Degree Requirements

Doctor of Philosophy
Master of Arts
Specific Degree Requirements
Second year papers written elsewhere
Summary of Requirements
Standard of Work
Other Requirements

Doctor of Philosophy

The doctoral degree program in sociology is designed to give the candidate a general background in sociological theory and methodology as well as training in a major substantive area of the discipline.

The graduate program is a doctoral program and the formal awarding of a master's degree is not required for the Ph.D. Students seeking only an M.A. degree are not ordinarily admitted to the program.

In addition to meeting the requirements of the university and of the College of Social Science, students must meet departmental requirements specified below:

• Attendance at the teaching assistant workshop offered the first two days prior to the beginning of fall semester.
• Attendance at the sociology graduate pro-seminar through the first year of study. (This requirement is fulfilled through attendance of the Globalization Proseminar, which involves presentations by several faculty members).
• During the second year of study, students will prepare a professional research paper suitable for presentation at a professional meeting or publication in a professional journal. Students must give a presentation of the paper at a department colloquium.
• Satisfactory completion of required courses in theory, methods, statistics, Graduate Teaching and Professional Development, and the Globalization Proseminar (total of eight courses).
• Satisfactory completion of a program of study in one or more of the areas of specialization designated by the Department. Each student must complete a program of 5 substantive courses (i.e., courses in addition to those meeting the theory, statistics and methods requirements) approved by her/his guidance committee.
• Successful completion of comprehensive examinations.
• Successful defense of the dissertation.

There is no language requirement. Where acquaintance with a foreign language is necessary for advancing the special interest of the student, the student, in collaboration with the guidance committee, may decide upon the study of a foreign language appropriate to his/her research and career development.

Master of Arts

The Ph.D. is the expected terminal degree in the department and students are not required or encouraged to obtain an M.A. However, students who wish to receive the M.A. degree must fulfill the following requirements:

• Satisfactory completion of three basic required courses: one each in theory, methods, and statistics.
• Satisfactory completion of at least three courses in one of the three theme areas of the department.
• Attendance at the teaching assistant workshop offered the first two days prior to the beginning of Fall term.
• Attendance at the sociology graduate seminar through the first year of study. (This requirement is fulfilled through attendance of the Globalization Proseminar, which involves presentations by several faculty members).
• Preparation and presentation of a professional paper suitable for presentation at a professional meeting or publication in a professional journal. This paper must be presented at a department colloquium.
• Completion of a total of 30 credits including 4 to 8 credits of SOC 899.

Specific Degree Requirements

Theory

All graduate students are required to take, or have already taken the equivalent of, SOC 815 Classical Sociological Theory and SOC 816 Contemporary Theory. No student will be granted a Ph.D. degree without having on record:

• A 3.0 or higher grade for SOC 815 and for SOC 816, or
• A letter exempting the student from these courses on the basis of having done equivalent work. (See below for more on such letters).

Statistics

All graduate students are required to take, or have taken the equivalent of, a one semester statistics course approved by the Methods Committee. The coursework must also be approved for graduate credit (400 level or above). The recommended course is SOC 881 Analysis of Sociological Data I. Another possibility is STT (Statistics) 421. Those with mathematical training at least through calculus may wish to take STT 441. No student will be granted a degree (M.A. or Ph.D.) without either:

• A grade of 2.5 or higher in an approved course, or
• A letter on record waiving this requirement on the basis of having done equivalent work (see below for more on such letters).

The above requirement represents a minimum amount of training in statistical methods. It is strongly recommended that students do more than the minimum requirements. In particular, students should take at least SOC 882 Analysis of Social Data II.

To perform satisfactorily in any of the courses in statistics, a student must be competent in college algebra. Those who are not competent in college algebra must take a course in it (Math 110 or 116 or 120) before taking statistics. All students who have not completed basic statistics must, upon entering the department, take the sociology department's placement examination to determine their level of algebra competence. Contact the sociology department office for information about when and where the examination is given.

Methods

All graduate students are required to take, or have taken the equivalent of SOC 885 Methods of Sociological Inquiry. The Methods of Sociological Inquiry," which treats the domain assumptions and limitations of an array of sociological methods.  

In addition, all graduate students are required to take, or have taken the equivalent of, one specialized methods course. These courses are: SOC 954, Techniques of Population Analysis; 985 Qualitative Field Research; 986 Survey Research Principles; or some other 800 or 900 level specialized methods course approved by the student's advisor and the Methods Committee.

Additional Requirements in Theory, Statistics and Methods

In addition to the above, all students must either take SOC 882, or an additional specialized methods course.

Waivers and Substitutions

If you are using other training to substitute for departmentally required courses, you need to submit a waiver letter. This waiver letter must indicate the departmental course that you have had the equivalent of and also indicate the training that has provided you with the equivalent of our course. Such a waiver letter must be issued and signed by a faculty member who regularly teaches the course you wish to waive. In addition, your guidance committee report must list the Sociology course being waived and to indicate that it has been waived.

Moreover, if you are proposing to satisfy part or all of the methods requirement with a method that is different from the departmentally required courses, your guidance committee must agree that your training in this method is a reasonable alternative to one of the required Departmental methods courses.

A Workshop

All first year students are required to attend both days of the Teaching Assistant Workshop held just prior to the start of Fall semester. Students who enter the program with a substantial amount of teaching experience should consult with the Graduate Program Coordinator about extent of participation in the workshop.

First Year Seminar

Prior to the implementation of the Globalization Proseminar requirement, students had to attend this to meet faculty and develop a cohort identity. The Globalization Proseminar current fulfills this requirement.

Second Year Research Paper

During the second year of study, students will prepare a professional research paper suitable for presentation at a professional meeting or publication in a professional journal. The maximum length of the paper should not exceed thirty pages double-spaced. Students must give a presentation of the paper at a department colloquium. Students will be expected to provide two copies of their paper to the department, one of which will be placed in the student's file and another placed in the departmental library.

The purpose of this requirement is to strengthen the department's emphasis on research by ensuring that students are capable of preparing a professional research paper. It also provides a scholarly writing experience in a genre scholars actually use and engages the talents and skills of students in organizing and analyzing data beyond the typical term paper.

It is not a requirement of the Ph.D. program that a student obtain a Masters' Degree. Obtaining a Master's degree is not necessary and not encouraged.

For those students who do not intend to obtain an M.A. degree, doing the second year paper is still one of the requirements of the Ph.D. program. You do not have to enroll in SOC 899 at all and it is best if you do not do so. Instead, enroll in SOC 890 for the work you do on the paper. You do not have to have the second year paper bound or typed according to the special university format. You do have to submit a clean, typed, final copy to the department in some standard format.

For those students who do intend to obtain an M.A. degree, the second year paper serves for what the university calls a masters' thesis. You must enroll in at least 4 credits of SOC 899 (maximum of 8 credits). If you have changed your mind about getting the degree and have SOC 890 credit for work on the paper, we can change the 890 into 899 credits by submitting an administrative action form. You must submit a copy of the paper to the graduate school in the format they prescribe and pay all of the fees for binding, etc., that are required. The graduate school provides a booklet that tells you what you need to do and how to do it.

For all students the completion of the second year paper is a time of evaluation. Each student's committee will recommend to the department whether or not the student should be allowed to continue in the program. This is true whether or not the student intends to continue. For those students who have completed a Masters' thesis at another school the second year paper requirement is waived.

The second year research paper itself is essentially a report of research findings such as would be submitted for publication in a journal. It is to be article length (30 typed pages), article style (e.g., no long literature reviews) and data based . Of course, all kinds of data are included. If new data is collected, the approval of the human subjects committee (UCRIHS) must have been obtained in advance no matter what kind of data it is. Even if secondary analysis of an existing data file is performed, approval of UCRIHS may necessary. Check out their web site for current instructions. (http://www.humanresearch.msu.edu/)

The presentation is not a simple reading of the paper. Instead it is a verbal presentation of the material in the paper but in the form of a talk or lecture such as would be given at a professional meeting. Use of overheads, charts, handouts, visual aids and the like is encouraged. It is hoped that every student will try to do the same presentation at an appropriate professional meeting at some time in the future. Each person will have something like 15 to 20 minutes to do the presentation. The audience will be all faculty and graduate students in the department. There will be only two times each year when presentations may be given. These will be announced at the beginning of each year.

Prior to the presentation, the student's draft must have been approved by a committee of three faculty members. This approval shall mean that the paper is acceptable for final approval with only minor revisions. The student will only be permitted to give the oral presentation if a signed form or letter, indicating the committee's approval has been filed with the Graduate Coordinator.

When the final version of the paper is complete, a form or letter with a final grade for the paper should be submitted and signed by the chair and two other members of the guidance committee.

Second year papers written elsewhere

Students who have started graduate programs elsewhere and transferred into our Department may have already written papers that meet the requirements for our Second Year paper. To be acceptable, the paper must use some form of data and must use social science methodology to answer some question in the social science literature. A master's degree using approaches other than social science will not be accepted. While social science content is necessary, it is not necessary that the degree be received from a social science Department.

To be officially approved as meeting the second year paper requirement, such papers must be approved by two faculty members who have agreed to advise the incoming student. This approval may be issued, before the student arrives, if the student sends the Department the paper. The approval shall consist of a letter to the Graduate Coordinator, signed by both approving faculty members.

Summary of Requirements

Master of Arts

Take all of the following:

SOC 881 Analysis of Social Data I
SOC 815 Classical Sociological Theory
SOC 885 Overview of Research Methods
Globalization Proseminar

one of the spec:

SOC 954 Techniques of Population Analysis
SOC 985 Qualitative Field Research
SOC 986 Survey Research Principles
SOC 989 Special Topics in Sociological Methodology

Attendance at TA Workshop

Attendance at first year seminar (Satisfied by Globalization Proseminar)

Second year research paper presentation

Three courses in major specialization

Doctor of Philosophy

IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE requirements for the MA:

Take SOC 816 Contemporary Social Theory

Take Graduate Teaching and Professional Development Course

Take at least one of the following:

SOC 882 Analysis of Social Data II

OR one of the following courses (choose one which has not been taken previously:

SOC 954, SOC 985, SOC 986 SOC 989

At least two additional courses in major specialization for a total of at least five (individual committees may require more)

Comprehensive examination

Dissertation

Standard of Work

In order to receive either an M.A. or Ph.D. degree, a student's course grades must meet the following minimum standards.

• An overall grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 (University Rule).
• A GPA of at least 3.0 in courses given by the Sociology Department (Department Rule).
• Grades less than 3.0 in no more than three of the courses required for the degree ( College of Social Science Rule ). This rule means the following:

1. To receive an M.A. degree, a student may receive no more than three grades below 3.0;

2. To receive a Ph.D. degree, a student may receive no more than three such grades in courses listed on his/her Guidance Committee Report .

Deferred grades may be given if work has been satisfactory, but has not been completed because of extenuating circumstances. Although the University allows up to two years for the completion of deferred work, this is a maximum and a shorter period can be imposed at the instructor's option. If the course is at the 300 or 400 level, authorization for a deferred grade must be obtained from the Dean of the College in which the student is enrolled.

While the University allows up to two years for completing deferreals, we urge students to complete any deferred grades over the break immediately following the term in which the deferred was acquired. Experience shows that once a new term has begun, it is very hard to complete a deferred grade and the longer one retains it the more difficult it becomes to remove it. In addition, unfulfilled deferred grades delay one's rate of progress in the graduate program and reduce one's chances of obtaining financial aid.

Satisfactory grades in coursework are not, by themselves, sufficient demonstration of an ability to pursue scholarly work with the degree of competence and independence that will be required in one's future teaching and research. Furthermore, obtaining the M.A. degree does not imply automatic admission to the Ph.D. program. The Master's project committee has the responsibility of recommending termination or admission to the Ph.D. program upon completion of the Master's degree requirements. Further discussion of the criteria and procedures involving termination from the program are given in Appendix C of the Graduate Student Manual.

Other Requirements

Language Requirements

There is no departmental language requirement for the M.A. or the Ph.D. degree. Inclusion of a language requirement in a student's doctoral program is a decision which rests with each Guidance Committee and is based on its relevance to a candidate's specific program.

English Requirement for Foreign Students

All foreign students are required to demonstrate competence in English sufficient for graduate study. Sufficient competence is determined either by scores in examinations at the English Language Center or TOEFL scores. Admission to the program is automatically provisional until this requirement is satisfied. Delay in satisfying this requirement and failure to enroll in recommended English language courses are grounds for dismissal from the program.

Foreign students who wish to hold a teaching assistantship are required to meet higher English language standards than those required of other graduate students. English Language Center or TOEFL scores of sufficient magnitude must be submitted prior to any appointment as a teaching assistant.

Teaching Requirement

All Ph.D. candidates who intend to enter teaching careers are required to teach at least one course under departmental supervision.