Application and Admissions

Admission to the graduate program is offered to a limited number of students demonstrating academic excellence and professional promise. Admission and financial aid are based on several criteria: the student's grade point average (overall, and in sociology), scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general aptitude test, and letters of recommendation from persons familiar with the applicant's academic or professional competence. To receive full consideration for financial aid, completed Department of Sociology applications for fall admission must be received by January 15. Only students who expect to obtain the Ph.D. degree are typically admitted to the program. The Department follows affirmative action guidelines in its selection and funding of graduate students. Students are normally admitted to the program only in the fall semester. Applicants must apply to both the Graduate School of the University and the Department of Sociology. Please note that The Graduate College's deadline for International students is December 1. Students should plan to take the GRE test as early in the year as possible.

Cost and Financial Aid

The 2006-07 registration fee for all students is $5,451 per year; nonresidents enrolled full-time pay an additional tuition fee of $15,241. This fee is waived for graduate assistants. Because of the mild climate, the cost of living in Tucson is generally less than for most cities of its size. The vast majority of full-time students in the department receive some form of financial support. The most common form of support is a graduate assistantship. Assistants are assigned to work with faculty members on research projects or as teaching assistants for courses in return for a stipend and a waiver of nonresident tuition charges. In 2006-07, stipends for half-time assistantships (20 hours a week) are $14,559 for students without an M.A. degree and $15,523 for students with an M.A. Graduate assistantships not only provide financial aid, but are a valuable part of a student's professional training. Advanced students typically serve as teaching associates in charge of their own course. In addition, students may be supported by grants on faculty members' research projects. The department offers modest travel assistance to graduate students who are presenting papers at professional meetings.

Research Facilities and Resources

The Center for Applied Sociology conducts and supports sociological research on various social issues and problems critical to the well-being of the residents of Tucson, Pima County, Southern Arizona, the State of Arizona as a whole, and the Southwestern Region of the United States. Other Centers and Institutes enhance the graduate experience at Arizona by providing lecture series, study programs, scholars-in-residence, and opportunities for internships, assistantships and fellowships. Among those of special interest to sociologists are the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, the Southwest Institute for Research on Women, the Latin American Area Center, the Mexican American Studies and Research Center, the Russian and post-Soviet Area Studies program, and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

Computers are available for student use in the Social Sciences Data and Software Library (DASL) and in several labs operated by the Center for Computing Information and Technology (CCIT). Word processing, statistical software and laser printers are available at both CCIT and DASL microcomputer sites. In addition, CCIT maintains several terminal sites for accessing campus computers. Students also have access to a UNIX-based IBM RS/6000-590 and mainframe computers, which include a VAX cluster (VMS) and a CONVEX cluster. Statistical software such as SAS and SPSS are available on these platforms. The Data and Software Library supports the research activities of social science faculty and graduate students by providing technical advice in the use of computer software, maintaining an extensive data and software library, and operating a microcomputer lab available to graduate students on a 24-hours basis. As the University's official liaison to ICPSR, DASL provides access to an ever-growing repository of social, economic, historical and political data. See the DASL website for more information.

The Social Psychology Laboratory in the Department of Sociology consists of two facilities for the study of social interaction and group process: a fully computerized laboratory complex for the study of exchange networks, power, bargaining, and related topics and a small groups laboratory equipped with audio visual recording equipment for the study of face-to-face interaction in groups.

The University Library system contains more than 5,000,000 items and has strong and up-to-date holdings in the social sciences, including valuable collections in the government documents section. See the Data Services page for information about services, and the Data Sets and Spatial Data page for details on data holdings.

Graduate College Research Support is extended to individual graduate students through a Summer Research Support Program funding dissertation research, a Student Program Development Fund and Minority Student Program Development Fund supporting research activities, and a Student Travel Fund for graduate students attending professional meetings.

The Master's Program

A minimum of 31 units of graduate credit is required for the master's degree. The program consists of a core curriculum plus another year of elective substantive course work. The core curriculum comprises two courses in theory, three in statistics (one optional), and one course in general research methods. Elective course work typically provides the basis for the student's master's paper, a data-analysis paper suitable for publication in a professional sociology journal. The paper takes the place of a master's thesis. Candidates for the master's degree must take and pass an oral examination on this work, conducted by the student's M.A. committee.

The master's program usually takes two years to complete. It is designed for students who intend to continue work toward the doctoral degree, and most students who receive the M.A. in the department do continue on to the doctoral program. Those students who terminate their graduate education upon award of the master's degree may pursue an academic career in community college teaching or a variety of careers in local, state, and national government.

The Doctoral Program

Students who begin graduate study in this department in the master's program enter the doctoral program once they have fulfilled the requirements for the M.A. degree and been recommended for doctoral study by their M.A. Committee. The master's work provides a basis for advanced study, both in course work and in independent study with faculty members. A minimum of 39 units of credit beyond the M.A., including 18 units of dissertation credit, is required for the Ph.D., and one advanced methods or statistics course. For students majoring in sociology, there are no course or unit requirements for a minor in sociology. Students may choose a minor field outside the department.

The department offers comprehensive examinations in 14 broad areas (sociology of culture, economic sociology, law and society, organizations, political sociology, race and ethnicity, gender, globalization/international development/world systems, religion, social movements and collective action, statistics and methods of analysis, stratification, social networks, and social psychology) plus special areas approved by petition.

Ph.D. candidates must pass written examinations in two areas, and an oral examination. The final requirement of the doctoral program is the dissertation, a monograph reporting original research carried out by the student. Completed dissertations are defended before the student's Ph.D. Committee as the last step in the fulfillment of degree requirements.

The Ph.D. is intended to be a professional research degree. In addition to course work, students are expected to gain professional experience through participation in research, both independently and in conjunction with faculty members. Students are encouraged to become familiar with all stages of the research process, from conception to publication.

The doctoral program typically requires 3 to 5 years beyond completion of the master's degree.