Sociology Department

Sociology Department> Degree Programs> Graduate Program> Course Work

During Phase I of their program, students must complete at least 30 credits of course work as follows:

· Sociology 605 (Intermediate Statistics) plus 605L (Lab) [4 Credits]

· Sociology 606 (Research Methods and Design) [3 Credits]

· Sociology 611 (Classical Sociological Theory) [3 Credits]

· Sociology 612 (Contemporary Sociological Theory) [3 Credits]

· One additional methods or statistics course [3 Credits] 600 level or above

· Four substantive courses [12 Credits] 600 level or above

· Sociology 699 (Directed Reading) [3 Credits].

Please see the documentation on course identification for definitions of theory, methods, statistics, and substantive courses. All courses must be passed at the B level or above to count towards the degree.

If an entering student’s transcripts do not show evidence of appropriate coursework in sociological theory and/or statistics, as determined by the graduate chair, then the student needs to demonstrate preparation in the deficient subjects before proceeding to the corresponding graduate-level courses. Passing Sociology 321 (Sociological Theory) or 476/L (Statistics) with a grade B or higher will be seen as sufficient to demonstrate preparation for Sociology 611/612 or 605, respectively. Alternative methods for demonstrating competence may be deemed sufficient at the discretion of the graduate chair. For students without previous methods coursework, Sociology 300 is useful but not required as preparation for Sociology 606.

Students with previous graduate-level coursework at other universities may bypass required theory, methods, or statistics courses upon written confirmation from the graduate chair that the required courses are equivalent to the earlier work. Students who have taken post-bachelor unclassified courses at UHM do not need to take these courses again. In either case, however, the bypassed courses must be replaced with alternative courses as follows: A course must be replaced by another department course in the theory, methods, or statistics category, unless the student obtains written approval from the graduate chair.

As part of their course requirements, students must take a directed reading course (Soc 699) to prepare an academic article-length paper, typically in their third semester. This paper can (but is not required to be) the source of one of the papers for the qualifying review. The faculty member with whom the student takes Sociology 699 must be one of the members of the student’s guidance committee, and the topic and format of the paper must be approved by the faculty member in advance. The purpose of this requirement is to acquaint students with independent research and to help prepare them for their QR. For papers involving collection of data from other people, it is recommended that, with the advice of the faculty member, students obtain prior human subjects approval from the university’s Committee on Human Studies. This ensures that use of the data on a later dissertation, conference paper, and/or publication does not violate university and federal guidelines.