Program Admission

Multiple criteria are taken into account when considering applicant admission, including, but not necessarily limited to, GPA for the last 60 hours of the undergraduate degree, letters of reference, GRE scores, the writing sample, and the availability of stipends. In addition, applicants must have satisfactorily completed courses in research methods, sociological theory, and statistics, or demonstrate equivalency.

Program Requirements

1. Students may choose one of two degree programs:
   1. The thesis program requires thirty (30) semester hours of graduate level work, which includes 3-6 hours of SOCI 7996 - Thesis . Students may not enroll for more than six hours of Sociology 7996 until they have successfully defended their thesis proposal to their thesis committee. NOTE: Students should familiarize themselves with the Thesis/Dissertation Preparation Guide before starting to write.
      1. At least 24 semester hours of course work must be in sociology.
      2. The oral defense of the thesis counts as a comprehensive examination.
   2. The non-thesis program requires thirty-three (33) semester hours of graduate level work and the passing of both written and oral comprehensive examinations.
      1. At least 27 semester hours must be in sociology.
      2. The student must remove all grades of incomplete from his or her record before taking the comprehensive examination.
   3. The successful completion of the following courses is required of all majors: SOCI 6312 , SOCI 7210 , SOCI 7320 . A minimum grade of “3.0” is required in each.
   4. No more than 6 semester hours of SOCI 7912 - Directed Indiv Study , may be counted toward the degree without permission from the graduate coordinator.
   5. A graduate student whose cumulative grade point average in sociology drops below 3.00 will be placed on departmental review. Being on departmental review at the conclusion of a subsequent semester may result in suspension. Conditions under which continuation in the program beyond two or more semesters on departmental review will be granted must be recommended by the department’s graduate committee and the department chair. If, in the opinion of the graduate committee, the chair, the College of Arts and Sciences’ Associate Dean of Graduate Programs and Research, and the Vice Provost for Graduate Programs, the student is not making satisfactory progress toward degree completion, the student will be dismissed from the degree program. Students are ineligible for graduate assistantships while on departmental review, but may apply/reapply for an assistantship once their departmental review status has been removed.
   6. According to Graduate School policy, students must complete the requirements to remove a grade of “I” (incomplete) within 90 days from the end of the semester or summer term in which it was received or the “I” changes to an “F.” If unusual circumstances prevent the student from removing the “I” within 90 days, a 45-day extension may be granted. It is the student’s responsibility to request an extension. The department will allow students who received a grade of “I” that changes to an “F” to submit a written request to the graduate committee for a grade change. The request must be made after the student has completed requirements for the course in which the “F” was received and must spell out the reasons why the student was unable to complete the requirements for the course prior to the “I” becoming an “F.” In addition, the request must be made within one year of the beginning of the semester or term in which the student enrolled in the course. If the faculty member from which the student received the “I” and the graduate committee agree that extraordinary circumstances prevented the student from completing requirements for the course before the “I” changed to an “F,” they will recommend to the department chair that the student’s “F” be changed. If the chair agrees with the recommendation of the faculty member and the graduate committee, the chair will recommend to the Vice Provost for Graduate Studies that the student’s grade be changed.