SOCIOLOGY & WOMEN'S STUDIES JOINT PhD ADMISSIONS
Effective fall 2008, admissions to the joint program in Sociology and Women's Studies are suspended for 2009-2010. Please contact wspgradinquiry@umich.edu with questions.
Women’s Studies and Sociology Joint PhD Program
Specific Requirements and Policies
Transferring Credits
Language Requirement
Recommended Progress
Prelims
Fifth Term Reviews
WS 891
Dissertation Prospectus/Proposal
Faculty of the Women’s Studies and Sociology Doctoral
Program
Transferring Credits
All transfer of credits must be discussed with the Director of Graduate Studies in both Women’s Studies and Sociology.
A small number of in-residence courses are required of all graduate students: Sociology 505, 506 (Theory); Sociology 510, 610 (Statistics); and Sociology 507 (Logics and Strategies of Sociological Research Inquiry). Petitions seeking to waive any of these courses must demonstrate not only that the student has previously done such reading, but that he/she has mastered the intellectual material. In all cases, petitions must be submitted to and approved by the Committee on Administration of Graduate Affairs (CAGA) in Sociology.
Exceptions: students may be excused from Sociology 510 by taking an exam. Students may be excused from Sociology 610 by substituting another course or demonstrating command of the material.
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Language Requirement
There is no language requirement in Sociology.
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Women’s Studies and Sociology Recommended Progress
Please Note: This timeline notes typical progress through the program. Your schedule may be slightly different depending on when certain courses are offered.
First Year
Fall
- WS 501—Proseminar in Women’s Studies
- WS 530—Feminist Theory
- SOC 500—Orientation seminar
- SOC 505—Theory and Practice
- SOC 510—Statistics
Winter
- WS 602 or 603—Approaches to Feminist Scholarship
- SOC 506—Theory and Practice
- SOC 610—Statistics
Second Year
Fall
- SOC 507—Logics and Strategies of Sociological Research Inquiry
- WS elective
- SOC elective
Winter
- 2 WS electives
- SOC elective
Third Year
Fall
- Research practicum (SOC 522, 523 or SOC 532, 533 or SOC 542, 543, or SURMETH
600, 672, and 673)
- 2 SOC electives
- Work on WS 891
Other Requirements
- Aug/Sept: take SOC prelim
- Fall: Fifth term review
- Candidacy achieved (after all course work completed and WS 891 2 pg proposal and bibliography approved by committee. Completion of WS 891 is not necessary to advance.)
Fourth Year
Fall
- Finish WS 891
- Complete professional paper requirement
- Complete prospectus (Winter)
- Begin data collection and analysis
Fifth Year
- Write and defend dissertation
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Prelims
All students will take their first prelim exam in Sociology in one of the 8 designated program areas:
- Culture and Knowledge
- Economic Sociology and Organizations
- Gender and Sexuality
- Health, Aging and Life Course
- Power, History and Social Change
- Race and Ethnicity
- Social Demography
- Social Psychology
Each area has a committee appointed by the Sociology chair and most committees provide students with a reading list on which the exam is based. Students may study over the summer in groups using previous exam questions to guide them.
Joint students in Women's Studies and Sociology are exempt from the second prelim and will instead complete WS 891.
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Fifth Term Reviews
The Women’s Studies Department reviews all joint Sociology and Women’s Studies students in the fall term of their third year, once they have completed the first prelim. This meeting is intended to offer the student and faculty members an opportunity to discuss the student’s progress in the program and plans for future research. In other words, it is not a screening but part of the mentoring process.
The student:
1. Begins by selecting a committee. The review committee will consist of:
- a faculty member in Women’s Studies and Sociology
- a faculty member in Sociology, not in Women’s Studies
- a faculty member in Women’s Studies, not in Sociology
If faculty members are unfamiliar with the process, the Women’s Studies Director of Graduate Studies will designate a committee chair, generally the joint person, and meet with him/her to discuss procedures.
2. Arranges a meeting time (students make arrangements with committee; must be before December 1). The meeting should be 1½ hours in duration. The student also coordinates a meeting space (in Sociology or Women’s Studies). The Women’s Studies Graduate Student Services Coordinator will assist if necessary; be sure to inform the Coordinator of meeting time, place, and the composition of the committee.
3. Submits the following materials to the Women’s Studies Graduate Student Services Coordinator at least one week before the proposed meeting:
- short self-appraisal about progress and future interests (2–3 pages)
- an unrevised writing sample of any length from any course (with or without instructor comments)
The Women’s Studies Graduate Student Services Coordinator will run an updated transcript, collect comments from all faculty members who have taught the student in a course, and create a fifth term review packet with all relevant information. The Women’s Studies Grad Coordinator will distribute the packet of collected information to committee members in advance of the meeting.
The meeting will be an opportunity to:
- review and discuss the student’s academic record
- review progress in the joint program, come up with ideas for WS 891 project, and other future research plans
The committee completes the fifth term review form and files it with the Women’s Studies Graduate Student Services Coordinator.
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WS 891
Women’s Studies 891 is an interdisciplinary research paper (that pilots the dissertation project—includes data, info from the archive) or critical literature review (broader than a prospectus; generally about 30–40 pages) meant to integrate learning in Sociology and Women’s Studies and focusing on a topic pertinent to the dissertation. This can be completed in one term or over two terms.
It serves as your prelim in Women’s Studies and replaces your second prelim in Sociology.
- The student begins by selecting a committee consisting of the following members:
- at least one faculty member jointly appointed in Women’s Studies and Sociology, who serves as chair or co-chair
- at least one faculty member in Women’s Studies who is not in Sociology
- at least one faculty member in Sociology who is not in Women’s Studies
This committee may or may not be the same as the committee for your fifth term review.
- The student writes a 1–2 page 891 proposal that the 891 committee must approve. There is not a meeting for this; students distribute the proposal via email or in-person to the committee members. The committee chair will communicate to the Women's Studies graduate office when the proposal is approved. This is necessary for advancement to candidacy.
- The student must then sign up for WS 891 for 1 or 2 terms under her/his advisor’s individual instructor (INDI) number.
Note: You may complete your 891, which is a research paper or critical literature review, in one or two terms. If you choose two terms, you would read and/or collect data in the Winter term of your third year and write it up in the Fall term of your fourth year. Winter term you will receive a “Y” (extended course) and Fall Term the “Y” will be converted to a grade. This process may also be completed in one term. Either way, WS 891 will be completed when it has been defended in a two-hour oral exam with the whole committee.
WS 891 must be completed by the end of Fall term of the fourth year.
The student is responsible for:
- selecting a committee
- establishing a meeting time
- scheduling a meeting room
- distributing proposal and paper to committee
Please fill out the requisite form (Sociology WS 891 Form) for the defense and file it with the Women’s Studies Graduate Student Services Coordinator.
Professional Paper
The Professional Paper requirement is intended to facilitate the development of the skills and experiences necessary for writing professional papers.
To fulfill the requirement, a faculty member must certify that the student has produced a paper suitable for presentation at a professional meeting or conference or submission to a refereed journal.
The requirement can be satisfied in a number of ways:
- by producing a paper in a research practicum
- by revising a paper begun in a practicum
- by producing a paper from a seminar
- by doing an original research paper for the second prelim exam (WS 891)
- by producing a paper in consultation with a faculty member
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Dissertation Prospectus/Proposal
The prospectus is a student’s proposal or plan for dissertation research and writing.
In Sociology, the dissertation proposal is generally 15–20 double-spaced pages in length and should include a bibliography and tentative time schedule. It lays out the literature review and research question and describes the research design and research techniques. It should specify the sources of data and evaluate their adequacy; what specific research techniques will be employed; relevant controls or comparisons; and expected problems of data analysis.
In Sociology, the prospectus must be defended within a year of completing the second preliminary examination, i.e. WS 891.
Please file a copy of your prospectus with the Women’s Studies Graduate Office.
See also: Department of Sociology website
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Faculty of the Women’s Studies and Sociology Doctoral Program
Budgeted Faculty
Jayati Lal
Non-Budgeted Faculty
Renee Anspach
Fatma Muge Gocek
Karin Martin
Pamela Smock
Affiliated Faculty
C.K. Lee
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