Fraser Hall
1415 Jayhawk Boulevard, Room 716
Lawrence, KS 66045-7556
Phone: (785) 864-9406
Admission Criteria and Application Materials
The Department
Program Overview and Course Descriptions
Financial Support
Department Graduate Manual
Doctoral Placement
Prerequisites for regular admission to the graduate program in sociology are:
Students who have not met one or more of the requirements above may be admitted provisionally or on probation for a limited time.
Applications for admission must include:
Please send your application form, the non-refundable application fee, and one original transcript to the Department of Sociology, The University of Kansas, 1415 Jayhawk Blvd., 716 Fraser Hall, Lawrence, KS 66045. The application instructions above can also be found in Application Deadlines and Instructions (PDF).
International Applicants
The application procedure for international students is the same as above, except for the following:
Deadlines
(Please note that all deadlines specified are tentative and subject to change without prior notice.)
The deadline for Fall graduate applications is December 15 of the preceding year. Completed application files received by this date will be considered for all forms of financial assistance including nomination by the Department for University awards and Graduate Teaching Assistantships for the coming academic year. (For more information, see the GTA Information/Documents section on the Provost's webpage.) Applications completed after this date will be reviewed for admission but may be too late to be considered for financial assistance.
If you would prefer to receive a paper application, please send your request to the Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Sociology, University of Kansas, Fraser Hall, 1415 Jayhawk Boulevard, Room 716, Lawrence, KS 66045-7556, (785) 864-4111, socdept@ku.edu.
As stated above, completed application files received by the appropriate deadline date will be considered for all forms of financial assistance including nomination by the Department for Graduate School awards (see Graduate School funding) and Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA) for the coming academic year.
The Applied English Center assists departments in screening the oral language proficiency of non-native speakers of English who are applying for teaching positions. GTA applicants whose native language is not English are required by Board of Regents Policy to submit either a Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit Test score of 50 or higher or the internet-based TOEFL exam (iBT) with a score of 26 or higher.
In most years, at least one student is supported by a fellowship from the Graduate School; 15 to 18 students are supported by graduate teaching assistantships; six or seven students hold research assistantships for individual faculty members or the Gerontology Center; and three or four students teach at other institutions. Support provided by university positions (half-time service) and fellowships averages about $12,000 per year for nine months.
For information about grants, loans, and other need-based financial aid, contact KU's Office of Student Financial Aid, Strong Hall, 1450 Jayhawk Boulevard, Room 50, Lawrence, KS 66045-7535, (785)864-4700.
Please visit the Office of Student Financial Aid to obtain cost of attendance information.
The University of Kansas is committed to providing programs and activities to all persons, regardless of race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, age, or veteran status.
Alpha Kappa Delta Beta Chapter of Kansas
International Sociology Honor Society
In 1920, University of Southern California sociologist, Dr. Emory S. Bogardus, founded Alpha Kappa Delta for the purposes of stimulating scholarship and promoting the scientific study of society. Bogardus’ impetus in establishing this organization was to provide a forum for student and faculty interchange. His endeavor paved the way for what has become an international organization dedicated to promoting, facilitating, and recognizing academic scholarship. As we enter the 21st century, Alpha Kappa Delta is an integral part of many Sociology programs and is proud to acknowledge that in the past eight decades, over 80,000 scholars have been initiated into the Society. More than 490 chapters have been chartered in the United States, Canada, China, Finland, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Singapore.
Graduates:
For students officially admitted to graduate study in sociology at KU, the following specific requirements must have been met prior to the time of initiation:
- completion of one half year of graduate study in sociology
(i.e., one semester or two quarters or the equivalent academic unit)- with a graduate G.P.A. of 3.5 or better,
- and continued matriculation in a program of study leading toward a graduate degree in sociology at KU.
Please see the AKD website for more information.
.......The Sociology Department is a vibrant community of about 50 graduate students and 20 faculty members. From our pool of applicants, we welcome 7-10 new students into the graduate program each year. Our Department is small enough to allow students to develop mentor-relationships with the faculty members while engaging in a rigorous program of study that focuses heavily on sociological theory, equips students in research skills, and allows them to pursue their interests in a variety of substantive fields.
.......Graduate students also play an active role in Departmental affairs; they serve on most Departmental committees, participate in the Graduate Association of Sociology Students (GASS), and edit a research journal, Social Thought and Research (STAR). Fifteen to 18 graduate students are funded as graduate teaching assistants, and receive continuous training and support in a teaching seminar. A few advanced graduate students have taught in other departments and at nearby colleges and universities. Professional socialization is an important component of our program: Our students are encouraged to participate at professional meetings (e.g., Midwest Sociological Society, American Sociological Association) and submit their work (especially their Master's Degree thesis) for publication. In the Fall of 2008, the graduate students began a Graduate Student Sponsored Lecture Series, inviting new Sociology professionals to lecture at KU.
Winter Meetings of the Sociologists for Women in Society in Savannah, Georgia, Feb 5-8, 2009.
Dr. Shelley Koch, PhD, SWS President Prof. Shirley Hill, PhD student Melissa Freiburger, Prof. Joey Sprague, PhD student Elizabeth Legerski and
Prof. Mary Zimmerman
Family |
Affiliated faculty: Ekerdt, Hill, LaPierre, Vasquez, Zimmerman Courses: Gender, Family, and the Life Course (LaPierre: Fall 2010). |
Life Course & Aging |
Affiliated faculty: Ekerdt, LaPierre, Zimmerman Courses: Age and the Body (Ekerdt, Spring 2011); Gender, Family, and the Life Course (LaPierre: Fall 2010). |
Gender |
Affiliated faculty: Chong, Davidman, Donovan, Hill, Najafizadeh, Nagel, Sprague, Zimmerman Courses: Sociology of Gender (Chong: Fall 2009, Fall 2011); Gender in the Global Context (Najafizadeh: Spring 2010, Spring 2012); Gender and Social Policy (Zimmerman: Spring 2012); Feminist Theory (Sprague: Spring 2011); Gender, Family, and the Life Course (LaPierre: Fall 2010) |
Sexuality |
Affiliated faculty: Donovan, Nagel, Zimmerman Courses: Ethnicity and Sexuality (Nagel: Fall 2010) |
Globalization |
Affiliated faculty: Andac, Antonio, Golash-Boza, Hanley, Najafizadeh, Nagel, Obadare, Zimmerman Courses: Issues in Contemporary Theory: Globalization (Antonio: Fall 2009); Globalization (Hanley: Fall 2010); Gender in the Global Context (Najafizadeh: Spring 2010, Spring 2012); (Obadare: Fall 2010) |
Migration |
Affiliated faculty: Andac, Golash-Boza, Kim, Kleykamp, Najafizadeh, Obadare, Zimmerman Courses: Migration (Obadare: Fall 2010); Immigration and Inequality (Kim: Spring 2011) |
Medicine/Health |
Affiliated faculty: Ekerdt, Hill, LaPierre, Obadare, Zimmerman Courses: Critical Perspectives in Medical Sociology (Zimmerman: Fall 2009) |
Political Sociology |
Affiliated faculty: Andac, Antonio, Hanley, Obadare, Smith, Staples, Zimmerman Courses: Political Sociology (Andac: Spring 2010, Obadare: Spring, 2012); Globalization (Hanley: Fall 2010) |
Race & Ethnicity |
Affiliated faculty: Andac, Davidman, Donovan, Golash-Boza, Hill, Kim, Kleykamp, Nagel, Smith, Vasquez Courses: Sociology of Race (Vasquez: Fall 2009, Golash-Boza: Spring 2011); Migration (Obadare: Fall 2010); Immigration and Inequality (Kim: Spring 2011); Ethnicity and Sexuality (Nagel: Fall 2010) |
Social Inequality/Stratification |
Affiliated faculty: Donovan, Hanley, Hill, Kim, Kleykamp, LaPierre, Najafizadeh, Staples, Zimmerman Courses: Class Theory (Hill: Fall 2010); Immigration and Inequality (Kim: Spring 2011) |
Culture |
Affiliated faculty: Andac, Davidman, Donovan, Staples Courses: Cultural Theory (Donovan: Fall 2009); Sociology of Culture (Donovan: Fall 2010) |
Religion |
Affiliated faculty: Chong, Davidman, Obadare Courses: Sociology of Religion (Davidman: Fall 2011) |
Economic Sociology |
Affiliated faculty: Antonio, Kim, Najafizadeh, Staples Courses: Issues in Contemporary Theory: Globalization (Antonio: Fall 2009); Immigration and Inequality (Kim: Spring 2011) |
Sociology Graduate Program. Qualifying for a Ph.D. from the Department of Sociology at the University of Kansas entails completing a sequence of steps. Students must complete required coursework, prepare a Professional Portfolio, write and successfully defend an M.A. thesis, complete examination requirements in two areas of specialization, draft and successfully defend a proposal for a Ph.D. dissertation proposal, and successfully complete a doctoral dissertation.
Step 1: The M.A. Degree All pre-M.A. students must enroll in 9 credit hours of coursework per semester until they complete the M.A. requirements. This entails, within two years of enrollment in the doctoral program at the pre-M.A. level, the completion of 36 hours of graduate credit, including
Individual Master’s Readings courses (Sociology 891) may not be used to meet these requirements except by approved petition. (A full list of the courses that satisfy the theory, methods, and substantive seminar requirements may be found below.
Time Limits Students must complete all requirements for the M.A. degree no more than two years from the time of their first semester of graduate enrollment. For example, if a student begins the program in Fall 2009, all requirements for M.A. degree must be completed before the first day of classes in the Fall 2011 semester. Students are required to meet these deadlines.
Professional Portfolio From their first semester in the graduate program, students will prepare a professional portfolio of their graduate work. The portfolio should be an electronic document, created with Microsoft Word, so that it may be accessible to faculty for evaluation. Details of submission may also be obtained here. For pre-M.A. students, the portfolio must contain the following items: a table of contents, curriculum vitae, written work from all courses including research papers, take-home examinations and annotated bibliographies, master’s thesis proposal, master’s thesis, and any conference papers, grant proposals or published works. The portfolio may contain the following items if students and their committees find them helpful as evidence of students’ command of a given field: syllabi of courses taught or proposed, book reviews, op-ed pieces, and web-site designs.
M.A. Thesis Besides completing the required coursework, pre-M.A. students must prepare and defend an M.A. thesis. The purpose of the M.A. thesis is to train students in writing, conceptualization and research. Defense of the thesis includes a general examination on relevant themes of sociological theory and research. Completion of these requirements leads to the M.A. degree, which normally allows the student to proceed to doctoral study.
Step 2: The Ph.D Program. Requirements for students pursuing a doctoral degree normally include:
Course Enrollment All Ph.D. students are required to enroll in 9 credit hours of coursework per semester for the first two years of enrollment in the program at the Ph.D. level. After completing the oral comprehensive examination and defense of the dissertation proposal, students are required to enroll in a total of 18 credit hours, 6 credit hours per semester and 3 credit hours per summer session until the 18 hours are completed. If the Ph.D. degree is not completed after 18 credit hours of post-comprehensive enrollment, students must continue to enroll each semester and each summer session until all requirements for the degree have been met.
Time Limits All course requirements for the Ph.D. must be completed within two years of first enrollment in the program at the Ph.D. level. In addition, students are required to demonstrate command of a primary field within one year of first enrollment in the program and of a secondary field within one additional year.
Having demonstrated command of a secondary field, students have six months to complete a comprehensive oral examination and defend a dissertation proposal. 
Primary and Secondary Fields of Study Students demonstrate their command of a primary and a secondary field in sociology and their preparation to undertake dissertation research by creating artifacts to be part of their professional portfolios.
Primary: To demonstrate command of the subject in the primary area of study, students must submit to and obtain approval from their primary field committee a Critical Review Essay (CRE) of the field.
In addition, students must have received a satisfactory grade (B or higher) in at least two graduate-level courses in the primary field.
Secondary: To demonstrate command of the secondary field, the advisory committee may require a Critical Review Essay of the field or, in lieu of such an essay, they may ask for a combination of the following: an annotated bibliography, an original syllabus for a course, a completed research proposal, conference papers, published articles, or papers submitted to a journal for review.
In addition, students must have received a satisfactory grade (B or higher) in at least one graduate-level course in the secondary field. A list of the courses which satisfy this requirement for the respective fields may be found at below
Comprehensive Oral Examination and Defense of Dissertation Proposal Within one semester of having satisfied the requirements pertaining to the secondary field, students must complete a comprehensive oral examination and defend a dissertation proposal. The comprehensive oral examination (which covers students’ primary and secondary fields) and the defense of the dissertation proposal take place within the same examination period. The focus of the examination and defense will be on the feasibility and quality of the proposed research as well as the student's two areas of specialization.
Dissertation Finally, students must present a dissertation that demonstrates the development, execution, and results of original research. The doctoral dissertation is a coherent, logically organized, scholarly document. Material previously published by the candidate may be incorporated in the dissertation. See the graduate catalog for a full description of the principles that underlie the dissertation. Instructions regarding the proper form of the dissertation, besides those in this document, may be obtained from the Graduate School. Completion of the dissertation is the final phase of a doctoral program and is followed by the final oral examination and defense of the dissertation. Upon satisfactory completion of the final oral examination and approval of the dissertation by the dissertation advisory committee, the student proceeds with the submission of the dissertation to the Graduate School.
The current data from the National Research Council's assessment of the PhD program's Time-To-Degree can be found here.
Approved Graduate Courses. The following courses are approved by the faculty for all Sociology Department graduate programs.
Sociological Theory
Sociological Methods
Sociology Graduate Course Descriptions
For a detailed account of advising procedures, degree requirements, and program options, please see the Manual of Graduate Study (PDF).
The Sociology Department has a strong record of placing students
who graduate from our doctoral program. Since 1995, twenty-nine
students have earned PhDs from our program, and they are now employed
all over the country, mostly in academic positions. For example,
21 of those who graduated are in positions that require teaching,
research, and service, 3 are in post-doctoral fellowships, and 3
hold researcher/administrator positions. A listing of recent placements
can be found here. The current data from the National Research Council's assessment of the PhD program's Time-To-Degree can be found here. Following are
a few comments from some of our previous students:
“In pursuing my PhD I found my dissertation advisor and my dissertation committee excellent guides. Their recommendations and feedback led me to work out the questions which I confronted. As a result of my studies at the University of Kansas I am prepared to teach and further my research in the field.”
Robert Futrell Associate Professor of Sociology at University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Dissertation title: Struggling for Democracy: Environmental
Politics of Chemical Weapons Disposal
Chair/Adviser: Jack Weller
“I began the graduate program in KU Sociology as an MA student with the goal of earning a PhD and becoming a professor. But frankly, I had little idea of exactly how to do it or what it would take. From the first semester on I was thoroughly socialized both academically and professionally. The program provided a deep grounding in social theory while strongly emphasizing its use for empirical research. Faculty were generous with their time for students while providing us a great deal of autonomy and support to carve out our own path of study and research. We were encouraged to be active in the discipline and given the insights needed to “play the game,” so to speak. I now find myself trying to do all of the same for my own graduate students.”
Mary E. Kelly Associate Professor of Sociology at Central Missouri State University
Dissertation title: Born Again Lithuanians
Chair/Adviser: Joane Nagel
“My graduate experience at KU was, on the whole, a positive one. I found the faculty, especially at the dissertation stage, to be committed to my becoming a professional sociologist. Sometimes this meant telling me things I didn't want to hear- but I was the better for it. The graduate student relationships were in some ways equally important. Getting together socially and complaining about teaching, faculty, and dissertating helped us all. My experience on MARS (now Social Thought and Research) and Research on Aging was also an important introduction to the publication process.”
Dan Krier
Assistant Professor of Sociology at Iowa State University
Dissertation title: Speculative Management: Corporate Restructuring
and the American Stock Market, 1984 - 1997
Chair/Adviser: Jack Weller
“Kansas Sociology has a distinctive identity in the world of academic sociology. The program tends to attract students who care about real-world social problems and the faculty demonstrate by example how to use social theory, history and methodological creativity to dive down deep into our society in the search for solutions to them. At KU, students will find faculty who sincerely care about their development and who exert remarkable energy to make courses not just rigorous but meaningful. Other departments might provide efficient, tightly-contained degree programs, but few offer students a better opportunity to develop into self-directed, socially-engaged scholars.”
William J. Swart
Chair and Professor of Sociology at Augustana College, Sioux Falls,
South Dakota
Dissertation title: A Terrible Beauty is Born: The Framing of
Nationalism in Irish Politics, 1790-1994
Chair/Adviser: Joane Nagel
“One of the many benefits of the graduate Sociology program at KU is its’ unique focus on individual intellectual development. Rather than being stifled by pre-approved reading lists and preliminary examinations, I was given the freedom to organize a literature and explore questions that interested me the most. The graduate faculty served as partners in this process; their mentoring encouraged me to take ownership of the discipline as an individual scholar rather than force-fit my interests to a standardized programmatic agenda. I have fond memories of my graduate experience in sociology at KU – it was excellent preparation for my career in academic sociology.”
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The University of Kansas is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative
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in admissions, financial assistance, and employment.
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Fraser Hall 1415 Jayhawk Blvd. Room 716 Lawrence, KS 66045-7556 Phone: (785) 864-4111 or (785) 864-9400 Fax: (785) 864-5280 socdept@ku.edu |
© 2002 The University of Kansas Department of Sociology. Photos © The University of Kansas Office of University Relations. This file was modified 11/04/09 01:27:01 PM |
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