Temple Sociology
Research · Teaching · Social Change
Admissions · Master's Program · Doctoral Program · Download this page
Graduate Chair: Professor Shanyang Zhao · (215) 204-7767 · bzhao001@temple.edu
Graduate Coordinator: Pamela Smallwood · (215) 204-7750 · poppy@temple.edu
Temple University's Graduate Program in Sociology is devoted to the training of research scholars and educators in the discipline. Students have a variety of career goals, ranging from academic research and teaching to research and administration in private or public agencies.
The Department offers two distinct programs of study in sociology:
The Master's Program provides advanced training in sociological theory, statistics, and research methods.
The Doctoral Program concentrates on three main subfields of sociology described below to prepare students for research and teaching in academic settings and for advanced work in applied research settings. The program allows students some flexibility in developing additional specialty areas.
The three main areas of graduate teaching and research are race & ethnicity, gender & sexuality, and urban & globalization.
Race & Ethnicity
Race and ethnicity are important components of many societies, and in the United States they are central to the organization of society and create what some scholars have called a "racialized social formation."
At the same time, race and ethnicity are complexly intertwined with other types of identity, more prominently with gender, class, religion and sexual orientation. Overall, racial thinking is closely linked to how some societies function and sociologists have developed methodologies that are unique to this subfield.
This area encompasses sociological perspectives on ethnic and racial identities, inequalities, and interactions. Emphasis is placed on the long tradition of sociological research, from the early 20th century to the present, including but not limited to research on assimilation, racism, racial and ethnic stratification, prejudice and discrimination, immigration, and racial formation.
Gender & Sexuality
Gender provides a lens through which to understand the social construction of similarity and difference and the sociological, historical, political, and economic forces that both shape and reflect women's and men's roles, statuses, resources, physical traits, and relationships with others.
One major focus, gender and inequality, investigates the relationship between sex and gender and the socioeconomic rewards distributed through the labor market and the welfare state. We attend to how sex and gender relate to poverty, women's relative position in the income distribution and occupational hierarchy, the operation of work organizations, and the construction of social policy.
Another area, kinship, explores global changes in families, competing theoretical perspectives on the role of kinship structures in gender inequality, parenting and childhood, and social networks as well as the impact of public policy on the welfare of modern families.
Gender also encompasses body and sexuality which includes the social construction of sexual identity, historical changes in identity construction, the social and cultural shaping of bodies and gender differences in this process. In all of the above, we pay attention to gender's intersection with race, ethnicity, class, sexual identity, and immigration status.
Urban & Globalization
The area of urban and globalization comprises the study of the structures and processes which shape urban life. Globalization deals with the global interpenetration of national, regional, and local economic, social, and political processes. Consequently, each area requires competence in the other.
The urban sociology field focuses on how the organization of space produces and reproduces inequality by race, ethnicity, gender, class, family type and sexuality. It feature analyses of competing theoretical explanations for urban spatial patterns linked to inequalities that include power and politics, culture, racial and ethnic discrimination, and economic and political institutions.
Urban sociology has a social problems orientation that looks at the manifestation and production of inequality with a wide range of topics including homelessness, poverty, racial segregation, crime and delinquency, unemployment and underemployment, and environmental problems. A unique feature of the urban sociology field is its ability to link the physical dimensions of space (location, neighborhood, housing, access to place based amenities) to social inequality. A major feature of urban sociology looks at mechanisms accompanying globalization, the development of world cities, the ways in which cities are integrated and exploited within a global economy, and the role of immigrant flows in shaping global cities.
In the department, many faculty members have national and international reputations and some serve as consultants to government and community organizations. The department and the university have extensive facilities to aid the researcher, whether graduate student or faculty member, including up-to-date computer laboratories and databases.
Students with applied interests can increase their research skills and their understanding of policy formation by taking courses in research design, data collection and data analysis.
ADMISSIONS (All applicants are required to submit the application online).
Anyone holding a Bachelor's or Master's Degree from an accredited college with demonstrated course work in sociological theory and methods or their equivalent may apply to the Master's or Doctoral program. Students intending to pursue a Ph.D. in sociology may apply directly to the Ph.D. program. The Department will consider admission of applicants who do not have a degree in sociology if they can demonstrate a fundamental understanding of the discipline through a writing sample. At the discretion of the Graduate Chair, students may be advised to correct their coursework deficiencies by attending classes during the summer prior to admission, or the first fall semester of their residency in the program.
Applicants must submit scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general aptitude tests taken in the five years prior to application. GRE subject tests are not required for admission. Applications must include three letters of recommendation and official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work. The Sociology Department does not require proficiency in a foreign language.
Basic Admission Criteria
- Graduate Record Examination verbal and quantitative aptitude scores totaling at least 1000.
- Students whose native language is not English must demonstrate proficiency in English by submitting TOEFL scores at the time of their application. To be admitted to Temple University, a student must score a minimum of 600 on the paper-based version, 250 on the computer-based version or 100 on the internet-based version of the TOEFL®. International students who have received a BA degree in the United States are not required to submit TOEFL scores.
- Applicants who have previously taken graduate courses should have at least a 3.4 cumulative grade point average in those courses.
- A minimum undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 in two of the following: (1) overall four-year GPA, (2) GPA for last two years, (3) GPA for major.
- At least three letters of recommendation indicating that the student can successfully complete the graduate program.
- A brief essay stating the reasons the student wishes to attend graduate school and his/her career goals.
- A writing sample no more than 25 pages long on a sociological topic.
Students whose performance is weak in one of the above criteria may be accepted if they have performed well above average on others.
All applicants are required to submit the application online.
Generally students must start the programs in the fall semester and part-time pursuit of a graduate degree is possible. The Master's Degree program has been devised on the assumption that students start in the fall semester. Students wishing to apply for a Ph.D. in Sociology shall designate this choice on their application for admission to the Department.
Applications for admissions to the MA program for the fall semester should be received by July 15th. Admissions decisions for this program are made on a rolling basis. The application deadline for the PhD program is January 15th. Decisions are made in the spring semester.
Requirements for the Master's Degree are as follows. Students in the MA program must complete the following 12 three-credit courses:
- Two courses in theory (8111 and 9111)
- Two courses in methods (8011 and 8221)
- Two courses in statistics (8211 and 9211)
- Six electives
This is the general time frame for MA students to complete the 12 required courses:
FALL (FIRST YEAR)
8111 - Classical Social Theory
8011 - Logic of Inquiry
1 Elective
SPRING (FIRST YEAR)
9111 - Contemporary Social Theory
8211 - Inferential & Multivariate Statistics
1 Elective
FALL (SECOND YEAR)
9211 - Data Analysis
1 Elective
1 Elective
SPRING (SECOND YEAR)
8221 - Qualitative Methods
1 Elective
1 Elective
Doctoral students follow the same curriculum as MA students during the first two years of study. All doctoral students will be expected to meet the requirements for the Master's Degree, and may, if they choose, receive the Master's Degree when the requirements have been fulfilled. Beyond the MA curriculum, doctoral students are required to take three additional courses, pass the Preliminary Examination, and complete a dissertation.
Students in the Ph.D. Program must complete the following 15 three-credit courses:
- Two courses in theory (8111 and 9111)
- Two courses in methods (8011 and 8221)
- Two courses in statistics (8211 and 9211)
- Nine electives (including two courses related to the Preliminary Examination)
The general time frame for doctoral students to complete the 15 courses required for the PhD is as follows:
FALL (FIRST YEAR)
8111 - Classical Social Theory
8011 - Logic of Inquiry
1 Elective
SPRING (FIRST YEAR)
9111 - Contemporary Social Theory
8211 - Inferential & Multivariate Statistics
1 Elective
FALL (SECOND YEAR)
9211 - Data Analysis
1 Elective
1 Elective
SPRING (SECOND YEAR)
8221 - Qualitative Methods
1 Elective
1 Elective
FALL (THIRD YEAR)
1 Elective
1 Elective
1 Elective
SPRING (THIRD YEAR)
Proposal Seminar 9998 (3 credits)
Preliminary Exam
Pre-Candidacy Evaluation
The Department will evaluate doctoral students at the end of their second year using the Grade Point Average (GPA) as a main criterion for advancement to doctoral-level course work. A student with a GPA below 3.4 will ordinarily not be allowed to continue in the doctoral program. However, the student can petition the Graduate Committee for a re-consideration. After a petition is submitted, the Graduate Chair will require a written evaluation from each faculty member in the Department with whom the student has taken a course. The student will be permitted to continue in the Ph.D. Program if at least five faculty members write in support of the petition. Those not allowed to continue can graduate with an MA upon completion of the requirements.
Preliminary Examination
After completing the required coursework, doctoral students are expected to take a Preliminary Examination in the spring semester of their third year. The Preliminary Examination consists of two parts: the written area examination and the proposal paper.
(1) The Written Area Exam:
The Department has identified three broad examination areas that are consistent with its mission and self-defined areas of strength: Race & Ethnicity, Gender & Sexuality, and Urban & Globalization. However, students may request to take the exam in another area under the following conditions: (1) the student has taken at least two graduate level courses in the Sociology Department in the requested area, one of which may be an Independent Study course, (2) two faculty members are willing to sponsor the exam, and (3) approval by the Graduate Chair.
Coursework requirement
Prior to taking the Preliminary Examination, students must complete two or more graduate level courses related to that examination area offered by the faculty within the Department.
The written area examination consists of four questions and students must answer two in a week. They will receive the questions the second Monday of April and the answers are due the third Monday of April. The Prelim Committee members have two weeks to evaluate the exam, assigning a grade of "Pass" or "Fail" to each question. A total of at least three "Passes" from the two graders is needed for a student to pass the exam. If there are two "Passes" and two "Fails," the tie breaker will be called on to grade the exam; two passing grades from the tie breaker will allow the student to pass the examination. Grades with comments shall be submitted to the Graduate Chair.
(2) The Proposal Paper:
In the spring semester of the preliminary examination, students are also required to take a three-credit Proposal Seminar (9998). They must receive a passing grade on the written paper for the course in order to pass the Preliminary Examination.
The research proposal paper will be the main assignment of the Proposal Seminar. Every student should select a faculty member with expertise in his/her research area to serve as a proposal reader. The student may consult with this faculty member throughout the semester. The week after spring break, the instructor will submit a report to the Graduate Chair with a brief description of the performance of each student. Any student who is underperforming will be called to a meeting with the Graduate Chair in the presence of the instructor and the proposal reader to take corrective measures.
On the official last day of classes, students submit their proposal paper to the instructor and the reader. The paper should demonstrate mastery of the existing body of literature on the proposed topic and the ability to formulate important scholarly research problems, as well as the appropriate methods to investigate them. It should not exceed twenty pages and have no fewer than twelve pages. The instructor and the reader have a week to grade the papers and each must submit a detailed, descriptive evaluation of the paper to the Graduate Chair, indicating whether it is "acceptable" or "unacceptable." If the instructor and the reader disagree on the evaluation of the paper, a third department member with expertise in the area will be appointed by the Graduate Chair to provide a determining evaluation. The main goal of the paper evaluation is to assess the student's ability to write a dissertation.
Overall Preliminary Examination Grade:
Based on the written area exam grade and the evaluation of the research proposal paper, the Graduate Chair assigns an overall "Pass" or "Fail" to each student for the Preliminary Examination. Students will be notified of their prelim results at the end of the semester. Students need a "Pass" on the written exam and an "acceptable" evaluation on the proposal paper to successfully complete the Preliminary Examination. Those who fail both the area exam and the proposal paper will not be allowed to continue in the Ph.D. program. They will be eligible to receive a Master's Degree. Those who do well on one part but fail the other may retake the part they have failed.
Dissertation Proposal
The dissertation proposal is a brief statement of the dissertation research. It should contain a review of the literature, a statement of the research problem, and a comprehensive description of the research strategy to be employed.
The dissertation proposal will be accepted only when members of the dissertation committee vote unanimously to accept it. An approved dissertation proposal must be filed along with the Dissertation Proposal Transmittal Form to the Graduate School.
After defending the dissertation proposal, a student is formally advanced to Ph.D. Candidacy.
Dissertation Defense (Ph.D. Final Examination)
The dissertation defense will consist of the oral defense of the thesis. Any discrepancy between the final version of the dissertation and the dissertation proposal should be explained and defended.
The Doctoral Dissertation Examining Committee will be formed to evaluate the quality of the dissertation and conduct the oral defense (see the Announcement of Oral Defense From). The committee includes the Doctoral Advisory Committee and at least one outside examiner. If the outside examiner is not a member of Temple Graduate Faculty, the Chair of the Doctoral Advisory Committee must request approval by submitting the Nomination for Service on Doctoral Committee Form and the outside examiners current curriculum vita to the Dean of the Graduate School at least four weeks in advance of the scheduled defense. Approval must be received prior to posting the oral defense. The Chair of the Dissertation Examining Committee must be a member of the Graduate Faculty but may not be the Chair of the candidate's Doctoral Advisory Committee. This person, responsible for coordinating the defense, must be identified when the defense is posted with the Graduate School.
The dissertation committee must vote unanimously that the student has passed the Ph.D. Final Examination. Each member of the dissertation committee indicates his/her assessment of the examination and signs his/her name to Form II, Temple University Graduate Boards, Ph.D. Final Examination. If the Chairperson of the Sociology Department agrees that the dissertation meets departmental standards, he or she will signify his or her approval by signing ("for the department") on Form III, Temple University Graduate Board, Ph.D. Final Examination.
Special Notes
Information regarding the required format of the dissertation (i.e., paper, form and style, etc.) is available either from the Graduate School or the Graduate Secretary. Electronic dissertations are mandatory. As part of filing an electronic dissertation, the microfilming fee, and copyright fee (if copyrighting) must be paid online through the e-dissertation site. This site delineates formatting, deadlines, and how to upload your dissertation.