Dr. Ming Wen
Director of Graduate Studies
Sociology Graduate Program
380 S 1530 E Rm 301
Salt Lake City UT 84112-0250

Sociology Graduate Program of Study

GRADUATE PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

To download the requirements as a PDF document click here
To download the recommended time line as a PDF document click here

REQUIRED COURSEWORK

SOC 6010    Proseminar (1)
SOC 7800    Professional Development Forum (0-3, every semester)

UGS 6000    Teaching in Higher Education(3)
PHL 7570     Research Ethics (1)
SOC 6050    Classical Sociological Theory (3)
SOC 7050    Contemporary Sociological Theory (3)
SOC 6110    Methods of Social Research (3)
SOC 6115    Sociological Analysis (3)
SOC 6120    Statistics I (3) Note: FCS 6110 is currently an alternative
SOC 7130    Statistics II (3)

Advanced Research Methods or Statistics (3)
Elective Seminars (9)

SOC 6977     Master's Project Research (6)
SOC 7911 Comparative International Readings I (3)
SOC 7912 Comparative International Readings II (3)
- or-
SOC 7921 Population and Health Readings I (3)*
SOC 7922 Population and Health Readings II (3)*

SOC 7931 Readings for Qualifying Exam #2 I (3)
SOC 7932 Readings for Qualifying Exam #2 II (3)

SOC 7950 Dissertation Proposal Development (6)
SOC 7977 Dissertation Research (14)

* During their first 3 years students are required to take Professional Development Forum (SOC 7800) with or without registering for credits. Soc 7911, 7912, 7921, 7922 are independent reading courses to help students prepare for the first qualifying exam. Soc 7931 and 7932 are independent reading courses for students' second qualifying exam.

Students cannot select the credit/no credit or pass/fail option for a required course and have it count toward the degree. The student is automatically terminated from the program if s/he receives a cumulative GPA below 3.0.

The student is automatically terminated from the program if s/he receives a cumulative GPA below 3.0.

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS

Students must pass all of the required masters-level courses with a grade of "B" or better. This core graduate curriculum consists of:   PHL 7570 Research Ethics, UGS 6000 Teaching in Higher Education, SOC 6050 Classical Sociological Theory, SOC 7050 Contemporary Sociological Theory, SOC 6110 Methods of Social Research, SOC 6115 Sociological Analysis, SOC 6120 Statistics I, SOC 7130 Statistics II.

If a grade of B- or lower is received in any core class, the student is automatically terminated from the program unless a petition is filed within 40 working days from the posting of grades. The petition will be evaluated by the graduate committee and core course faculty. A decision will be made and notification given to the student within 15 working days after the receipt of the petition.

SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE

A Supervisory Committee will provide guidance and advice to students regarding their coursework and master's project.   This committee will also evaluate the student's progress annually. Each student is responsible for forming a supervisory committee before the end of the second semester of their first year of study.   Students unable to form a committee before the end of their first year must obtain a formal extension from the Graduate Committee.

A Supervisory Committee is comprised of 3 faculty members, with one designated as the chair.   The chair and at least one other committee member must be a core faculty in the Department of Sociology.   The Graduate Committee will formally approve each student's Supervisory Committee.  

MASTER'S PROJECT

Second-year students will complete a master's level research project.

To complete a master's project, students must first pose a problem or question that can be empirically assessed.   They will then locate their research topic within a body of already-published literature, use data to explore the topic or question, and then discuss the significance of their findings.   The project does require an empirical investigation of data, but it does not require primary data collection.   Students are expected to follow all protocol established by the Institutional Review Board if their research involves human subjects.

Students who enter with a Master's degree may petition to have their Master's project requirement waived if they submit a Master's paper completed elsewhere within the first two months of their first semester. The paper will be evaluated by the graduate committee to determine whether the paper statisfies the Master's project requirement. The committee will notify the student of its decision by the end of the first semester. If a student entering with a Master's degree does not go through this petition process in the first semester, then s/he will be required to complete a Master's project.

This requirement consists of a written paper and an oral defense, both of which need to be approved and evaluated by a Supervisory Committee.

PAPER

The end-goal of the requirement is to create a "publishable-type of paper."   A typical Master's Paper will be 30-60 pages and follow the standard format of published journal articles (e.g., abstract, intro, methods, results, discussion, references ) .   A Master's Paper may have a longer literature review than is typically found in a published journal article.

ORAL DEFENSE

Each student will present their research findings during a formal public hearing.   After the student gives a formal presentation, s/he will respond to questions asked by the audience.   The Master's Supervisory Committee will often excuse the public audience and conduct further questioning of the student.   The date of the oral defense will be set by the Supervisory Committee, and must be announced at least two weeks ahead of time.  

After the student will present their research findings during a formal public hearing. .

QUALIFYING EXAMS

After finishing the required coursework and passing the master's project, students must pass two qualifying exams in which they demonstrate both a breadth and depth of sociological knowledge.

EXAM #1:   This exam will test students' mastery in one of two areas of specialization:  

1) Comparative International Sociology (CIS)

2) Sociology of Population and Health (PH)

A faculty committee will provide a list of the seminal articles and books for each topic area. Students are encouraged to take Population and Health Seminar (Soc 7070). Medical Sociology Seminar (SOC 6720, and Demographic Methods (FCS 6120) when preparing for the first qualifying exam in the PH area. Students are encouraged to take Comparative International Sociology Seminar when preparing for the first qualifying exam in the CIS area. A two-semester independent reading course (SOC 7911 and 7912 for CIS; 7921 and 7922 for PH) will provide an opportunity for students to prepare for the exam in their chosen field. Students are expected to prepare for the exam independently, but are encouraged to seek advice and guidance from faculty in their chosen area.

Exam #2 :   Students may choose to take an exam in the area they did not take for Exam #1 ( Comparative International Sociology or Sociology of Population and Health )

- OR - Students may choose another specialized field of sociology.  

Students choosing the latter option should specify an individually defined "field" of sociology, typically a field within which the dissertation is situated. This will be students' second area of specialization that does not have to be explicitly part of our graduate program. Therefore, the student must select a dissertation topic and form a Dissertation Committee before completing the self-designated Exam #2 option. The student, along with his or her Dissertation Committee, will develop an appropriate reading list for the chosen field of specialization. All reading lists for the self-designed option must be approved by the Dissertation Committee. Students should enroll in independent reading courses, SOC 7931 AND 7932, while preparing for the exam.

Timing of Exam
Exam #1 in the PH area will typically be given during the week immediately after the spring break in the spring semester (March). Exam #1 in the CIS area will typically be given during the week immediately after the Labor Day Holiday in the fall semester (September). Students should complete Qualifying Exam #1 by the end of their third year, immediaely following the Independent Reading Couse (SOC 7911, 7912 OR SOC 7921, 7922). Students should complete Qualifying Exam #2 by the end of their fourth year.

Format of Exam
Both exams will be administered in a take-home format.   Students will have 72 hours to complete 3-4 questions.   Each answer should be approximately 7-10 typed double-spaced pages.   Each answer will synthesize multiple literatures rather than summarizing individual articles.  

Grading of Exam
A faculty committee will evaluate the written test and award it a score of pass, conditional pass, or fail.   Students receiving a "fail" are given one additional opportunity to retake the exam.   Students receiving a "conditional pass" will participate in a 2-hour oral examination, in which a designated committee of faculty will ask students to clarify and expand on the answers provided in the written exam. During the oral defense of the dissertation proposal (usually occurring at the end of Year 4), student should also be prepared to orally discuss the reading lists from either Exam #1 or Exam #2.  

DISSERTATION PROJECT

A dissertation is the final requirement of a Doctoral Degree (PhD).    A dissertation is an original piece of research that provides evidence of a student's ability to conduct an independent investigation.   A dissertation should make a unique contribution to the field of knowledge in sociology.

Committee
Dissertation committees consist of five faculty members, the majority of whom must be regular faculty in the student's major department. The chair of the committee must be a core faculty member in the Department of Sociology. One member of the committee must be appointed from another department. The dissertation committee is responsble for approving the student's academic program, preparting and judging the second self-designed qualifying examinations approving the dissertation subject and final dissertation, and administering and judging the final oral examination (dissertation defense).

Proposal
Students are required to discuss their proposed research during a proposal hearing that is approximately two hours in length. Students must take at least 6 credit hours in the Dissertation Proposal Development course (SOC 7950) to prepare fro their dissertation proposal prior to the proposal hearing. The student must submit a written proposal to each committee member two weeks prior to the colloquium. The proposal should contain a clear statement of the research question, a review of the relevant literature, and a description of the methodology and the datea that will be used in the proposed project. Projects that involve human subjects must obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Once the student receives approval from his/her committee and the IRB, he/she may commence the dissertation research. The proposal should be approved no later than the end of a student's fourth year of study. Students unable to form a committee before the end of their fourth year must obtain a formal extension from the Graduate Committee

Dissertation
The style and format of the dissertation should adhere to the guidelines set out in the Handbook of Theses and Dissertations available from the Graduate School . This Handbook also outlines the steps students must follow to formally submit and bind their dissertations. Students must take at least 14 credit hours to work on their dissertation research.          

Oral Defense
The students must pass a final oral examination of their dissertation project.   This is a public examination scheduled by one's Dissertation Committee. The student should prepare a brief but formal presentation of the project, as well as be prepared to answer any questions regarding their research methods and findings.   A public announcement of the time and location must be made two weeks prior to the defense.   The full copy of the dissertation must also be put on file in the department two week prior to the oral defense, so all faculty and students have time to review the work.

TIME LIMITS

Students are expected to complete the doctoral program within five years. Students who are allowed to continue after the normal five years must complete the degree within seven consecutive calendar years. Upon written recommendation from one's dissertation committee and the Director of Graduate Studies, the Dean of the Graduate School may modify this requirement in extraordinary cases.

According to the University of Utah Graduate School guidelines, all work for a master's degree must be completed within four consecutive calendar years. Upon written recommendation of one's Master's supervisory committee and the Director of Graduate Studies, the Dean of The Graduate School may modify this requirement in extraordinary cases.

Students who receive funding from the department are limited to two years (4 semesters) of tuition support to work on their master's degree. If a student is not finished with the Master's degree requirement by the end of the second year, the student's Master's supervisory committee and the graduate committee will jointly assess the student's progress to determine if the student can be advanced to the PhD student status in order to receive tuition benefit in the following semesters. If the Master's supervisory committee and the graduate committee deem the student's progress as not satisfactory, the student will lose the tuition benefit starting from the third year.

Students in a PhD program who entered with a Bachelor's degree are limited to five year (10 semesters) of tuition support. Students in a PhD program who also received a Master's degree at the University of Utah are limited to five years of tuition benefit support (2 years for a Master's + 3 Additional years for a PhD). Students entering a PhD program with a Master's degree from another University are eligible for four years (8 semesters) of tuition benefit support regardless of whether the degree is recognized in the sociology department. Detailed guidelines of the tuition benefit program are available at http://www.gradschool.utah.edu/tbp/guidelines.php.

Students are required to enroll for 12 credit hours each semester when they receive tuition benefits. The following provides a typical calendar of coursework.

In addition to the departmental requirements outlined above, students are responsible for understanding and complying with the requirements of academic and professional degrees, as described in the University of Utah Graduate School Handbook .

August 4, 2009