Curriculum Requirements
To receive their Ph.D., students must complete the required core course curriculum and electives, the First Exam, the Second Exam (Orals), proficiency in a foreign language, dissertation research, a dissertation proposal, and the dissertation.
Language Requirement
Before being advanced to candidacy, students are required to demonstrate their ability to read scholarly work in a major foreign language. This requirement can be met in one of two ways:
- A written examination offered by the Sociology program in French, German, or Spanish.
- An intensive language course offered in the GC Language Reading Program.
Learn more about language requirements in the Student Handbook »
Examination Requirements
First Examination
The First exam is given once during each semester and consists of a written examination in combined classical and contemporary sociological theory. An average grade of B or better in each of the five required core courses and two required statistics courses is required for eligibility to take the exam.
Second Examination (Orals)
The second exam in sociology (known as the orals) requires doctoral students to develop a broad grounding in several fields within sociology. The exam evaluates students for teaching-level competency in at least three separate areas of sociology, and for understanding of the relationships between a chosen field of interest and other areas of the discipline.
The Second exam is scheduled by the student and their orals committee.
Learn more about examinations in the Student Handbook »
Dissertation Requirement
The single most important project one accomplishes in graduate school is the dissertation, for it is this original study that defines one as a scholar in the early years of a career. Thus the other requirements of the program are geared to preparing the student for dissertation research and writing.
Students should plan to develop a dissertation proposal after passing the Second Exam, and must complete both a written dissertation and an oral defense.