Specific Requirements for Students with BA

Students admitted to the graduate program with a bachelor's degree will be required to complete 75 credit hours of graduate-level (500 to 600) work for the Ph.D. and 60 such units for the master's. Most graduate courses are five credit hours. All required courses must be taken on a graded basis. Students with Graduate Teaching Fellowships usually take two courses per term.

1. Required courses:
   1. Sociology 617 and Sociology 618 (Sociological Theory I and II). These courses covers major 19th century social theorists, especially Marx, Weber, and Durkheim.
   2. Sociology 612 (Overview of Sociological Research Methods). This overview course is an introduction to a variety of methods sociologists use. It covers problem/question formulation, research design, data collection and analysis, and research presentation.
   3. Soc 512 and Soc 513 (Sociological Research Methods). These courses cover quantitative methods through the level of partial and multiple regression analysis. This requirement can also be satisfied through taking a written examination over this material.
   4. Two advanced methods courses (Sociology 613), one of which can be taken post-MA. Advanced methods classes taken must include two separate methods.

      Students are encouraged to develop specialized competence in research techniques appropriate to their interest during their second and later years in the program.

   5. One advanced theory course (Sociology 615). A second advanced theory course can be substituted for one of the substantive graduate seminars (see F below), as long as the content differs substantially from the first 615 course. The second course may be taken post-M.A. These courses focus on specialized traditions of social theory or the works of a major theorist.
   6. Students must take four substantive graduate seminars or three substantive seminars and a second advanced theory course (see E above). In either case, at least two substantive seminars must be taken pre-M.A. The substantive seminars are: Sociology 616 (Issues in the Sociology of Environment and Resources), Sociology 628 (Issues in Interaction and Social Psychology), Sociology 642 (Issues in Population, Community and Urban Sociology), Sociology 644 (Issues in the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity), Sociology 646 (Issues in the Sociology of Work and Organizations), Sociology 656 (Issues in the Sociology of Gender), Sociology 661 (Issues in the Sociology of Culture, Education and Religion), Sociology 664 (Issues in Political and Economic Sociology), Sociology 684 (Issues in Social Deviancy, Social Control and Crime). Any of the above seminars may be taken more than once, so long as the class content differs substantially each time. Both syllabi must be submitted to confirm the difference.
   7. If a student wants to substitute a 400/500 class, a reading and conference (Sociology 605), or a class outside the department for a substantive graduate seminar, s/he must write a one-page rationale for the substitution. The substitution must be approved by the chair of the Curriculum Committee and the student's advisor. Substitutions by 400/500 classes and readings and conferences (Sociology 605) will be approved only under unusual circumstances.
   8. All incoming students must also take the Seminar-Introduction to Graduate Sociology (Soc 607) for 2 credit hours. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the department and the university community.
   9. Up to 15 of the units required for the M.A. or Ph.D. may be distributed among Soc 601 (Research), Soc 605 (Reading and Conference), and Soc 606 (Supervised Field Study). These courses may be taken on a pass/no pass basis.
   10. In choosing electives, students are encouraged to consider courses offered by other departments.
2. Students entering the program with a bachelor's degree should be able to complete the 60-hour requirement for an M.A. in their first six quarters of enrollment. Students who do not complete the requirement by the end of nine quarters of enrollment will be terminated from the program.
3. Students entering the program with a bachelor's degree will be awarded a master's degree upon the completion of the 60-hour requirement if they have achieved an average of B or better in their graded courses. These 60 units must include Sociology 617, Sociology 618; at least one Sociology 615; Sociology 612; at least one Sociology 613; 512; 513; and at least two substantive seminars.
4. Graduate courses taken at another university or while a bachelor's student at the University of Oregon can occasionally substitute for our requirements. A student's petition will be considered by her/his advisor and the chair of the Curriculum Committee.
5. Master's Paper
   1. In addition to completing the course credit requirements for the Master's degree, students must undertake the Master's paper requirement. The Master's paper process simulates the process by which manuscripts undergo peer review for refereed journals and university presses, with the department head acting as “editor” and the faculty acting as an editorial board. Students must conduct original empirical research, write it up in the manner found in articles in peer-reviewed sociology journals, and format their paper in the style required for a specific journal approved by the student's advisor.
   2. Students begin work on their Master's papers in SOC 612 (Research Design) in their first term of enrollment . By the end of their first year, they should select the faculty advisor who will supervise them on their project outside and beyond the seminar, and inform the Graduate Secretary who will record the advisor's name on their record .
   3. The reviewers return confidential comments and grades to the “editor”. These grades are: (1) “Fail” (reject), (2) “Pass at the MA level” (revise and resubmit), and (3) “Pass at the PhD level” (accept or conditional accept). The Master's paper must receive a grade of “Pass at the PhD level” in order for students to continue in the doctoral program. If the reviewers' grades and comments are consistent, the “editor” returns the decision and anonymous comments to the student. If the reviewers return split grades, the “editor” appoints a third reviewer to evaluate the paper. The student then receives the average grade (non-fractional), the collected comments, and the “editor's” decision.
   4. If a paper is not assigned a “Pass at the PhD level” in the first try (that is, it receives either a “fail” or a “pass at the Master's level” decision), the student may revise and resubmit it as directed here. Students whose papers “fail” must submit their revised paper during or before Week 3 of the subsequent ten-week term, that is, the term following to the original evaluation, hereafter referenced as “the subsequent term.” Students whose papers “pass at the MA level” must revise and resubmit their papers in the same term as the original evaluation and - if necessary - once again in the subsequent term. Revisions should be submitted directly to the “editor” within three weeks, unless the editor specifies a different date. The “editor” has the discretion to retain or change the reviewers for resubmitted papers. Master's papers not resubmitted by the deadline will retain whatever grade they were last assigned and no further evaluations will be made.
   5. In any given term while preparing the Master's paper, students may take up to ten units of SOC 605 (Reading and Conference) under the direction of their faculty advisor or up to 15 units of SOC 608 (Workshop). Both will be graded on a P/NP basis only. During the term that students plan to submit their Master's paper for evaluation, they should enroll in SOC 608 for five credits. These units will be graded P/NP or “Incomplete” if a student's paper receives a “fail” grade. In that circumstance, the student may enroll for five credits of SOC 608 in the subsequent term, again on a P/NP basis. Note: No more than five units of SOC 608 may apply toward a student's degree.
   6. Students entering with a bachelor's degree are strongly encouraged to submit their Master's papers before their sixth term of enrollment. To be considered eligible for departmental funding, they must submit their completed Master's Papers by their sixth term of enrollment and receive a “Pass at the PhD level” by their seventh term of enrollment. Those who receive a “Pass at the Master's level” by their ninth term of enrollment will be eligible for a Master's degree, but will be terminated from the PhD program. Those who do not pass at the Master's level by their ninth term of enrollment are not eligible for either a Master's degree or continuation in the PhD program. Those who do not meet the sixth- and seventh-term deadlines may continue to work on the Master's paper through their ninth term without department funding.
   7. The department requires that students be certified in two distinct areas of sociology for the PhD degree. (For examples, see the American Sociological Association's section names.) Passing the Master's paper requirement at the PhD level certifies a student's comprehensive knowledge in one area of expertise. A student's advisor must approve the area and it will be recorded on the student's record. Passing the comprehensive examination directly following the Master's paper will provide certification in another area.
   8. The department advises faculty to consider their workload before accepting advisees. Advisors are required to submit their advisees' Master's papers to the “editor” for initial evaluation, and no faculty member may submit more than two students' Master's Papers per academic year. In addition, no faculty member will be required to review more than three Master's papers per academic year.
6. Comprehensive Examination
   1. The Comprehensive Examination will determine the degree to which a student has gained a mastery over the substantive knowledge, theory and methodology of one area of sociological inquiry distinct from the area to which the Master's Paper contributes. The area of the examination is selected by the student in consultation with a special committee consisting of at least three faculty members, two of whom must be sociology faculty; the chair of the committee must also be a sociology faculty member. The committee members must be approved by the Department Head. The committee will be responsible for preparing and evaluating the examination. The examination is a 3-day written examination of the student's mastery of a reading list approved by the committee. Although the student may suggest a list of questions for the examination, the committee decides on the questions. The committee poses the questions to the student at the start of the exam, and the student has 3 days to submit her/his answers.
   2. In defining the areas of examination, the committee has the responsibility of guarding against both narrow specialization and unrealistically broad aspirations on the part of the student. The current list of sections within the American Sociological Association should serve as models for balancing breadth and depth.
   3. Students who fail to pass an examination on the first attempt will be permitted to take the examination a second time. Students failing an examination twice will be terminated from the program.
   4. To be considered eligible for departmental funding students who enter with a bachelor's degree or a master's degree in a field other than sociology must complete the C-exam by the end of their 9th term of enrollment in the regular academic calendar. Students who enter with a master's degree in sociology must complete the C-exam within six terms of enrollment.
7. Doctoral Dissertation
   Students who have passed the Comprehensive Examination will be advanced to Ph.D. candidacy and will begin work on the doctoral dissertation proposal.
   1. The doctoral dissertation committee will be composed of at least three sociology faculty members and an additional member of the UO graduate faculty not affiliated with the Department of Sociology who serves as a representative of the Dean of the Graduate School. This committee should be proposed to the Dean of the Graduate School within one month after advancement to candidacy and no later than six (6) months before the date of completion of the Ph.D. degree.
   2. The dissertation committee will be formed at the student's initiative after passing the Comprehensive Examination. All Ph.D. candidates must prepare a formal dissertation proposal and formally defend it before their committee no later than the fall of their fifth year of enrollment. The department will publicly recognize students who successfully defend their proposals prior to this deadline. Students are encouraged to defend before the end of their fourth year in the program.
   3. The student should obtain a copy of the Style Manual for Theses and Dissertations published by the Graduate School. This manual includes regulations for the dissertation and a checklist of timing for completion of certain administrative procedures.