the Sociology program, students choose a faculty advisor who is also a faculty associate of the Center on Aging and the Life Course. Students complete 24 graduate credits in aging‐related courses, notify the Graduate School of their intention to complete a dual‐title degree, and write a dissertation on a topic related to aging in order to receive the Dual-Title PhD in Sociology and Gerontology. Students who plan to complete a Dual-Title PhD need to notify the Graduate Secretary to obtain a special form that needs to be signed by the student and the major professor and then sent to the Graduate School.

For more information, visit the Center on Aging and the Life Course website:  https://www.purdue.edu/aging/

Requirements for American Studies Major or Minor in Sociology

MA and PhD students in American Studies may choose Sociology as a field of concentration. PhD students may also choose Sociology as a “related minor.” For more information, consult the American Studies Program Graduate Manual or visit the American Studies webpage: https://www.cla.purdue.edu/american-studies/

Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs & Certificates

A Concentration in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is offered jointly by the Women’s Studies Program and the Department of Sociology for those students who wish to delve more deeply into the links between feminist concerns about inequalities, difference, and women’s empowerment, on the one hand, and the Sociology Department’s focus on theory and methods in the areas of Family and Gender, Health, Aging, and Life Course, Law and Society, Social Inequality, Social Movements and Political Sociology, and Sociology of Religion. Three WOST courses are required for the Concentration: Feminist Theory (WOST 680), Contemporary Issues in Feminist Scholarship (WOST 681) and Issues in Feminist Research and Methodology (WOST 682). Beyond the above three core courses, students may choose electives from SOC, according to their research interests.

Requirements for master’s degree and PhD students differ; for details, see the Women’s Studies website https://cla.purdue.edu/academic/sis/p/wgss/graduate.html.  PhD students enrolled in the Concentration may apply for a teaching assistantship in the Women’s Studies Program.

Graduate Teacher Certificate

Purdue’s Center for Instructional Excellence offers a Graduate Teacher Certificate for graduate teaching assistants. The Graduate Teacher Certificate is documentation of a graduate student’s involvement in actual classroom teaching and teacher development activities (e.g., pre‐semester teaching orientations and workshops, micro‐teaching with consultative feedback, classroom visitations or videotaping, student and peer feedback, etc.). Specific requirements for certification are: a) Two semesters of classroom teaching experience as a Graduate Teaching Assistant; b) attendance at a Purdue University GTA pre‐semester instructional orientation; c) participation in continuous instructional improvement activities; d) Classroom videotaping/visitation with consultative feedback and self‐analyses; and e) implementation of student feedback and evaluation with self‐assessment.

All Sociology graduate teaching assistants are encouraged to apply for the GTC. Visit the CIE website http://www.cie.purdue.edu/ or call 765‐496‐6422 for more information.