The Department of Sociology offers both a Master’s of Arts (M.A.) degree and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree. The M.A. degree can be earned under either Plan A (thesis) or Plan B (non-thesis) options. Students in the Ph.D. program enroll concurrently in the Plan A M.A. program, which is available only to these students. 

Location

• Storrs Campus

Modality

• In Person

Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology

The Ph.D. requires a total of 33 credits beyond the Master’s in Sociology degree. These credits include: six credits of required Sociology courses (SOCI 6203 Quantitative Research II, SOCI 6231 Qualitative Research II), 12 credits of Sociology electives, and 15 credits of GRAD 6950 Doctoral Dissertation Research. Students may also take up to six credits of seminars outside of the department, but these may not be used in place of the Sociology elective credits.

General Examination

Students must demonstrate mastery over a particular area of sociological expertise. The General Examination has both a written and oral component.

Dissertation Proposal

Students must also complete a dissertation proposal, which includes submitting a written proposal and passing a formal dissertation proposal defense.

Dissertation

The dissertation has both a written and oral component.

 Learning Objectives

1. Knowledge: Demonstrate appropriate breadth and depth of disciplinary knowledge and comprehension of the major topics, theories, and issues of the discipline, including demonstration of specialized knowledge of a sub-field sufficient to carry out substantive independent research or creative pursuits.
2. Research/applied skills: Use disciplinary methods and techniques to apply knowledge, critically analyze, and, as appropriate to the degree, create new knowledge or achieve advanced creative accomplishments.
3. Communication: Communicate proficiently and effectively to a specialist and non-specialist audience, verbally and in writing, a structured, coherent academic presentation, representation, or argument that cogently summarizes their research or creative pursuit, relevant literature, and its significance at the level appropriate to discipline.