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The requirements listed below are special to this department and must be read in conjunction with the general requirements of the Graduate School. In addition, students are urged to consult either the department’s or the University’s Web site directly for further information and course descriptions.

Ph.D. Program

Students are initially admitted to the department as candidates for the M.A. degree, with the expectation that satisfactory academic performance during the first year results in formal admission to the Ph.D. program. Those interested in a free-standing M.A. program should consult the description of that program which appears after the description of the Ph.D. program.

Students wishing to receive credit for course work completed in other departments or schools within the University must consult the Director of Graduate Studies for approval.

At the end of the first year, the faculty reviews all students’ academic progress to determine whether their records meet the department’s standards for admission to doctoral candidacy. Students who complete the first-year requirements satisfactorily usually can expect to continue in the program.

Requirements for the M.A. (leading to the Ph.D.)

The M.A. degree is awarded to all graduate students who complete the requirements listed below. Students must also satisfy the requirements of the Graduate School. It is the student’s responsibility to apply for the M.A. degree in a timely fashion, upon completion of all necessary requirements. Students admitted to the Ph.D. program are expected to apply for the M.A. degree before the end of semester four.

Residence: Two Residence Units.

Points of credit: A total of 24: 18 points of courses taken for a letter grade within the department; six points of R credit within the department. Courses taken outside the department must have authorization from the DGS. Per the departmental guidelines for formal admission to the doctoral program, 18 points of courses taken for a letter grade are to be completed in the first year.

Required courses: G4050. Sociological Theory: Origins (must be taken in year 1); G4074-G4075. Introductory Social Data Analysis, a two-semester sequence, plus the associated lab courses G4076-G4077; G4097. Designs of Social Research (must be taken in the first semester of the first year). These courses are taken pass/fail only.

Professional seminar: A weekly, noncredit Professional Seminar is to be completed in the first and second semesters. Attendance is compulsory, but registration is not required.

Research papers: two substantial research papers of publishable quality to be written under the supervision of two different professors for courses with the Department of Sociology. They are to be approved by the respective professors as M.A. papers.

Language requirement:Students are not required to demonstrate proficiency in any language with the following exception. International students for whom English is not their native language and who have not previously earned an undergraduate degree at an English-speaking college or University must pass the ALP (American Language Program) two-part examination with a grade of 10 before the end of semester two. This is a requirement of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Instructors of the first-year required courses assess the language skills of all students. Any student deemed inadequately prepared in English is required to take a language course approved by the DGS.

Advanced standing:The normal route to a doctoral degree in the Department of Sociology is for students to first earn the M.A., typically at the end of the second year, then the M.Phil, typically at the end of the third year, and finally the Ph.D.. Advanced standing means that the M.A. requirement is waived, the student is granted up to 27 course credits and up to 2 Residence units, and is moved one year ahead in the program, and M.Phil. requirement is typically fulfilled by the end of the second year. Students receiving advanced standing for the M.A. degree are not eligible to receive an M.A. from Columbia University.

Who can obtain advanced standing: Advanced standing may be granted to students admitted into the department with M.A. degrees in sociology from other institutions but it is not guaranteed. The department reserves the right to judge the quality of the program of studies undergone by the student, and whether it merits advanced standing. In some rare cases, advanced standing may be granted to students with non-sociology MA degrees.

How and when to obtain advanced standing: Advanced standing can be granted as soon as the first semester at Columbia. Students should consult with the DGS during the first semester and provide the DGS with documentation of their degree, courses taken, and especially with syllabi of courses. The DGS will then make a recommendation to the Graduate School. The final decision will is made by the Graduate School. International students are not considered for advanced standing until they have passed the ALP examination with a grade of 10.

Fellowships and Advanced Standing: Students who are granted full advanced standing (2 Residence Units) receive four years of fellowship funding, rather than the standard five years. For this reason, the department makes the decision about advanced standing only after careful discussion with the student about his or her background and objectives in the program, and with a view to promoting and protecting the best interests of the student. After a decision has been reached, however, advanced standing is not something a student can decline. If the department judges that a student is eligible for advanced standing, then it will recommend accordingly to the Graduate School.

Partial Advanced Standing: If a student’s M.A. degree is not in sociology or is judged not rigorous enough, or if a student has taken courses toward one M.A. degree but did not complete the degree, the DGS may recommend partial advanced standing or simply transfer of credits. With partial advanced standing, the student will typically be granted only 1 Residence Unit, and between 8 and 18 course credits. Transfer of credits typically involves no more than eight course credits. In both cases, the M.A. requirement is not waived, and the student still needs to satisfy the criteria for a Columbia sociology M.A..

For the M.Phil. Degree

Students granted permission to proceed to the M.Phil. degree must complete all requirements for the Ph.D. except for the dissertation proposal and the preparation and defense of the dissertation in order to receive the M.Phil degree. Timely completion of the M.Phil. ensures that students retain full eligibility for departmental, University, and outside fellowships, as well as for other forms of support. As with the M.A., it is the student’s responsibility to observe all departmental and school deadlines in applying for the M.Phil. degree.

Residence: Six Residence Units, including the two earned for the M.A. degree.

Prerequisite: Columbia University M.A. degree or two Residence Units of Advanced Standing.

Points of credit: A total of 60: 39 points taken for a letter grade or Pass/Fail; 21 R-credit courses, including those acquired for the M.A. degree. Students should note that instructors may impose certain requirements, with the exception of an examination, on students whom they permit to enroll for R credit. Students may satisfy a portion of the letter grade requirement by registering for an independent study in which they write a major research paper. For more information on individual study, students should consult the DGS as well as the faculty member with whom they wish to study.

Required courses: In addition to those required for the M.A., a second theory course (to be chosen from G4122. Theory and Practice in the Study of Culture; G4165. Contemporary Sociological Theory; G4520. Social Theory and the City; or an alternative approved by the DGS); an advanced methods course to be taken by semester four (to be chosen from G4098. Research Methods; G4324. Survey Methods; G6091. Historical Methods and Documentary Analysis; G6099. Field Research Methods; G6225. Models of Categorical Data; G9120. Social Networks; G9513. Methods of Temporal Analysis; or an alternative approved by the DGS); Research Practicum to be taken in semester five (offered for R credit only).

General examination: An on-campus general examination taken early in semester four. Students may retake the exam twice, within three weeks in the same semester as the original exam. Students who fail the exam but have completed and passed the required courses/points and papers receive the M.A. degree but are not admitted to candidacy for the M.Phil. degree.

M.Phil. paper: An M.Phil. paper in semester five, construed as a publishable paper, completed in conjunction with and at the termination of the Research Practicum. The paper is evaluated by a committee of two faculty members from the department. The committee may: (1) approve the paper and recommend that the student continue to the Ph.D.; (2) approve the paper but not recommend that the student continue to the Ph.D., in which case the student then receives the M.Phil. degree (assuming course requirements have been fulfilled) and is dismissed from the program; or (3) reject the paper altogether, in which case the student receives the M.A. degree, which is usually awarded at the end of the fourth semester.

Teaching requirement: Participation in the instructional activities of the department for three years. As a rule, in the second, third, and fourth years of study, students gain exposure to teaching as assistants to professors in introductory undergraduate courses or other types of assignments. Students who are interested in broadening their teaching apprenticeships are eligible to teach in the Core Program once they have received the M.Phil. Students may only apply to be a preceptor if they have or expect to have the M.Phil. by the May prior to being appointed as a preceptor, and if they are not past their sixth year of registration during the first year of the preceptorship. Students may not hold instructional appointments after year seven.

For the Ph.D. Degree

For every student recommended to proceed to the Ph.D., a faculty member must indicate willingness to advise that student for the dissertation. The student must identify a dissertation sponsor before the start of the seventh semester. A dissertation proposal must be approved no later than the end of the fourth year of study. For more information on the dissertation proposal, students should consult the departmental guidelines. Subsequently, students must successfully conduct research for, defend, write, and deposit their doctoral dissertation according to the rules of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

For the Free-Standing M.A. in Sociology

The free-standing M.A. program in Sociology is designed to enhance the skills of business managers, consultants, and public administrators, as well as to provide conceptual and practical research tools for a number of areas in applied sociology. Along with traditional research methods, new techniques for analyzing issues in various substantive areas are investigated. Students are encouraged to use sociological approaches to assess and address issues that they have encountered in workplace or organizational settings.

Students are required to register for two Residence Units and to complete courses totaling 24 points, of which at least 18 must be taken for a letter grade and no more than six for R credit. Among the courses taken for a letter grade, one must be in Theory, one in Statistics, and one in Methodology. Note that the associated lab for G4074-G4075 (Introduction to Social Data Analysis I and II) is an R credit course and does not count toward credits taken for a letter grade.

Students must write two research papers of publishable quality, based on field research or quantitative analysis and written for courses taken within the department. Each paper must be written for a different professor within the department.

All courses are normally taken within the Department of Sociology. Students wishing to take a course outside of the department must obtain written permission from the Director of Graduate Studies.

For more information about the program, contact the Director of Graduate Studies.

The Free-Standing M.A. in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences

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