PhD Program in Sociology

No student may enter the PhD program without an MA or MS in Sociology.

The PhD degree program is 90 credit hours of combined coursework and research. A Master’s degree from any accredited institution may be considered to contribute up to 30 credit hours toward the 90 credit hours needed but those Master’s degree courses should not be listed on the PhD POS. The remaining 60 credit hours of coursework or research must be completed according to PhD program requirements.

PhD Committees

Major Professor: Every student in a degree program is required to select a major professor who acts as the chair of the advisory committee and who agrees to supervise the student’s graduate study, research, and writing. The major professor/graduate student relationship must be a mutually acceptable one.

Advisory Committee: Faculty members who assist the student in the preparation of the plan of study and offer advice during the period of graduate work, including research and thesis preparation when these are required components of the student’s degree program.

Examining Committee: Faculty members who will be assessing the student’s exams. While most of the time a student’s advisory committee is the same as the examining committee, it is not required. If the examining committee is different from the advisory committee, the student must notify the graduate secretary of this change at time of scheduling the exam.

A student working toward the PhD degree should select a major professor by the end of the first year in the program and must have made this selection at the time that the Plan of Study is submitted (see below). The major professor must be a member of the Sociology Department. Students request approval of their major professor on a department form, “Major Professor Appointment Request Form,” which needs to be signed by the student and the major professor and returned to the Graduate Secretary for the Director’s signature.

After selecting a major professor, the student and the major professor should together select a PhD advisory/examining committee. The committee, which includes the major professor, advises the student during the process of completing the PhD Dissertation. A PhD advisory committee must include at least three faculty members in addition to the major professor. Professors from outside the department who are qualified and willing to assist students in graduate study may serve on the advisory committee. Retired faculty members and faculty members from other universities may be on the committee if certified by the Graduate School and if they do not make up a majority of the members

Along with the PhD Program of Study for Sociology, students may obtain Dual-Title in Gerontology as well as certificates throughout the university. See Appendix D for details about these opportunities.

 The PhD Plan of Study & Dissertation Hours

 The formal POS is submitted for approval by the Graduate School as soon as possible and no later than two weeks before the scheduled date of the prelim exam (see below). A POS includes a primary research area, the specific courses the student will complete to satisfy degree requirements, and expected date of degree completion. The POS must be filed with the Graduate School prior to a request for the appointment of a preliminary examining committee (described below).

The Sociology PhD program requires 60 credits hours to be taken during program.  Of those 60 credit hours, 24 credit hours will be coursework, 18 hours minimum must be dissertation research (SOC 699, 699A, or 699B). The remaining 18 may be either additional research hours or additional coursework. A dissertation is assumed to represent 18 – 36 hours of research, and a PhD represents a minimum of 60 hours of combined coursework and research hours beyond a Master’s degree.

 Only PhD coursework should be listed on the PhD POS. 30 credits from one Master’s degree may be used (unless the Graduate Committee or a student’s major professor determines that fewer than 30 credit hours from a Master’s degree may be used). Dissertation research hours are not listed on the plan of study.

 A maximum of 9 hours (3 courses) may be taken toward the PhD before the MS degree is completed. Only one SOC 590 (for 3 credits) may be included on the PhD POS. The student’s advisory committee may require specific coursework.