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Department of Sociology

Program Requirements

  • Complete 36 hours of graduate-level coursework including:

Core requirements (9 credit hours)
SYA 6126 (Sociological Theory)
SYA 6305 (Sociological Methods)
SYA 6405 (Statistics)
Electives (21 credit hours)
Thesis (6 credit hours)

  • Follow the rules for choosing electives: (a) at least credit 12 hours must be in graduate seminars in Sociology; (b) credit hours can not include SYA 6933 (Teaching Sociology) or 4000 level courses taken for 6000 level credit;(c) no more than 6 credit hours can be transferred from another university (requires Graduate Director approval); (d) no more than 9 credit hours can be taken in departments other than Sociology at USF (such course transfer requires Graduate Director approval); (e) no more than 12 credit hours as a non-degree seeking student can be transferred; (f) no more than 6 credit hours of Independent Study or Directed Research.
  • Constitute a thesis committee consisting of at least three faculty members: (a) the committee chair must be a faculty member in the Department of Sociology; (b) at least one other committee member must hold a Ph.D. in Sociology.
  • Demonstrate the research skills necessary for professional sociologists. This is accomplished through the process of completing a thesis which includes sucessfully (a) designing an empirical study suitable for a thesis project; (b) defending the thesis proposal; (c) conducting the research (d) analyzing the data; (e) writing the results and (f) defending the project.
  • To remain in good standing, students must meet all requirements of the Graduate School including, but not limited to (a) maintaining a GPA of at least 3.0 (B) in all courses; (b) successfully completing at least 6 credit hours of coursework per year; (c) successfully completing at least 2 credit hours of coursework per semester when working on thesis research after coursework is completed; (d) completing all requirements within seven academic years prior to the date of graduation. Complete regulations covering graduate studies at the University of South Florida are found at: http://catalog.grad.usf.edu/ .
  • It is students’ responsibility to: be informed of, and abide by, all rules and regulations of the USF Graduate School and the Department of Sociology; be informed of, and meet, all deadlines for the USF Graduate School and the Department of Sociology; check e-mail regularly and notify the Graduate Director of any e-mail address changes; be actively engaged in the education process.