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GRADUATE STUDENT HANDBOOK:

A Guide to the Graduate Program and Rules, Policies, and Procedures
of the Department of Sociology and The Graduate School

University of Colorado at Boulder

Fall 2000 Edition

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*Graduate students are subject to the rules and expectations described in the Handbook that is in effect when they are admitted to the program. Click on the subheadings below to link to that portion of the handbook.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. The Department of Sociology
A. Introduction
B. Admission to the Program
C. Areas of Specialization
D. Graduate Degrees Offered
E. Transfer of Credit
F. The Department Advising System
G. Assistantships
H. Overview of Requirements and a Typical Program of Study

I. Graduate Student Vitae
J. Annual Assessments
K. Preregistration for Graduate Students
L. Graduate Student Petitions
M. The M.A. Degree

II. The Graduate School
A. Assistantships
B. Admission Procedures
C. Time Limit for Completion of Degree
D. Courses Acceptable for Graduate Credit
E. Independent Study and Guided Research
F. Time Out Program

III. Faculty Areas of Specialization

IV. Contact Information

V. Program Checklist

____________________________________________________________________________________

A. Introduction

The Graduate Program in Sociology at the University of Colorado at Boulder seeks to educate and graduate people who are creative and productive scholars, quality teachers, and able to make useful contributions to society. The program provides for the common good, and fosters high morale and cohesion among its students. To the greatest extent possible, the program seeks to:

* foster faculty/student mentor relationships through one-on-one faculty-student relationships as a means of teaching graduate level sociology;
* give students clear and informed feedback on progress toward their degrees;
* socialize students into the norms of the profession by informing students about professional expectations and procedures not traditionally covered in seminars;
* ensure that students have as close to 100% of their time to devote to the program;]
* help students master sociological knowledge and develop their capacity to create new knowledge; and
* guarantee sound basic training in theory and methods.

B. Admission to the Program Students are only admitted to the Graduate Program during the fall semester. Completed applications and supporting documents must be on file by January 1 to be considered for fall admission.

C. Areas of Specialization

The Department maintains a strong emphasis in the theories and methods of the discipline to provide students with sound basic training regardless of their area of specialization. These include classical, contemporary, and modern theory, and qualitative and quantitative research methods and analysis techniques.

The Department supports efforts in eight other university units by faculty with diverse interests who contribute expertise and conduct research in those programs. These include the Institute of Behavioral Science's:

(1) Program on Political and Economic Change, (2) Program on Population Processes, (3) Program on Problem Behavior,
(4) Program on Environment and Behavior, (5) the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, and (6) the Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center; as well as (7) the Department of Ethnic Studies, and (8) the Department of Woman's Studies. Consequently, faculty can be found in the Department of Sociology with interests in these topics.

The Department offers students opportunities to pursue specialized interests in its two prime areas of specialiation. These are criminology and social stratification, but students may also pursue a variety of other disciplinary interests within sociology.

1. Criminology. The Department routinely offers graduate seminars in different areas related to the sociological study of criminology. These include:

  1. Theories of crime that explore the causes of the onset, continuity and termination of delinquency and crime;
  2. Epidemiology, that is, the incidence and distribution of crime in the population;
  3. Policy analysis, applications, interventions, and their evaluations; and
  4. Topics in specialized areas such as school violence, criminal careers and "What Works in the Prevention of Delinquency."

2. Social Stratification. The Department also offers graduate seminars on a routine basis in topics related to the investigation of social stratification. These include:
  1. Theories of social, ethnic, sex, and age stratification and examines social inequality in the United States.
  2. Sex and gender, which provides theoretical and empirical examination of sex stratification, sex role differentiation, and sex differences in socialization, personality, institutions, and culture.
  3. Race and ethnicity are assessed in terms of their theoretical and practical import.
  4. Topics in specialized areas of stratification such as the societal causes of stratifcation systems and how age functions to distribute societal resources and life chances.

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRAs) are available, working with faculty on a variety of grant-supported research projects.

D. Graduate Degrees Offered

The Department does not operate separate M.A. and Ph.D. graduate programs; the only available course of study is designed to end with the Ph.D. degree. An M.A. degree is available if students wish to obtain one "in transit" toward the Ph.D., but then only if students meet M.A. degree requirements. Obtaining an M.A. degree should not delay a student's progress toward the Ph.D. A M.A. degree may also be made available under circumstances when students are unable to meet Ph.D. degree requirements.

E. Transfer of Credit

Request for transfer of credit forms to submit for Graduate Committee consideration are available from the Graduate Secretary.

In accordance with Graduate School policy, the Department accepts a maximum of 21 graduate level credit hours from another college or university for transfer toward fulfilling the requirements of the Ph.D. degree. Request for transfer of credit forms to be applied to the Ph.D. degree may not be submitted until the "preliminary examination" (described in a subsequent handbook section) has been successfully completed. The Department may recommend to the Graduate Dean a maximum of nine graduate level credit hours from another college or university for transfer toward fulfilling the requirements of the M.A. degree. Request for transfer of credit forms to be applied to the M.A. degree may not be submitted until a student has completed a satisfactory record of performance over at least one semester in residence.

F. The Department Advising System

Students are assigned a faculty member to act as their temporary advisor upon entering the program. Students are not expected to keep this faculty member as their permanent advisor, and students may change advisors at any time. Only a regular member of the graduate faculty of the Department of Sociology can act as a graduate student advisor. The procedure for changing advisors is as follows: select a new advisor, have him/her agree to serve in that role, and notify the Graduate Secretary and former advisor in writing of the change within one week. Students should work with their advisor to select other faculty members to be members of their advisory committee.

G. Assistantships

Graduate students in good standing are eligible for graduate assistantships. Students may apply for an assistantship for an upcoming academic year by submitting an application to the Graduate Committee by March 15. Applications are available from the Graduate Secretary. Criteria used to determine awards include:

* adequate progress is being made toward the degree;
* active status in the department;
* financial need;
* conformity to Graduate School rules;
* performance on prior assistantships;
* equity of distributed assistantships among students; and
* in the case of teaching assistantships, suitability for the teaching position under consideration.

The Graduate Committee considers all student requests, and every attempt is made to allocate awarded assistantships consistent with the preferences and information that students present in their applications. Students are notified of assistantships for the next academic year in writing in as timely a manner as possible near the end of the spring semester. Students offered an assistantship must then sign a binding contract accepting the appointment and assuming responsibility to uphold it. The department can not obligate itself to assistantships for more than one academic year at a time. Assistantships received in one academic year do not guarantee that an assistantship will be made available in subsequent years. The committee generally does not accept applications for assistantships beyond a graduate student's 6th year in the program.

 

H. Overview of Requirements and a Typical Program of Study

The following text outlines program requirements, provides deadlines for meeting them, and gives an example of "adequate progress toward the degree." The Graduate Committee recognizes that alternative paths for adequate degree progress exist that differ from the illustration provided below, that students who enter the program with an M.A. degree could move through the program more quickly than others, and that differences exist among students that may affect individual courses of study.

1. Enter Program

a. Demonstrate Proficiency in Statistics:
  1. pass qualifying examination in statistics, or
  2. SOCY 4061 (Statistics) with grade of B or better [prerequisite for SOCY 5021 (Data Analysis)], or
  3. pass a graduate level Statistics course with a grade of B or better

2. Year One

a. Required Fall Semester Seminars:

  1. SOCY 5001 (3 credits) Classical Theory
  2. SOCY 5031 (3 credits) Research Design
  3. SOCY 6821 (1 credit) Graduate Sociology Forum 1

b. Required Spring Semester Seminars:
  1. SOCY 5021 (3 Credits) Data Analysis
  2. SOCY 6831 (1 credit) Graduate Sociology Forum 2
  3. SOCY 5011 or SOCY 5211 (3 credits) Contemporary Theory or Topics in Sociological Theory. Students are required to take one of these courses, which are offered in alternate years. Some students may, therefore, defer this requirement to Spring semester of their second year and substitute another seminar.

c. Additional Seminars may be taken during the first program year, but are neither required nor recommended;

d. Study for Theory and Methods Comprehensive Exams:

  • it is assumed that students will study for theory and methods comps during the first program year

e. "Preliminary Examinations:"
  1. the GPA that a student earns in the six required classes during their first program year represents their "preliminary examination;"
  2. preliminary exams are considered passed with a 3.5 GPA in these courses and no grade lower than a B;
  3. students who do not pass prelims are required to retake courses as directed by the Graduate Committee the next time they are offered; failure to adequately perform the second time will result in expulsion from the Ph.D. program; a student may then, with approval from the Graduate Committee, work toward a terminal M.A. degree

f. Take Methods Comprehensive Examination:

  • Students are encouraged to take the examination in August (usually the second week) after their first year. (See Year Two for description).

3. Year Two

a. Recommended Seminars are encouraged during this program year;

b. Elective Seminars:

  • enroll in elective seminars for a minimum of five credit hours a semester to be full time in the program;

c. Total Hours Completed:

  • complete 30 credit hours by the end of your second program year which can include independent study courses to be eligible for funding to teach your own course in your third program year;

d. Study for Theory and Methods Comprehensive Exams:

  • it is assumed that students will study for theory and methods comps during this program year;

e. Take Methods (and Theory) Comprehensive Exams:

  1. students are required to take the comprehensive exam in methods during the second full week of August after their second year of coursework in the program if they have not already done so earlier;
  2. students are encouraged to take the comprehensive exam in theory during the August after their second year. They may, however, defer the theory exam to August (usually the third full week of August after their third year in the program;
  3. each exam is given on a separate day and structured to be readily completed in four hours, but
  4. exams are administered by the Graduate Committee but are drafted and graded by department faculty appointed by the Graduate Committee;
  5. exams are based on reading lists available from the Graduate Secretary; you are encouraged to obtain these upon your arrival into the program;
  6. these exams are written, closed book but open notes exams (students may bring one three-ring binder of notes with them to the exam) designed to assess how well a student has integrated and can use knowledge creatively;
  7. students who fail one or both of these exams are required to retake failed exams the next time they are offered; failure to pass the second time will result in expulsion from the Ph.D. program at which time a student may, upon approval from the Graduate Committee, work toward a terminal M.A. degree.

4. Years Three and Four

a. Take Theory Comprehensive Examination:

  • if you did not elect to take the comprehensive examination in theory in Year Two, you MUST take the exam in the second full week of August of your third year in the program;

b. Complete 45 Credit Hours of Course Work:
  1. students must complete a total of 45 course work credit hours which can include independent study courses with at least 24 in the Department of Sociology on the Boulder campus for a Ph.D. degree;
  2. to be considered full-time in the program, students must enroll for at least five credit hours each semester of their third and fourth program years until course work requirements have been fulfilled;

c. Take Elective Seminars:
  1. students should use this time in the program to take elective seminars in their area of specialty and on other topics;
  2. the Department will accept up to six hours of 4000 level coursework in another department as graduate credit with written approval from the student's advisor;

d. Develop Expertise in Specialty Area:

  • it is expected that students use these two program years to study and develop expertise in their area of specialization;

e. Study for Specialty Area Comprehensive Exam:
  • students should study for their specialty area comprehensive exam during both of these program years;

f. Papers and Publications:
  • it is expected that students will submit papers for presentation at professional meetings and for publication in journals during these program years;

g. Application for Candidacy:
  1. once the "preliminary examination" has been passed and 45 credit hours of course work have been completed, students must submit an "Application for Admission to Candidacy" to the Graduate Secretary who will process and forward it to the Graduate School; this form is available from the Graduate Secretary;
  2. once the Application for Candidacy is accepted by the Graduate School, the student is eligible to take the specialty area comprehensive examination;

h. Formation of Your Speciality Area Comprehensive Examination Committee (SCEC):
  1. all specialty area comprehensive examinations are administered by the student's SCEC comprised of five members of the graduate faculty;
  2. the SCEC must contain at least three regular members of the graduate faculty of the Department of Sociology (including the advisor) chosen by the student in consultation with the advisor;
  3. students must advise the Graduate Committee of the members of their SCEC via a form available from the Graduate Secretary before the end of the first semester of the third program year;
  4. the Graduate Committee approves a (fourth and) fifth SCEC faculty member with consent of the student's advisor;

i. Specialty Area Comprehensive Exam:
  1. students must take a specialty area comprehensive exam no later than during the second full week of August after their fourth program year;
  2. the exam is administered at a time set by the student and the SCEC;
  3. students must select a specialty area for this examination in consultation with their advisor and other members of their SCEC;
  4. exams are based on specialty area reading lists prepared by the student's advisor and members of the SCEC in consultation with the student;
  5. specialty area comprehensive examination reading lists must be submitted to the Graduate Committee for approval before the end of the first semester of the student's third program year;
  6. this exam is a written, closed book but open notes exam (students may bring one three-ring binder of notes with them to the exam) designed to assess how well a student has integrated knowledge and can use it creatively;
  7. this exam will be structured to be readily completed in four hours, but students will have up to eight hours in which to complete the exam;
  8. students who fail this exam are required to retake it in no more than one year; failure to pass the second time will result in expulsion from the Ph.D. program at which time a student may, upon approval from the Graduate Committee, work toward a terminal M.A. degree;

5)Years Five and Six

a. Time to Completion of Degree:
  • Six years are available to complete the program even though some will complete the Ph.D. in fewer years;

b. Formation of Your Dissertation Advisory Committee (DAC):
  1. students are required to work with their advisor to form a DAC once the specialty area comprehensive exam has been evaluated by the SCEC;
  2. a DAC must be comprised of at least five persons who are regular graduate faculty members at CU Boulder; three members must be graduate faculty of the Department of Sociology, one member must be graduate faculty from outside the department but from the Boulder campus, and the fifth member may be from either the Sociology graduate faculty or the graduate faculty of another UC Boulder department. A faculty member from another CU campus or university can serve on a DAC if a request for a temporary appointment is submitted to and approved by the Graduate School;
  3. students choose members of their DAC and designate one person as the chair;
  4. students may, with the approval of the DAC chair, place a sixth member on the DAC if the addition is consistent with Graduate School rules.
  5. the composition of all DAC's must be approved by the Graduate Committee before the dissertation is begun.

c. Dissertation Prospectus and Defense:
  1. once the DAC has been established, students must prepare a written dissertation prospectus and orally defend it in front of their DAC no later than by January of their fifth program year;
  2. the prospectus should offer a working outline of the project, developed prior to the defense and in concert with the members of the DAC. Given the emergent character of qualitative research, no specific requirements for a prospectus can apply to every project. In general, however, a prospectus should establish the topic(s) under investigation and state relevant questions that have arisen thus far. It should also establish the methods and/or analytical techniques used in the initial stages of the research, keeping in mind that additional or alternative strategies may be needed as the research progresses. A timetable can be helpful for the student as well as the committee, but given the unpredictability of everyday social interaction, this, too, must be subject to change.
  3. DAC members must be given two weeks to review the proposal before an oral defense of the prospectus to determine project suitability; changes may be suggested; the student may work on the dissertation project after the DAC has approved the prospectus or revised prospectus with a majority vote;
  4. an approved prospectus is a contract between the DAC and student who can expect to receive a Ph.D. only if he or she fulfills the prospectus objectives and successfully defends the dissertation;
  5. Graduate School requirements for the written dissertation are found in "Specifications for Preparation of Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations" and copies are available from the Graduate Secretary;

d. Dissertation Hours:
  1. once the specialty area comp exam is completed, students must register for seven or ten dissertation hours each semester until the dissertation defense;
  2. students must register for 20 dissertation hours after passing the specialty area comp exam; no more than 10 dissertation hours taken prior to that exam can count toward the total requirement of 30 dissertation credit hours; up to 10 hours can be taken in the same semester as the specialty area comp and may be counted toward the required 30;

e. Dissertation Research and Defense:
  1. students should complete their dissertation research and defense by the end of their sixth program year (the Graduate Committee generally does not accept assistantship applications from students in the program more than six years);
  2. at least four DAC members must sign a document stating that the dissertation is ready to be defended before a defense can be scheduled; this document does not imply that the candidate will pass the defense or that revisions to the dissertation will not be required;
  3. at least four DAC members must evaluate the defense as satisfactory in order to pass;
  4. candidates who fail the defense will be given a second opportunity; the DAC must specify what the candidate should do to prepare; the department is under no obligation to give students a third chance to satisfactorily defend their dissertation;
  5. a DAC can require dissertation revisions even if the candidate passes the defense; satisfactory completion of these revisions is a condition of passing the defense;
  6. the Ph.D. dissertation defense is a public event and any student or faculty member may attend;

f. Papers and Publications:
  • students should make use of these program years to present papers at professional meetings and submit them to journals for publication.

I. Graduate Student Vitae

Students must maintain a vitae to facilitate development of their professional credentials, and to enable review of student degree progress by the Graduate Committee. A one-page vitae entry is due to the Graduate Secretary on the May 15 for each year that a student is in the program. These one-page vitae should contain the following categories even if "none" is entered in a category.

1. name and student number;
2. advisor and committee members' names;
3. academic year number that this report documents --the number this academic year constitutes since you entered the program, and calendar date prepared;
4. department support received; history for all years recommended;

1. % time department support received by semester
2. type of job(s) for which support was received

5. other university jobs and means of support received;

1. % time support
2. character of job for which support was received

6. course work;

a. list title, professor, credits, grade earned for each course including W and I
b. cumulative GPA while in the program
c. course credits completed/left to complete
d. dissertation credits completed/left to complete

7. courses taught evaluations; provide the grades received on course evaluation questionnaires
8. papers presented at professional meetings; provide authorship, title, meeting and session names, and date presented for each
9. work submitted for publication or actually published, e.g., books, articles, chapters in books; provide authorship, title, date submitted for publication, and review outcome if known, e.g., rejected, revise and resubmit, accepted and forthcoming, in-print
10. preliminary exam status; describe information on status, e.g. courses left to complete, passed, failed to reach 3.5 GPA and re-taking courses
11. theory and methods comps; provide information on status, e.g., studying for, passed, failed and re-studying
12. specialty area comps;

1. CEC membership (provide names)
2. describe information on status, e.g., studying for, passed, failed and re-studying

13. dissertation prospectus; provide information on whether started, progress made, whether defended and outcome of defense
14. dissertation research and writing status; describe status in terms of problem statement, literature review/hypotheses, methods, data collection and analysis, findings development, conclusions
15. other significant benchmarks and information; grants applied for and outcome, and anything else you want to list
16. Honors and awards: e.g., fellowships, teaching awards, Beverly Sears Award

J. Annual Assessments

Each spring, the Chair of the Graduate Committee meets with faculty members who supervise graduate students to review each student's progress toward completion of the program. The Chair then meets with the students on a one-to-one basis to convey the faculty's assessment of the student.

K. Preregistration for Graduate Students

All graduate students should register as soon as possible after receipt of their registration materials. Students register by informing the Graduate Secretary of their course choices, and the Graduate Secretary will enroll them. Students who delay registration will be financially penalized by the University for late registration and run the risk of not being allowed to register due to a cap in enrollments. Failure to complete registration as soon as is possible may also increase the odds that graduate seminars will be canceled due to insufficient enrollment numbers.

L. Graduate Student Petitions. Students may petition the Graduate Committee to request exceptions to rules when extenuating circumstances exist. Petitions are available from the Graduate Secretary to whom all such petitions should be submitted.

All petitions, which should be addressed to the Graduate Committee and signed by the student and the Chair of the student's advisory committee, should include: (1) the nature of the petition, (2) whether the student wants the elected graduate student representatives to be included in the review of the petition--elected student representatives to the Graduate Committee will be included in the committee's deliberations of the student's petition only by request of the petitioner, and (3) the names of the student's committee members. Petitions are routinely placed on the agenda of the next available Graduate Committee meeting. The Graduate Committee routinely meets during the academic year, but not during summer. Petitions to the committee should be planned so that they are submitted in time for consideration during the Fall and Spring semesters.

All petitions are considered on a case-by-case basis. The outcomes of past student petitions submitted to the Graduate Committee do not constitute policy and in no way indicate the possible outcome of future petitions submitted to the committee by other students.

M. The M.A. Degree

The Department of Sociology does not operate an M.A. degree program. Students may obtain an M.A. degree in transit to their Ph.D. if they wish (the department does not provide extra time to pursue an M.A. degree); and students unable to complete Ph.D. requirements may be given the opportunity by the Graduate Committee to pursue a terminal M.A. degree.

1. Requirements. There are four requirements for an M.A. degree: satisfactory completion of 24 credit hours of course work with grades of B or better (no specific courses are required); preparation of a written thesis; completion of six thesis credit hours; and successful oral defense of the thesis. Students may petition for a non-thesis terminal M.A. degree.

2. Thesis Preparation. A candidate for an M.A. degree must write a thesis that demonstrates competent and independent scholarship and makes a useful contribution to sociological knowledge. A M.A. thesis is shorter and entails less original research than a Ph.D. dissertation. A format for the M.A. Thesis is found in "Specifications for Preparation of Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations," which is available from the Graduate Secretary.

The thesis is supervised and evaluated by a Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC) consisting of at least three regularly appointed graduate faculty members from the Department of Sociology. Members of the TAC are chosen by the student, who also designates the TAC chair. A candidate may, with the approval of the TAC chair, place additional members on the TAC. The appointment of additional members must be consistent with the rules of the Graduate School. The composition of the TAC must be reported to the Graduate Committee before any actions of the TAC can have official standing.

3. Completion of Thesis Hours. Students must be registered either for thesis credit hours or M.A. candidacy hours in the semester they plan to defend the thesis. No more than six thesis hours can be completed up to and including the semester in which the thesis is defended. The master's thesis must represent the equivalent of four to six semester hours of thesis work.

4. Thesis Defense. The thesis defense is an oral and public event at which the candidate explains and defends the thesis. The TAC, here constituted as an examining committee, assesses the adequacy of the thesis and the candidate's competence in the areas of sociological knowledge that relate to it. The candidate fails the defense if more than one TAC member votes against passing. Candidates who fail the defense will be given a second opportunity to make a successful defense. The TAC must specify what the candidate should do in preparation for the second defense. If the candidate fails the second defense, the Department of Sociology is under no obligation to provide her or him another opportunity. The TAC can require modifications in the thesis even if the candidate passes the defense. Satisfactory completion of these modifications is a condition of passing the defense.

II. THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

The rules of the Graduate School are binding on all academic departments. Graduate students should be aware of how these rules affect them. The following is a summary of some of the rules of the Graduate School that apply to graduate students in the Department of Sociology.

A. Assistantships

Teaching assistantships and instructorships, as well as research appointments, are awarded by the Department of Sociology and approved by the Graduate School. Depending upon the type of appointment and the percent time involved, the assistants will receive a tuition waiver for a specified number of credit hours. Such appointments are contingent upon "continued adequate progress" in a degree program. The Graduate School interprets adequate progress as the completion (receiving a letter grade and not an IW or IF) of at least five graduate credit hours per semester, or eight credit hours combined graduate and undergraduate course work.

Students may hold appointments in more than one department; however, the total of all appointments may not exceed 50%. Under extraordinary circumstances, appointments may be made in excess of 50% with the approval of the Department and the Graduate School.

The Graduate School stipulates that the total number of semesters of teaching support for a Master's student is eight semesters, not including summers. For all Ph.D. students, regardless of whether they received a Masters' degree at C.U. or elsewhere, the total number of semesters of teaching support is twelve semesters, not including summers.

B. Admission Procedures

Prospective students must apply for admission first to the Department of Sociology. If accepted by the Department, the application is then submitted to the Graduate School for acceptance. Acceptance into the graduate program in the Department of Sociology does not guarantee Graduate School admittance. A student may be admitted provisionally by the Department or by the Graduate School. If admitted provisionally, the Graduate School normally requires that, in the first year, a student complete 12 hours of graduate work with a GPA of 3.25 or better. In addition, a student may be required to fulfill departmental requirements for provisional acceptance.

C. Time Limit for Completion of Degree

The Graduate School allows six years from the commencement of course work in a graduate program for completion of requirements, including the filing of the dissertation. Under extenuating circumstances, a graduate student's advisor or the Chair of the Department of Sociology may request by letter an extension of the time limit from the Dean of the Graduate School.

D. Courses Acceptable for Graduate Credit

All courses taken within the Department of Sociology must be numbered 5000 or above in order to be accepted for graduate credit. Courses may be taken in another department for graduate credit up to six credit hours at the 4000 or 3000 levels if taught by a current graduate faculty member and approved for graduate rank by the Chair of the Student's advisory committee; in accordance with the rules of the Graduate School, 3000 level courses must also be approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.

E. Independent Study and Guided Research

According to Graduate School rules, there is no limit to the number of guided research hours or independent study hours that doctoral students can take. Students seeking an M.A. degree can take 25% of the coursework toward that degree as independent study (25% of 24 hours = 6 credit hours).

F. Time Out Program

The Time Out Program allows pre-comprehensive exam students to leave their graduate program for a specified time period without penalty. Students in good standing who wish to go on Time Out must follow two steps. These are: (1) petition the Graduate Committee for approval, and (2) apply through the Registrar's Office. The six year graduate program clock does not run while a student is on time out. If you wish to go on Time Out and are post-comprehensive exam, please see the Graduate Secretary.

III. FACULTY AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION (Link to faculty page)

 

IV. CONTACT INFORMATION

Additional information, forms, and answers to questions about the graduate program can be obtained by contacting:

Michele A. Noe, Graduate Secretary
Department of Sociology
Campus Box 327
University of Colorado
Boulder, Colorado 80309

TEL: (303) 735-2335
FAX: 303-492-8878
EMAIL: noem@spot.Colorado.EDU
PROGRAM CHECKLIST

YEAR ONE:

FALL SEMESTER

  • BEGIN STUDYING FOR METHODS AND THEORY COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATIONS
  • PASS QUALIFYING STATISTICS EXAM OR TAKE SOCIOLOGY 4061
  • SOCIOLOGY 5001 SOCIOLOGY 5031 SOCIOLOGY 6821

SPRING SEMESTER

  • SOCIOLOGY 5011 or SOCIOLOGY 5211 SOCIOLOGY 5021 SOCIOLOGY 6831
  • SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION WITH 3.5 GPA = PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
  • AUGUST: RECOMMENDED TAKE METHODS COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATIOn

YEAR TWO:

FALL SEMESTER
  • SOCIOLOGY 5211 OR SOCIOLOGY 5011

FALL AND SPRING SEMESTERS:
  • TAKE 13 HOURS OF ELECTIVES FOR A TOTAL OF 30 CREDIT HOURS
  • AUGUST: TAKE METHODS COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION IF NOT YET TAKEN
  • RECOMMENDED TAKE THEORY COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION


YEAR THREE:

FALL SEMESTER
  • FORM SCEC
  • SUBMIT SCE READING LIST TO GRADUATE COMMITTEE BY SEMESTER'S END
  • AUGUST: TAKE THEORY EXAM IF NOT YET TAKEN

YEARS THREE AND FOUR:

  • COMPLETE REQUIRED 45 HOURS OF COURSEWORK
  • APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY

YEAR FOUR:

  • TAKE SPECIALTY AREA COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

YEAR FIVE:

  • FORM DISSERTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (DAC)
  • JANUARY: DEFEND DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS

YEARS FIVE AND SIX:

  • WRITE AND DEFEND DISSERTATION
  • FINISH DISSERTATION HOURS FOR A TOTAL OF 30

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