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Financial Assistance and Normal Progress

Advising

Requirementsfor the M.A. Degree

Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree

Graduate Student Handbook

Applying for Admission

Financial Assistance and Normal Progress:

The Department of Sociology attempts to provide financial support for as many graduate students as possible by awarding Teaching Assistantships and Research Assistantships to its most qualified students. Those students submitting all of the materials required for admission to the graduate program will automatically be considered for financial support. In accordance with the policies of the Graduate School, the continuance of financial support is dependent upon adequate performance as a teaching assistant or research assistant and normal progress toward the degree. In general, a student working toward an M.A. degree can expect two years of support. A student pursuing the Ph.D. degree can expect four years of support beyond a B.A. degree. A student with an M.A. degree from another institution pursuing the Ph.D. degree can expect three years of support. An additional year of support for students pursuing a Ph.D. degree may be granted in exceptional cases. However, these exceptions are granted on the basis of merit rather than need. Of course, the continuation of support is always contingent upon the availability of funds.

Advising:

In their first year in the department, graduate students typically rely on the Director of Graduate Studies for advice in developing a their program of study. However, by the end of the first year, each student is required to assemble an individual Student Advisiory Committee comprised of at least three faculty members (Masters level) or four faculty members (Ph.D. level) who have agreed to serve in that capacity. This Student Advisory Committee will serve as the Thesis Committee and/or Dissertation Committee. However, students are free to change the composition of their Student Advisory Committee at any time.

Requirements for the M.A. Degree:

To earn an M.A. degree in sociology, under the thesis option required of students wishing to pursue a Ph.D. degree, the following courses are required: Soc. 421 (Quantitative Techniques in Sociology II); Soc. 517 (Seminar in Contemporary Sociological Theory); Soc. 520 (Research Methods in Sociology); Soc. 521 (Regression Models); and Soc. 591(The Sociological Profession). A total of 2 hours (two semesters) of Soc. 590 are required.

In all, students must successfully complete a minimum of 30 hours of study. Specific courses are chosen in consultation with either the Director of Graduate Studies or the members of the Student Advisory Committee. In either case, the final program of study must be approved by the Graduate Studies Committee. These 30 hours must include a minimum of 21 hours of graded course work at the 400 or 500 level. Of these, there must be a minimum of 9 hours at the 500 level; a maximum of 9 hours at the 400 level; a maximum of 10 hours of graduate course work outside the department; and a maximum of 6 hours of graduate course work from another institution.

In addition, students must prepare a thesis under the direction of their Student Advisory Committee and defend the thesis at an oral examination conducted under the auspices of the Graduate School. The thesis may be completed through enrollment in Soc. 700 (Master's Research, Thesis, and Examination). Students must consult with the Director of Graduate Studies prior to schedulng the oral defense of their thesis.

Students who serve as teaching assistants or research assistants are required to enroll in 18 credit hours each semester. During the semesters in which a student is writing the thesis, all 18 credit hours may be in Soc. 700. Otherwise, students are expected to enroll in at least one graded course (at the 400 or 500 level) each semester.

For students who do not wish to pursue the Ph.D. degree, the department offers a non-thesis option for the M.A. degree. The degree requirements for the non-thesis option are the same as those for the thesis option with the following exceptions. Students must successfully complete a minimum of 26 hours of graded course work at the 400 or 500 level, including at least 12 hours at the 500 level. They must also compete an acceptable paper and pass a final oral examination through enrollment in Soc. 702 (Master's Special Problems, Directed Study, and Examination) for at least 4 hours of credit.

Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree:

The course requirements for the Ph.D. degree, in addition to the five courses required for the M.A. (see Thesis Option), include successful completion of Soc. 522 (Advanced Sociological Methodology) and either Soc. 525 (Practicum in Survey Research) or and approved equvalent (usually a second topic in Soc. 522 or Soc. 523, Qualitative Methods Practicum). Other advanced methods courses may be substituted for Soc. 522 and Soc. 525 with the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee.

In all, students must successfully complete a minimum of 72 hours of study. Specific courses are chosen in consultation with either the Director of Graduate Studies or the Student Advisory Committee. In either case, the program of study must be approved by the Graduate Studies Committee. These 72 hours must include a minimum of 42 hours of graded course work at the 400 or 500 level beyond the B.A. or B.S. degree. These 42 hours may include a maximum of 9 hours at the 400 level, a maximum of 15 hours of graduate course work outside the department, and a maximum of 12 hours of graduate course work transferred from another institution.

Students who serve as teaching assistants or research assistants are required to enroll in 18 credit hours each semester. Once a student has been advanced to Ph.D. candidacy, all 18 credit hours may be in Sociology 800 (Dissertation). Until then, students who serve as teaching assistants or research assistants are expected to enroll in at least one graded graduate course each semester.

In order to be advanced to Ph.D. candidacy students must complete 5-hour Comprehensive Written Examinations in two areas of specialization as administered and evaluated by their Student Advisory Committee. Students entering the graduate program with a B.A. should take their Comprehensive Written Examinations no later than the beginning of their fourth year in the program. Students who enter the program with an M.A. should take their Comprehensive Written Examinations no later than the beginning of their third year in the program. Our areas of specialization include: Communities, Criminology and Deviance, Environmental Sociology, Gender, Organizational Sociology, Social Psychology, Social Stratification, Sociology of the Family, and Methods and Statistics. However, students may elect to be examined in other areas of specialization with the consent of their Student Advisory Committee and the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee. Students must consult with the Director of Graduate Studies prior to scheduling their Comprehensive Written Examinations.

Students are advanced to candidacy at a Ballot Meeting conducted by the Graduate School and in which all sociology faculty may participate. The Ballot Meeting is held no more than 30 days after the completion of the first Comprehensive Written Examination. Members of the Student Advisory Committee must attend and vote. At the Ballot Meeting the Student Advisory Committee will make a recommendation based on the student's performance on the Comprehensive Written Examinations and overall performance in our graduate program.

Finally, students are required to write a dissertation, based on original research, and to defend it at a Final Oral Examination attended by the members of the Student Advisory Committee. Any other member of the sociology faculty may attend this defense. This examination is conducted under the auspices of the Graduate School. Students must consult with the Director of Graduate Studies prior to scheduling the oral defense of their dissertation.

Applying for Admission:

In order to apply for admission to the graduate program in sociology, you must apply for admission to the Graduate School at Washington State University. In addition, you must submit the following information directly to the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Sociology:

Three letters of recommendation.

A copy of your Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores.

A brief statement of your professional interests and goals.

A copy of your transcripts (in addition to the copy sent to the Graduate School).

You can obtain the forms required to apply for admission to the Graduate School on line:

You may obtain additional information about the graduate program from the Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Sociolgy, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4020. You may contact the department by e-mail at: soc@wsu.edu

Graduate Student Handbook

For more information about the graduate program, consult the Graduate Student Handbook.