Program/Course Requirements

Completion requirement

In addition to Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements and Faculty of Arts requirements, the Department requires:

a) Course requirements:

SOCI611 (students who have completed this or an equivalent graduate-level statistics course may substitute any other 600- or 700-level course);
SOCI706, SOCI707 and SOCI731;
6 units of methodology courses at the 700 level;
6 units of electives on substantive topics at the 600 or 700 level; at least 3 units of elective must be selected from Sociology Department offerings.

b) Completion of the PhD Thesis requirement.

Copyediting Policy

Students may hire an editor to copyedit their theses. The student, supervisor and editor must abide by the following regulations:

1. Prior to hiring a copy editor, permission from the supervisor(s) must be obtained. An agreement outlining the permitted scope of editing must be signed by the student and the supervisor(s).

2. A disclosure statement is required in the thesis (e.g., a sentence in the preface or acknowledgment stating that the thesis has been professionally edited).

3. Under no circumstances should the copyediting alter the content, structure or contribution of the thesis.

Additional Program Information

Completion requirement

Advanced Credit

The applicant must make advanced credit requests as part of the admission process. Credit will not be given for course work taken as part of another completed degree/diploma or for courses taken to bring the grade point average to a required level for admission.

Credit may be allowed for up to three 600- or 700-level courses (9 units).

Flexible Grade Option (CG Grade)

The Department of Sociology will not permit the Flexible Grade Option (CG Grade) for any course applicable to the Sociology graduate degree; or apply any course awarded a grade of CG towards graduation requirements for the Sociology graduate degree.

Students may choose the CG grade for a course taken extra to load.

The use of the CG grade will affect students' eligibility for internal awards.

Credit for Undergraduate Courses

No credit will be given for undergraduate courses.

Time Limit

Expected completion time is four years for the Doctor of Philosophy degree. Maximum completion time is six years.

Supervisory Assignments, Research Proposal and Required Examinations

Completion requirement

Supervisory Assignments

An interim supervisor is assigned to all incoming students in the PhD program. PhD students, after two terms in the program, will make supervisory arrangements with a faculty member in the chosen area of research. In the case of PhD students, the supervisor and student will select two other faculty members to serve on the student’s supervisory committee.

Research Proposal

Students whose research involves human subjects must receive approval from University of Calgary Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board or the Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board (if applicable) before beginning data collection.

Required Examinations

Candidacy

Doctoral students must complete a thesis prospectus, normally within fourteen months of initial registration in the doctoral program. Successful completion of the prospectus means that the Supervisory Committee has approved the thesis project, and a written copy of the prospectus is filed with the Sociology Department Student Administrator.

Doctoral students must pass a Field of Study examination with a written and an oral component, normally completed within twenty months of initial registration in the doctoral program.

For complete details of the candidacy requirements, see soci.ucalgary.ca/graduate/phd-program.

Thesis Examination

Thesis examinations are open. In addition to Faculty of Graduate Studies regulations for thesis examinations, the program requires:

Scheduling of the Examination
All members of the Supervisory Committee must have reviewed the student’s draft thesis document before an examination can be scheduled.

Composition of the Committee
The Internal Examiner may be internal to the home program.

Financial Assistance

Completion requirement

Financial assistance may be available to qualified students. Information on departmental funding is available in the online Graduate Student Handbook. For further information on awards, please see the Awards and Financial Assistance section of this Calendar.

Students applying for Graduate Award Competitions through the Faculty of Graduate Studies must submit their applications to the Department by January 15.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Sociology

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Overview

Admissions

Program Details