Sociology
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Program Contact Information
Website: www.soc.utah.edu
Social and Behavioral Science Building, Rm 301
Phone: 801-581-6153
Program Description
The Third-Year Paper(SOC7910) is an independent research project in which a student produces a publishable-like manuscript that contains empirical analysis. Students will work on this project over two semesters (fall and spring) of their third year, after they have successfully passed their Comprehensive Area Exam. Although the paper does not have to be published to complete this requirement, this project may produce the students first sole-or first-authored publication. The paper should be of a scope that can be completed in one year, given the students capabilities, access to data, and any other resources needed to complete the project. Students are encouraged to use a topic they have already considered in prior courses. Students, for example, might implement the proposal they developed in Research Methods. The project can also draw on a topic discussed in the Theory seminar. Or, students may choose to complete or expand an analysis started in one of the required Stats classes. Students may use the Third-Year Paper requirement as a way to explore a topic, data, or analyses they want to consider for the dissertation. It is common for students to produce multiple papers/projects while in graduate school utilizing the same data and/or related to the same topic. Just keep in mind: The paper produced for this requirement has to be unique and not identical to something that has already been graded in the context of a course and cannot be used verbatim as part of an eventual dissertation. Given that the paper has to be conceptualized and executed within a single year, it will be common to see third-year papers that analyze secondary quantitative data. However, empirical analysis does not mean quantitative analysis. It is defined as a paper that specifies a research question(s), situates it within a larger body of literature, has a method section detailing the data and processes used to analyze that data, and reports and discusses findings. Thus, the paper may adopt quantitative, qualitative, historical, or a mixed-method data and analytic strategies.
Students admitted to the sociology Ph.D. program with an earned master’s degree in any field from an accredited institution, domestic or international, will be exempted from the third-year paper requirement. However, if for any reason the University does not recognize and accept an admitted student’s degree, the student will need to complete a third-year paper.
Program Admissions Requirements
Minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0.
Bachelor’s degree from a fully accredited college or university.
Recommendation of the faculty in the college or department in which the applicant wishes to study.
Graduate Record Exam (GRE) score.
Letters of recommendation.
Personal statement detailing academic interests.