USC Department of Sociology - Graduate Program

The Sociology Department offers a graduate program that provides students with a thorough grounding in the theories and research methodologies of the discipline in order to conduct empirical inquiry. For more information, click on the item of your choice or scroll down the page.

For more information, contact Dr. Shelley Smith, Interim Graduate Chair, shelley-smith[at]sc.edu.

The research specialties of the faculty span several areas. It is expected that the master's and dissertation research projects of students will be carried out in specialty areas that fall in the purview of the faculty's expertise. Our graduates pursue careers in a wide range of academic and non-academic fields. Graduates of the master's program often find employment in government agencies or in private firms that require professionals with research skills and experience in data management. Graduates of the doctoral program also work for government agencies and in private firms, but many accept appointments at universities and colleges.

Applications should be submitted to The Graduate School, University of South Carolina, 901 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29208. Additionally, applicants must send a letter describing their academic interests and an example of recent written work to the Director of the Graduate Program Committee, Department of Sociology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208. Other materials that will be helpful in evaluating the application may be included. Electronic applications are available at http://www.gradschool.sc.edu. Application deadlines are July 1 for the Fall semester and November 15 for the Spring semester. The Department of Sociology encourages students to begin their graduate studies during the Fall semester. Applications completed by February 15 receive priority in decisions about assistantships.

The Graduate Program Committee evaluates applications and makes recommendations about admission to the dean of The Graduate School. A minimum grade point average of 3.2 (on a 4 point scale) for the last 60 semester hours of undergraduate work is required for admission to the master's program. For applicants with a master's degree, a minimum grade point average of 3.5 (on a 4 point scale) for all graduate work is required for admission to the doctoral program. Meeting the minimum grade point average standard does not guarantee admission to the program. Holding a master's degree is a prerequisite for admission to the doctoral program. GRE scores must be submitted with the application to The Graduate School. The Department does not have a minimum GRE requirement, but scores approaching or exceeding 600 on each of the three parts of the GRE increases the applicant's likelihood of being admitted and funded.

The M.A. degree requires a minimum of 31 graduate credit hours, including six hours of thesis preparation. The Ph.D. requires a minimum of 36 additional credit hours, including 12 hours of dissertation preparation.

3. Six hours of theory: SOCY 710 and one additional course from SOCY 711-719, 760, 761, and 814.

4. Six hours of research methods: SOCY 730 and one additional course from SOCY 720-729, 739, 751, and 841.

5. Six hours of electives: (SOCY 500-789). A maximum of three credit hours earned from other departments may be applied toward this requirement.

Students must maintain a B average for all graduate courses taken at the University of South Carolina. Grades below B are generally unacceptable in graduate school. After completing twelve hours of graduate credit at the University, students whose cumulative GPA falls below a 3.0 (on a 4 point scale) are dropped from the program without further review. Also, students receiving a second grade of C+ or below are dropped from the program without further review.

For transfer students who do not hold a master's degree, some program requirements may be waived if the student has taken a course or its equivalent in graduate work elsewhere and earned a grade of A (excluding A-). However, such waivers may not exceed six credit hours to be applied toward the 30-credit hour requirement for the master's degree. Students requesting a waiver must inform the Graduate Program Committee in writing. The Graduate Program Committee evaluates the files of students to determine whether a waiver is warranted.

As students near the end of their course work, they select a Thesis Committee composed of at least three members of the Department's faculty. Faculty members have the right of refusal. The student chooses one faculty member to serve as director. The director of the Thesis Committee notifies the director of the Graduate Program Committee in writing of the composition of the Thesis Committee. The director of the Graduate Program Committee informs the chairperson of the Department and the dean of The Graduate School of the composition of the Thesis Committee. Pursuant to the rules of The Graduate School, the Department and The Graduate School must approve the Thesis Committee. Working with the Thesis Committee, the student prepares a thesis proposal. The Thesis Committee has the right to approve, request revisions, or reject the proposal. The committee also conducts an oral comprehensive examination to determine if the student has acquired the theoretical and methodological background required to complete the proposed research. For full-time students, this examination usually occurs late in the first semester of the second year of study. Students who fail the M.A. comprehensive examination twice are removed from the program without further review.

If the Thesis Committee approves the proposal and the oral examination, all members sign a letter stating that the student has passed the comprehensive examination. The director of the Thesis Committee provides a copy of this letter to the chairperson of the Department and gives the original letter to the director of the Graduate Program Committee. The original letter is placed in the student's file. The director of the Graduate Program Committee notifies the dean of The Graduate School that the student has passed the comprehensive examination.

After the student submits the thesis for evaluation, the Thesis Committee conducts an oral examination to determine if the proposed work has been successfully completed. The committee members have the right to approve, request revisions and further analysis, or reject the thesis. The M.A. degree is granted only after the Thesis Committee approves the thesis, all members sign the title page, The Graduate School accepts the approved thesis, and all other requirements are met.

Since Fall 2008, the Graduate School has converted to electronic thesis and dissertation (ETD) submission. See this link for a description and guidelines: http://gradschool.sc.edu/thesisdissertation.

3. Twelve hours of theory: SOCY 710 and three additional courses from SOCY 711-719, 760, 761, and 814.

4. Twelve hours of research methods: SOCY 730 and three additional courses from SOCY 720-729, 739, 751, and 841.

6. Eighteen hours of electives (SOCY 500-891). A maximum of six credit hours in 500-level courses may be applied toward the Ph.D. A maximum of nine credit hours earned from other departments on campus may be applied toward this requirement.

In accordance with The Graduate School's regulations, all students entering the Ph.D. program must pass a written Ph.D. candidacy examination. The candidacy examination is taken early in the first Fall semester of residence. In passing the examination, the student is admitted to candidacy and may work toward meeting the remaining requirements that lead to the Ph.D. degree. Students who do not pass the candidacy examination will be expected to acquire the needed knowledge by attending courses beyond the Ph.D. requirements or by individual study. In either case, the examination must be taken again at the end of the following Spring semester. Failing the candidacy examination a second time will result in removal from the program without further review. Administration of the examination is the responsibility of the Graduate Program Committee. For details, consult the Department's Handbook for Graduate Students (also available in the Sociology Department main office).

After advancement to candidacy, the Graduate Program Committee, acting as the Program Advisory Committee, oversees the subsequent progress of each doctoral candidate toward the Ph.D. degree. After advancement to candidacy, each doctoral candidate must file an approved program of study. This program of study should be completed before the end of a Ph.D. student's first year in the program. Students must maintain a B average on all post-M.A. graduate courses taken at the University of South Carolina. After completing twelve hours of post-M.A. graduate credit at the University, students whose cumulative GPA falls below a 3.0 (on a 4 point scale) are dropped from the program without further review. Also, students receiving a second post-M.A. grade of C+ or below are dropped from the program without further review.

For a transfer entrant with an M.A. degree, some program requirements can be waived if the student has taken a course or its equivalent in graduate work elsewhere and earned a grade of A (excluding A-). However, such waivers do not reduce the minimum number of post-M.A. credit hours (36) that must be completed at the University for the Ph.D. Students requesting a waiver must inform the Graduate Program Committee in writing. The Graduate Program Committee evaluates the files of students to determine whether a waiver is warranted.

The Graduate School's foreign language competence requirement may be fulfilled by passing an examination that demonstrates a reading knowledge of one foreign language. These examinations are normally administered by one of the foreign language programs at the University. English may be accepted as a foreign language for students whose native language is not English, with the approval of the dean of The Graduate School and the chairperson of the Department. The foreign language requirement may also be met by completing a fifth research methodology course with a grade of B or higher.

In addition to successfully completing course work, three area requirements must be passed. Normally, completion of these requirements coincides with the completion of course work. All students must meet both the theory and the research methodology area requirements. Written theory and research methodology area examinations are given once a year, but students with excellent grades in the relevant courses earn a waiver from the examinations. All students must also pass a written and an oral examination in a research specialty of their choosing. Each student forms a Research Specialty Examination Committee made up of at least two faculty members from the Department of Sociology. Faculty members have the right of refusal. The student selects one member as chairperson of the committee. In consultation with the committee, each student prepares a list of appropriate readings. The length of the reading list will vary by research area, but as a guideline it should consist of about 25 books and 100 journal articles/book chapters. Reading lists must be approved by all members of the committee. The reading list should define a broad substantive area of sociological research that is roughly equivalent to a commonly recognized sociological specialty. Normally, students will conduct their dissertation research in the same specialty area that they choose for their research specialty examination. Guidelines for meeting the three area requirements are provided in the Department's Handbook for Graduate Students.

As students near the end of their course work, they select a Dissertation Committee composed of at least four members, one of whom is from outside the Department. Faculty members have the right of refusal. The student chooses one faculty member to serve as director. The director of the Dissertation Committee notifies the director of the Graduate Program Committee in writing of the composition of the Dissertation Committee. A student's Dissertation Committee assumes the role of the Program Advisory Committee. Working with the Dissertation Committee, the student prepares a dissertation proposal. Once the proposal is submitted to the Dissertation Committee, a comprehensive examination is held. By the rules of the Graduate School, a Comprehensive Examination Committee is appointed by the chairperson of the Department and approved by the dean of The Graduate School. Normally, the Dissertation Committee serves as the Comprehensive Examination Committee. The comprehensive examination includes a written component, usually the dissertation proposal, and an oral component. The content of the examination may include any topics for which the student is responsible. If the Comprehensive Examination Committee concludes that the student has successfully completed the oral examination and approves the proposal, all members sign a letter stating that the student has passed the comprehensive examination. The director of the Dissertation Committee provides a copy of this letter to the chairperson of the Department and gives the original letter to the director of the Graduate Program Committee. The original letter is placed in the student's file. The director of the Graduate Program Committee notifies the dean of The Graduate School that the student has passed the comprehensive examination. Students who fail the Ph.D. comprehensive examination twice are removed from the program without further review.

After passing the comprehensive examination, the student is expected to pursue dissertation research and writing. Once the student is prepared to defend the dissertation, a Dissertation Examining Committee is formed. By the rules of The Graduate School, the Dissertation Examining Committee is appointed by the chairperson of the Department and approved by the dean of The Graduate School. This committee is composed of at least four members, one of whom is from outside the Department. Normally, the Dissertation Committee serves as the Dissertation Examining Committee. In addition to reading the dissertation, the committee conducts an oral examination of the student. The committee members have the right to approve, request revisions and further analysis, or reject the dissertation. The Ph.D. is granted only after the Dissertation Examining Committee approves the dissertation, all members sign the title page, The Graduate School accepts the approved dissertation, and all other requirements are met.

Complete four courses, with grades of B or higher, offered by the Sociology Department in the area of theory (research methodology). By obtaining a grade point average of at least 3.5 and receiving no grade lower than a B in the first four courses completed, the student earns a "pass" on this requirement and the examination is waived. Students who obtain a grade point average of 4.0 in the first four courses completed earn an "honors" on this requirement and the examination is waived.

Transfer students may also earn a waiver to the theory (research methodology) examination. No more than six hours in either area may be transferred. The Graduate Program Committee determines whether a course merits transfer credit. A grade of A (excluding A-) or better is necessary for a course to be considered for transfer credit. All further courses completing either requirement must be taken at the Department of Sociology at the University of South Carolina, and these courses must yield a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. All grades just noted refer to the first course or sequence of courses taken at the respective programs. Courses taken later with higher grades cannot be substituted for the first one(s). By obtaining a grade point average of at least 3.5 and receiving no grade lower than a B in the first four courses completed, the student earns a "pass" on this requirement and the examination is waived. An "honors" evaluation is achieved, and the examination is waived, if a 4.0 grade point average is received in the first four courses.

Students who do not receive a "pass" or "honors" through course work may meet the requirement by obtaining a grade of "pass" or "honors" on a written examination. This examination is offered once each year (Autumn, Spring) and is composed, and graded, by all of the resident faculty members who have taught at least one of the theory (research methodology) courses listed below to at least one of the students taking the examination. The committee formed by these professors is the Theory Examination Committee (Research Methodology Committee). The members will select a chairperson who will be chiefly responsible for organizational matters such as calling meetings. Examination questions should be limited to the material that was covered in the theory (research methodology) course work of each student.

Because different students may take different theory (research methodology) courses, or different students may take the same course from different professors (and the content of the course may vary across professors), each student's examination must be designed for that student. It is expected that each faculty member contributing one or more questions to the examination will limit their questions to the material that is covered in their course(s). In this way, particular questions on the examination can normally be identified as being associated with a particular course that was offered by a particular professor. If a non-transfer student has not taken a particular course from a particular professor, s/he will not be expected to answer the question(s) that is (are) associated with that particular course and that particular professor. If a transfer student received transfer credit for a particular course, s/he will be expected to answer the question(s) that is (are) associated with that particular course. Prior to taking an examination, it is expected that a transfer student will consult with faculty members who are responsible for contributing questions that derive from the courses that the student was allowed to transfer from another program. Any student may consult with members of an examination committee prior to the examination. The faculty members who compose the examinations should take care that each student's examination is as comparable as possible in terms of the rigor of the questions and the amount of time needed to answer the questions.

Administration of the examination, which is taken during a four hour period in the physical confines of the Department of Sociology, is the responsibility of the Graduate Program Committee. This responsibility includes providing the Theory Examination Committee (Research Methodology Committee) with a list of the students taking the examination and the relevant courses (and who taught the courses) that each student has completed. Computers, a blank disk, and a quiet place to work will be made available to the students. Students may not use books, journal articles, notes, information saved on disks, etc. during the examination period. The examination will be evaluated within two weeks unless exceptional circumstances arise. Each faculty member who contributes one or more questions to the examination will be responsible for evaluating the answer(s) to their question(s). Each faculty member will limit their evaluation of answers to the questions they submitted. However, members of the committee may jointly write one or more questions and jointly evaluate them.

After the individual members of the Theory Examination Committee (Research Methodology Committee) have made their evaluations, the committee will meet to discuss how well each student performed on the examination. Based on this discussion the committee will evaluate whether a student's grade is "honors," "pass," or "fail." A majority (>50%) of the committee must agree on an overall evaluation of "pass" for a student to be assigned a grade of "pass." If the committee unanimously agrees on an overall evaluation of "honors," the student is assigned a grade of "honors." A faculty member will abstain from the evaluation of a particular student if the student did not answer a question to which the faculty member contributed. The written examination may be attempted twice; a student who fails in a second attempt will not continue in the Ph.D. program. Plagiarism or collusion during the examination period are grounds for expulsion from the graduate program.

The following courses may be used to meet the theory requirement: Sociology 710, 711, 712-719, 760, 761, and 814. The following courses may be used to meet the research methodology requirement: Sociology 720, 721-729, 730, 731-739, 751, and 841.

Students must pass a written and oral examination in a research specialty of their choosing. Each student will form a Research Specialty Examination Committee made up of at least two faculty members from the Department of Sociology. The student will select one member as Chairperson of the committee. In consultation with the committee, each student will prepare a list of appropriate readings. The length of the reading list will vary by research area, but as a guideline it should consist of about 25 books and 100 journal articles/book chapters. Reading lists must be approved by all members of the committee. Most reading lists will continue to evolve as a student prepares for the examination: new items may be added, unnecessary ones deleted. The reading list should define a broad substantive area of sociological research that is roughly equivalent to a commonly recognized sociological specialty. A student may not devise an examination exclusively in theory or research methods; however, the substantive literature should be linked to broader issues of theory and method in sociology as a whole. We encourage students to conceive of, and design, the research specialty examination in such a way that it serves as a bridge between their graduate course work and their dissertation proposal.

The student, in consultation with the Research Specialty Examination Committee, will arrange for an examination time. Students will answer a question or questions prepared by the committee. The questions should reflect key sociological issues raised by the reading list as well as broader issues of theory and method that may be relevant to the specialty area. The answers together may be no longer than 30 typed, double-spaced pages (plus the bibliography) with one inch margins, using a twelve point font. Students will have 96 hours to complete the examination. They may work at any site, and are free to use any books and personal notes during the examination period. Plagiarism or collusion during the examination period are grounds for expulsion from the graduate program. If requested by the student, the Department will provide a quiet place to work and access to a computer. The written examination will be evaluated by the Research Specialty Examination Committee within two weeks unless exceptional circumstances arise. Shortly thereafter the student and the committee will meet for the oral part of the examination. Based on the written and oral parts of the examination, committee members will evaluate the student's performance. Available grades are "honors," "pass," and "fail." A two-thirds evaluation for "pass" is required for a grade of "pass." A unanimous evaluation for "honors" is required for a grade of "honors." Grades of "honors" and "pass" indicate that the student has demonstrated mastery of the readings, as evidenced by an ability: to synthesize creatively diverse perspectives and findings in a way that has the potential to extend the existing literature; to discuss relevant works at a detail sufficient to demonstrate that they have been read and understood; to think critically about the reading and to provide reasoned judgments about their worth and utility; to write coherent and organized prose. Failed examinations will display an absence of these qualities.

The examination may be attempted twice; a student who fails in a second attempt (regardless of whether or not the student has changed their research specialty since the first examination) will not continue in the Ph.D. program.

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For more information about the Graduate Program, contact contact Dr. Shelley Smith, Interim Graduate Chair, shelley-smith[at]sc.edu.