Program Requirements

Below is an overview of degree requirements for a PhD in Sociology. The full requirements can be found in the CHD Handbook 2025-2026.

Course Work

Students are required to complete 16 graduate courses. Course work includes workshops, independent study, directed reading courses, and up to two units of independent research.

Required Courses

Theory
Students must take two sociological theory courses. All students are required to take SOCIOL 2204 in year 1 and SOCIOL 2000: Sociological Research Design and Contemporary Theory (typically offered in year 2).

Methods
Each student must complete a series of required courses in quantitative methodology (SOCIOL 2202 or approved substitute and SOCIOL 2203) and in qualitative methodology (SOCIOL 2209 or SOCIOL 2327). Students with little background in statistics are encouraged to take an introductory statistics course, such as Statistics 100. 

Sociological Research Design and Contemporary Theory
Students must enroll in SOCIOL 2000: Sociological Research Design and Contemporary Theory in their first or second year of graduate school. This seminar examines theory and research design in contemporary sociological research. We will examine important theories in different areas of the discipline, and the empirical approaches taken to support or challenge them. We will emphasize important principles that are applicable in all kinds of sociological research including surveys, participant observation, experiments, interviews and quantitative analysis of existing data.

Teaching Practicum
Students are required to take SOCIOL 3305, Teaching Practicum, concurrently with their first term of teaching, which is generally in the fall semester of the third year.

Qualifying Paper Seminar
All third-year students are required to take SOCIOL 3310: Qualifying Paper Seminar, which guides students through the process of producing an original research paper of high quality.

Electives

Students are required to take four electives. Two of the required four elective courses must be 200/2000-level courses in Sociology. Courses not listed or cross-listed in Sociology in Courses of Instruction will not count toward the requirement of at least two 200/2000-level courses in Sociology. The remaining electives may be chosen from 100/1000-level Sociology courses designated as Conference Courses in Courses of Instruction; 200/2000-level Sociology courses; 301/3301 individual reading courses in Sociology; or electives outside Sociology. If the remaining electives are not 200/2000-level Sociology electives, they must be approved by the Sociology Committee on Higher Degrees. This requirement is normally completed by the end of the second year of residency and must be met by the end of the third year of residency.

Workshops

Doctoral students are required to enroll in three workshops during their graduate careers. Students may receive elective credit for the same workshop taken twice. Sociology workshops are offered on a credit/non-credit basis only and attendance is required to receive course credit. See detailed information regarding PhD Workshops.

General Exam

There is one General Written Examination that is taken in August, prior to the start of the fall semester of the second year of residence. The examination is based on standard faculty-generated reading lists for seven fields within sociology (Social Organization, Social Stratification, Culture, Development, Gender and Sexuality, Family, Immigration, Political Sociology, and Race and Ethnicity). Students write one essay on each of four subject areas, including one essay on Social Organization and one essay on Social Stratification.

Each examination question is graded by two faculty members. The grade on this qualifying exam is an important component of the decision to advance a student to candidacy.

Teaching Fellowship (TF)

Students must complete one semester of teaching fellowship in departmental courses, or in other courses by approval. Work as a teaching fellow (TF) under the supervision of a faculty member fulfills this requirement. Teaching generally begins in the fall semester of the third year. In addition to SOCIOL 3305, Teaching Practicum, which must be taken concurrently with the first term of teaching, students are encouraged to take advantage of departmental and University-wide teacher training programs. Students for whom English is a second language are expected to acquire sufficient facility in English to be an effective teacher.

Qualifying Paper

In preparation for a career of writing scholarly papers, each student must complete a research paper in the third year of residency. This third-year paper may be on any sociological topic, and may address theoretical, empirical, or methodological issues. The paper is expected to reflect original work and be of publishable quality. A three-person committee that includes the primary advisor evaluates the paper. Although the reading committee is usually comprised of two regular faculty members in the department, emeritus and other faculty outside of the department may serve as committee members with prior approval. A two-page overview of the research project and the name of the Qualifying Paper faculty advisor must be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies in Sociology by February 15th of a student’s second year in the graduate program. To ensure that students are making adequate progress on their paper, students in their third year of graduate study are required to provide a first draft of the paper to their Qualifying Committee Chair by September 15th. The final deadline for paper submission is March 31st.

Annual Faculty Review of Graduate Students

Students who have not yet graduated by their sixth year must submit a planned timing of the dissertation research and defense by April 30th. Student progress is discussed with the entire faculty at a fall faculty meeting. The progress of all first-year students is discussed separately at a faculty meeting in the spring term.

Doctoral Dissertation

Each student must complete and defend a doctoral dissertation. The dissertation must be submitted to all committee members at least two months in advance of the scheduled defense date (students who plan to obtain May degrees must submit their dissertations to their committee members by February 15th). Assessment of satisfactory completion is determined by the student’s doctoral committee members.