Updated August 3, 2006
Department
of
Sociology
Graduate
Program Department
Policies Governing Graduate Study
Assistantships and Fellowships
Standards for
Judging Satisfactory Progress
Graduate Student
Annual Report
Procedures
for the M.A. Degree
Procedures
for the Ph.D. Degree
Procedures for
Seeking Employment
Procedures
for
Exam Notification
The Graduate Coordinator serves as primary advisor to graduate students until they have formed their supervisory committees and the committee chair becomes the primary advisor. The Graduate Coordinator will assist students in planning each semester's schedule until the supervisory committee is formed.
Incoming students are required to participate in a Proseminar offered each fall semester. This non-credit course provides an introduction and overview of the department and the profession. Topics include an overview of faculty research specializations, guidelines for forming a supervisory committee, career development, planning research, publishing, teaching, securing grant funds, finding a job, etc.
A successful graduate career requires that each student take the initiative to meet and discuss her or his interests with individual faculty members; attend research presentations by department faculty, visiting scholars, job candidates, and advanced students; generally take part in the intellectual life of the department; and pursue opportunities to present research at conferences.
Assistantships and
Fellowships
Financial aid is available as assistantships and fellowships. Assistantships require students to work a certain number of hours while fellowships require no service in the first and four years. Fellowship students typically are involved in teaching during their second year and assist a faculty member on a research project during the third year. Both are awarded competitively. The department controls a number of assistantships that require tasks related to the teaching program. Students apply through the Department Chair or Graduate Coordinator for teaching assistantships. Research assistantships are also available, funded by research grants. The grant's principal investigator is responsible for awarding research assistantships. Sociology graduate students are also awarded research or teaching assistantships by other units within the university dependent on the needs of that unit. The Graduate Coordinator can provide information on likely sources of nondepartmental assistantship funding. The department does not control any fellowship funds, but the Graduate Coordinator can suggest possible college, university, and other sources of fellowship funds.
Graduate teaching and research assistants are evaluated each year; both initial appointment and renewal are competitive. For continuing students, one criterion for reappointment is the faculty evaluation of performance in previously held assistantships. Another criterion is the student's satisfactory progress in the degree program. Decisions on award and renewal of research assistantships lie with the grant's principal investigator, and for nondepartmental assistantships lie with the awarding unit.
Standards
for
Judging Satisfactory Progress
Continuation in the program and funding require satisfactory progress in both quality of work and speed in completing the program. Joint programs or fellowships may stipulate more stringent definitions of satisfactory progress than the following, and students must meet those requirements.
Graduate School rules require a B average in all work that is part of the graduate program (i.e. graduate courses and approved undergraduate courses taken outside the department). The department additionally requires a B average in all graduate courses, and the department will accept no grade below B in a required course.
If a student receives less than a B in a required course while maintaining an overall B average, the required course must be repeated. Should a graduate student fall below the required average, either in graduate courses or overall graduate record, the student must overcome the deficiency during the next term to continue in the program. Note that grades of Incomplete count as failing grades after one semester. Hence incomplete courses carried over beyond the next term may lead to termination if they lower the student's average below B.
The Graduate School maintains the following minimum registration requirements for full-time status: graduate students without an assistantship appointment or appointed for .24 FTE or less must enroll for at least 12 hours each semester; those holding .25-.49 FTE assistantships must enroll for at least nine hours; and those on .50-.74 FTE assistantships must enroll for at least 8 hours. Part-time students must enroll for at least 3 hours. Summer enrollment is optional but may be required by some fellowships and assistantships. The department expects students making satisfactory progress to maintain these registration levels.
The department has additional expectations concerning satisfactory progress. Ideally, students will progress more rapidly than the following guidelines. Under special circumstances such as heavy family responsibilities, students may progress more slowly. Ordinarily, however, students not progressing at the following rates will be considered behind schedule:
At the M.A. level, the following rules apply to full-time students: a) the M.A. supervisory committee should be formed by the end of the first year of graduate enrollment and must be formed by the completion of the first 18 hours of graduate course work; b) students in the thesis M.A. program should have an approved thesis proposal by midterm of the third academic semester after admission into the program; c) the M.A. should be completed within two years of initial entry.
At the Ph.D. level, full-time students: a) must form the supervisory committee by the end of the first semester after admission into the program; b) should complete qualifying exams by the fifth semester in the program; c) should have an approved dissertation research proposal by the end of the sixth semester following admission.
Graduate
Student
Annual Report
Each graduate student must complete an annual report reviewing degree progress, accomplishments in research and teaching, and plans for the coming year. These reports are due during the spring term. The Committee on Higher Degrees is responsible for determining the format of the report. The department faculty as well as the student’s supervisory committee will review the reports. (Approved April 19, 2001).
Summary. Master's students at the University of Florida take a sequence of 6 required courses in methods, theory, and statistics plus elective courses to complete the required 36 hours for the degree. Students may select either a Thesis or Nonthesis option. The hours taken to complete the M.A. will count toward the total of 90 hours required for the Ph.D., if admitted to that program.
Procedures
for the
M.A. Degree
After consultation
with the supervisory committee, the
student must decide whether to choose the thesis or nonthesis
M.A. curriculum. It is possible to change this selection later based on
the
approval of the supervisory committee and subject to detailed Graduate
School
rules governing the timing of the change and treatment of research
courses. The
following apply to students choosing either option:
1. The Supervisory Committee. The student must ask a member of the department faculty to serve as chair of the supervisory committee. This faculty member will become the student's primary academic advisor. In consultation with the supervisory committee chair, the student selects at least one other Sociology faculty member to serve on the committee. After obtaining the consent of all proposed members, the student writes a memo to the Graduate Coordinator listing the proposed committee so that it can be submitted to the Graduate School for approval. Revised October 27, 1998 to reflect new graduate school policy.
A.
Department Rule on Affiliate Faculty Chairing
Theses and Dissertations
The following rule changes will affect students entering the department in August 2003 or later. Students who enter before that date may opt to be covered by these three changes together:
1. Affiliate faculty who hold Graduate Faculty status through Sociology may chair thesis and dissertation committees in the department. Dissertation committees chaired by an affiliate faculty member shall have a co-chair drawn from among tenured or tenure-accruing faculty in Sociology.
2. All thesis and dissertation committees in the department must have a majority of their total membership drawn from tenured or tenure-accruing faculty from Sociology.
2. Plan of Study. The student should consult with the supervisory committee chair to develop a detailed plan of courses and timing for completion of the M.A. degree. The supervisory committee chair will transmit an approved copy of the plan to the Graduate Coordinator within one month of the supervisory committee's appointment.
3. Credit Hour Requirements. The M.A. requires a minimum of 36 credit hours of courses, with additional guidelines noted below. The Department guidelines are designed to ensure that graduate students are exposed to the core ideas in methods, statistics, and theory while receiving substantive training in some key areas of sociology. Students will benefit from participating in dynamic exchanges found in seminars as well as doing independent or collaborative research with faculty and other graduate students. So long as the basic guidelines are followed, students can craft their program in various ways to incorporate individual studies hours, thesis research, courses outside the Department, “piggy-back courses,” and transfer credits.
4. Required Courses. Students are required to take the 6 courses listed below (18 total hours).
Methods
of Social Research and Statistics
Either:
or
Sociological
Theory
With approval of the Committee on Higher Degrees (CHD), similar graduate courses taken at other universities may be substituted for no more than 6 hours of the required courses.
5. Rule Waivers. Students may petition the Committee on Higher Degrees to waive departmental rules. Such petitions must include full justification and must have the approval of the student's supervisory committee if it has been formed. Petitions should be delivered to the Graduate Coordinator for submission to the CHD.
6. Theory Substitutions. Students who will not continue beyond the M.A. degree may, with permission of the Graduate Coordinator, substitute an area theory course (such as Criminological Theory or Family Theory) for either the Classical or Contemporary Theory courses.
7. Courses in Other Departments. With permission of the supervisory committee and the Graduate Coordinator, students may take graduate courses in other departments and apply the semester hours taken toward the total required for the M.A. degree. These courses may be part of a certificate or minor in another department or interdisciplinary program such as Latin American Studies or Gerontology.
8. Joint M.A. and J.D. Program. The department offers a joint M.A. and J.D. program in conjunction with the Law School. The student must be admitted to both the Law School and Graduate School and specify that the application is for the joint degree program. Further information is available from the Graduate Coordinator.
9. The Final Examination. Notice of the time and place of the final examination must be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator and the department faculty following department procedures outlined in the section “Procedures for Notifying the Graduate Coordinator and Department Faculty of Exams and for Making Required Documents Available.” A copy of the thesis or non-thesis paper must also be made available for faculty inspection following department procedures. All members of the supervisory committee must participate in the examination. For thesis degree applicants, the final examination is an oral defense of the thesis. For non-thesis candidates, the form of the exam is determined by the supervisory committee and may include a written component. Final examinations are not ordinarily held during the summer. All faculty members are invited to attend and participate, but only supervisory committee members may vote. All supervisory committee members must attend. (Revised November 12, 1999 to reflect new graduate school policy.)
10. Admission to the Ph.D. Program. Students receiving a University of Florida M.A. in Sociology who wish to pursue the Ph.D. here must apply for admission during the semester in which the M.A. is completed. The student should inform the Graduate Coordinator of his or her desire to continue in the program and ask the supervisory committee chair to forward a recommendation to the Committee on Higher Degrees at the completion of the M.A. final examination. The Committee on Higher Degrees makes the final decision. This is an internal departmental procedure, and the student does not have to re-apply to the Graduate School or Graduate Admissions Office.
The M.A. Thesis
Option
The thesis M.A.
requires 36 semester hours of course work,
a thesis proposal to be submitted before research is actively
undertaken, and a
final examination as described above. The supervisory committee
determines the
scope and length of the thesis proposal.
A final copy of the thesis proposal, initialed by the members of the supervisory committee, must be delivered to the department office. It will be placed on the office counter or the department mailroom for 10 business days to allow faculty inspection and then will be placed in the student's file. The student must deliver one copy of the final approved M.A. thesis to the department for inclusion in its thesis library.
The M.A.
Non-Thesis option
Requirements are the same for the non-thesis option with the following exception. The student must prepare a research paper of a scope and quality acceptable to the supervisory committee. Generally speaking, the paper should be prepared in a manner (e.g., quality, length, style) suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed social science journal. The supervisory committee determines the nature of the final examination and it may contain a written component.
Summary. The doctoral program consists of 90 semester hours of credit beyond the B.A. degree. Students with a Sociology M.A. received within the last seven years from an accredited U.S. university may request up to 30 hours credit from their M.A. work toward this total. Those with an M.A. from this department may apply 36 hours. The department requires Ph.D. students to complete at least 66 hours of course work, including the M.A. hours. Qualifying exams in sociological theory, research methods and statistics, and two speciality areas take place at the end of a student's course work. The 24 hours remaining to complete the required 90 hours usually consist of individual pre-doctoral and doctoral dissertation research.
The core course requirements for the Ph.D. comprise 21 hours
(3 hours each), as listed below. Most of these courses are taken in the
M.A. program. The requirements and restrictions for the Ph.D.
were amended January 17, 2006. Students
entering in August, 2006 and later will be required to complete
18 credit hours, beyond the required 21 hours (Methods, Stats, and
Theory) in Sociology Department Seminars. (Individual work or
individual research courses are not
considered seminars).
Procedures
for the
Ph.D. Degree
1. The Supervisory Committee. The committee consists of at least four members of the department or approved departmental faculty affiliates plus an external member from outside the department, all of whom must be members of the graduate faculty. (The Graduate School requires three committee members from the department, but the department requires a fourth.) The committee chair must be a regular member of the department and have expertise in the substantive area in which the student plans to work. Affiliate department members may be a committee cochair or member. The student should obtain the consent of the proposed supervisory committee chair and, in consultation with the proposed chair, determine other potential members and obtain their consent.
The outside member should have expertise related to the student's research interests. If the student has an out-of-department minor, the outside member must come from the minor department. Sociology faculty affiliates may not serve as outside members. Students who are unable to determine likely outside members should consult with the Graduate Coordinator or supervisory committee chair. Faculty members in professional schools (e.g. Law) as well as some other faculty members are not members of the graduate faculty. Special permission from the Graduate School is required for their inclusion on the supervisory committee, and obtaining that permission requires compelling justification. The student must submit a memo to the Graduate Coordinator for consideration by the Committee on Higher Degrees. This memo should list the proposed committee members and present a brief rationale for each person's inclusion. The rationale for the committee chair must be that the chair has expertise in the declared major area of specialization. At least one member must have expertise in each of the following: theory, methods, and the student's intended secondary specialization area. Ordinarily, no one faculty member can serve in both theory and method capacities, but there may be overlap between these areas and substantive specialization areas. The memo should declare the student's primary and secondary specialization areas (discussed below).
The Committee on Higher Degrees reviews the proposed committee carefully. Their concern centers on two issues. First, since the supervisory committee has responsibility for qualifying examinations, it must have adequate strength in each area in which the student is likely to be examined. Second, the committee must have great strength in the student's major area of specialization to provide the level of supervision required for the Ph.D. degree. Once the CHD approves the proposed committee, it will be forwarded to the Graduate School for approval.
Later changes in the supervisory committee require the same process of petition with a clearly stated rationale for a proposed change.
A.
Department Rule on Affiliate Faculty Chairing
Theses and Dissertations
The following rule changes will affect students entering the department in August 2003 or later. Students who enter before that date may opt to be covered by these three changes together:
1. Affiliate faculty who hold Graduate Faculty status through Sociology may chair thesis and dissertation committees in the department. Dissertation committees chaired by an affiliate faculty member shall have a co-chair drawn from among tenured or tenure-accruing faculty in Sociology.
2. All thesis and dissertation committees in the department must have a majority of their total membership drawn from tenured or tenure-accruing faculty from Sociology.
2. Plan of Study. The student should consult with the supervisory committee chair to develop a detailed plan of courses and timing for completion of the Ph.D. degree. The supervisory committee chair will transmit an approved copy of the plan to the Graduate Coordinator within one month of the supervisory committee's appointment.
3. Credit Hour Requirements: The Ph.D. requires a minimum of 90 credit hours of courses, with additional guidelines noted below. As with the M.A. degree, the Department guidelines are designed to ensure that graduate students at the Ph.D. level are exposed to the core ideas in methods, statistics, and theory. In addition, students are expected to receive more extensive substantive training in at least a few key areas of sociology to enhance their expertise in at least one primary and one secondary area. Students will benefit from participating in dynamic exchanges found in seminars as well as doing independent or collaborative research with faculty and other graduate students. So long as the basic guidelines are followed, students can craft their program in various ways to incorporate individual studies hours, thesis/dissertation research, courses outside the Department, “piggy-back courses,” and transfer credits.
4. Required Courses. Students are required to take the following courses (21 total hours).
Methods
of Social Research and Statistics
Either:
or
And one course from among the following:
Sociological
Theory
With approval of the Committee on Higher Degrees (CHD), students entering the Department from elsewhere may petition for a waiver if similar courses have been successfully completed.
5. Rule Waivers. Students may petition the Committee on Higher Degrees to waive departmental rules. Such petitions should include full justification and must have the approval of the student's supervisory committee if it has been formed. Petitions should be delivered to the Graduate Coordinator for submission to the CHD.
6. Courses in Other Departments. With permission of the supervisory committee and the Graduate Coordinator, students may take graduate courses in other departments and apply the semester hours taken toward the total required for the M.A. degree. These courses may be part of a certificate or minor in another department or interdisciplinary program such as Latin American Studies or Gerontology.
7. Areas of Specialization. Ordinarily students choose a primary and secondary substantive specialization. The primary specialization must be selected from the list of departmental specializations. The secondary specialization is usually chosen from this list but may be from a related social science discipline or an interdisciplinary program. Students interested in a secondary specialization not on the list or outside the department should consult the Graduate Coordinator and supervisory committee chair. The student should also consult the minor department since it will have rules governing minors in that field. Except in extraordinary circumstances, the dissertation will be in the area of primary specialization.
The adoption of specialization areas constitutes a major intellectual and occupational commitment and should not be undertaken lightly. Students should select areas in the light of their interests, department strengths, interests of faculty with whom they wish to work, and the nature of the job market.
The department emphasizes these areas of particular strength:
· Aging, Health, and the Life Course
· Environment and Resource Sociology
· Families, Gender, and Sexualities
· Racial and Ethnic Studies
In addition, graduate students can specialize in the following areas:
· Deviance
· Social Stratification and Inequality
· Latin American Studies
· Social Psychology
Students may petition the CHD for a specialization area not included on the following list; areas that are too narrowly focused, lack faculty expertise, or are not well represented in the discipline are unlikely to be approved.
8.Teaching and Research Experience. Numerous experiences (including graduate teaching assistantships and research assistantships) offer students valuable opportunities to work with faculty and to be involved in the research process. These experiences enhance the student's skills and employment prospects. Students are encouraged to seek out at least a semester of each type of experience, even on an unpaid basis. Students should consult with their supervisory committee or the Graduate Coordinator to discuss ways of obtaining this experience.
9. Written Qualifying Examination. At the end of course work, comprehensive qualifying exams are required. These exams should normally occur no later than the fifth semester following Ph.D. program admission. While preparing for the exams and while working on a dissertation proposal, the student may enroll in predoctoral research, SYA7979, Advanced Research.
The qualifying exam consists of four components: sociological theory; methods and statistics; and the student's primary and secondary areas of specialization. The supervisory committee prepares the examination. The four examinations are take-home exams, and library and other resources may be used. The primary specialization exam must be returned within 72 hours of receipt; the other three exams are 48-hour examinations. The four exams must be completed within a 30-day period.
A published paper may substitute for half of the primary area exam or all of the secondary area exam (but not for theory or methods) if the paper is relevant to the particular area. The minimum requirements are that the paper must be a sole-authored paper written during residency as a student at the University of Florida and must be published or accepted for publication. The supervisory committee will determine the adequacy of the paper as a substitute by evaluating its topic, quality, length, and the standing of the journal of publication. Substitution of a paper for an exam on a secondary or minor area outside the department must be approved by the outside committee member from that department.
The supervisory committee chair and the student should reach a clear understanding with the outside member on the degree of her or his desired involvement in preparing the qualifying exams. There are no clear Graduate School guidelines and practices vary across the university. Explicit agreement on the outside member's role will avoid later problems.
Each supervisory committee member submits a "pass" or "fail" written grade for each exam. A plurality of pass votes is required in each area of the examination. (On occasion, a faculty member will decide not to vote on a particular exam because he or she lacks expertise in the area.) If the committee decides that the student has not passed the qualifying examination or any part of it, one re-examination is permitted, either on the whole examination or on parts of it.
10. The Oral Qualifying Examination and Admission to Candidacy. The supervisory committee chair shall approve scheduling of an oral qualifying exam only after reading the written exams and deeming them satisfactory for an oral defense. Notice of the exam should be given to the Graduate Coordinator and department faculty following the procedures outlined in the section “Procedures for Notifying the Graduate Coordinator and Department Faculty of Exams and for Making Required Documents Available.” The oral exam must take place within 30 days of the last exam's completion. Ordinarily, written exams must be completed by late March in order for the oral exam to be scheduled before the end of the spring term. Oral exams are ordinarily not scheduled during the summer. All faculty are invited to attend and participate in the oral examination, but only members of the supervisory committee may vote. All members of the supervisory committee must attend. (Revised November 19, 1999 to state that all committee members must attend per Graduate Council 21May1998).
Successful completion of both the written and oral parts of the qualifying examination is required for admission to Ph.D. candidacy. The committee's report on the qualifying exam is the candidacy form and authorizes enrollment in dissertation research, SYA 7980 (and bars further enrollment in SYA 7979).
The Admission to Candidacy form requires the listing of a dissertation title. Later changes in the title are possible (though it is important that the final dissertation have the same title as the original Admission to Candidacy or amended title reported to the Graduate School). Although it is much more convenient to have a dissertation title at the time of the qualifying exams, there is a procedure if this is not possible: the supervisory committee chair reports the qualifying examination result to the Graduate School (and the Graduate Coordinator) by memo and files the Admission to Candidacy form when the dissertation title becomes available.
11. Dissertation Proposal and Hearing. The dissertation proposal may be prepared and defended before or after the qualifying exams but not on the same day. Ordinarily, it will be defended by the end of the sixth semester after Ph.D. program entry. The proposal shall be of the length and organization as determined by the supervisory committee, and should be sufficient to communicate satisfactorily an understanding of the literature and background of the theoretical and empirical issues and present a feasible and appropriate methodology for the project.
A copy of the proposal must be made available for faculty inspection following the procedure on page 8. Notice of the proposal hearing must be given to the Graduate Coordinator and department faculty following the procedures outlined in the section “Procedures for Notifying the Graduate Coordinator and Department Faculty of Exams and for Making Required Documents Available.” Dissertation hearings are not ordinarily scheduled during the summer. All members of the faculty are invited to attend the proposal hearing.
12. Suggestions
for Dissertation Research.
A. Students who remain in residence at the University of Florida while researching and writing their dissertations are likely to finish more quickly and will find consultation with the supervisory committee much easier.
B. A dissertation must be completed within five years of qualifying exam completion. Students taking longer must be readmitted and may be required to repeat the qualifying exams.
C. When writing the dissertation, pay special attention to Graduate School formatting rules.
D. It is entirely ethical for a student to engage a paid editor to advise on matters of grammar, punctuation, and spelling. This can be helpful, particularly for students for whom English is not the first language.
E. During the student's planned final semester, it is essential to obtain and study closely the Graduate School leaflet showing deadline dates. Incompletes or other defects should be cured before the start of the final semester.
13. The Final Examination. The final examination is an oral defense of the dissertation; general matters pertaining to the student's specializations may also be covered. The exam may not be scheduled before a completed draft of the dissertation has been distributed to the supervisory committee and the committee chair has read it and determined that it is ready for oral defense. The distributed copy must be a complete dissertation (excepting the acknowledgments, abstract, and biographical sketch). A copy must be delivered to the department office for faculty inspection following the procedures outlined in the section “Procedures for Notifying the Graduate Coordinator and Department Faculty of Exams and for Making Required Documents Available.” Notice of the exam must be given to the Graduate Coordinator and department faculty following department procedures. Final examinations are ordinarily not scheduled during the summer.
All faculty members are invited to attend and participate in the final examination, but only members of the supervisory committee may vote. A copy of the final dissertation must be delivered to the department office for inclusion in the department dissertation library. All supervisory committee members must attend. (Revised November 19, 1999 to state that all committee members must attend per Graduate Council 21May1998).
Procedures for
Seeking Employment
About one year before finishing, the student should initiate discussions with the supervisory committee chair to prepare a job search plan. Issues to be considered include: preparation of a vita; selection of faculty from whom recommendation letters will be requested; scheduling of an opportunity to present the student's research in a departmental seminar; and identifying information about available jobs. The particular job strategy will depend on the graduate's level (M.A. or Ph.D.), the type of job desired (academic or non-academic), as well as a number of other factors. The supervisory committee chair will assist, guide, and advise on the job search, though responsibility for the search lies with the graduate student.
Procedures
for
Notifying the Graduate Coordinator and
Department Faculty of Exams and for Making
Required Documents
Available
The following
notification procedures will be rigidly
enforced.
The Graduate Coordinator and department faculty must be notified ten business days in advance of the M.A. final examination, the Ph.D. qualifying oral examination, the Ph.D. proposal defense, and the Ph.D. final examination. The information needed: student’s name, title of relevant (thesis/paper)/dissertation, ABSTRACT, and the date and location of the defense meeting. This notification is the responsibility of the supervisory committee chair and certifies that the committee chair is satisfied the written document is ready for an oral defense. Notification to the department faculty and graduate students should be conveyed by electronic mail.
Certain documents must be made available for faculty inspection,
including the M.A. thesis or non-thesis paper, the Ph.D. proposal, and
the
Ph.D. dissertation. Each of these documents must be made available ten
business days in advance of the oral defense or examination on
them. This
requirement is met by delivery of one copy of the document to the
department
office where it will be placed on the office counter or in the
department
mailroom until the examination is held. The proposal for the thesis or
non-thesis paper for the M.A must also be made available for ten
business
days, but the timing is not linked to
an
examination.
Please note that this summary of rules is not complete. It does not include all relevant department and Graduate School rules and it does not include full detail of the rules it lists. It is intended for quick reference. In cases of ambiguity or conflict, the main document will govern.
M.A. Degree (Requirements
and restrictions Revised
January 17, 2006)
Required Courses: 36 semester hours, including the following courses:
Course
Restrictions:
Oral exams: Final oral exam for both thesis and non-thesis options. All committee members must attend. The supervisory committee chair must give notice to the Graduate Coordinator and department faculty ten business days in advance of the exam. (Revised November 19, 1999 to state that all committee members must attend per Graduate Council 21May 1998).
Supervisory Committee: Consists of at least two members; to be formed by the completion of 18 hours. Plan of study to be filed within 30 days of the supervisory committee's appointment.
Ph.D. Degree (Requirements
and restrictions Revised
January 17, 2006)
Required Courses: 90 hours taken after the B.A. In addition to the required courses listed for the M.A., one of the following courses must be taken:
Course
Restrictions:
Qualifying Exams: Four written exams in theory, methods, and primary and secondary specialization areas.
Oral Exams: Oral qualifying exam; dissertation prospectus hearing; oral dissertation defense. The supervisory committee chair must give notice to the Graduate Coordinator and department faculty ten business days in advance of each exam. All committee members must attend. (Revised November 19, 1999 to state that all committee members must attend per Graduate Council 21 May1998).
Supervisory Committee: Four members of the department and one outside member; to be formed at the end of the first semester after admission. The complete rules specify the expertise of members. Plan of study to be filed within 30 days of the supervisory committee's appointment.
Both Degree
Programs
The Graduate School requires a B average in the total graduate program (i.e. graduate course and approved undergraduate courses taken outside the department). The department requires a B average in all graduate courses. In addition, the department requires each required course be completed with a B grade or better.