Doctorate in Rural Sociology

Admission and Recommended Prerequisites

Admission to the PhD program is determined by the admissions and awards committee using the documentation as indicated on About Rural Sociology.

Although it is desirable that entering students have a strong background in sociology, students of high merit who do not have such a background are encouraged to apply. Such applicants may be required to take such graduate-level work as is necessary to remedy deficiencies in their background.

Extremely well qualified students with a BS/BA degree may pursue the PhD program without obtaining a master’s degree. In those cases, the student may prepare a research article for submission to a professional journal or a thesis.

Degree Requirements

Besides the core of courses for all graduate students, students in the PhD program take a core consisting of an advanced quantitative methods course, an advanced qualitative methods course and an advanced theory course.

Specializations

Students will specialize by taking at least nine hours, including an 8000-level seminar, in one of the following areas: sociology of environment and agriculture or community studies.

Qualifying Examination

The qualifying examination is given in May. The comprehensive examination is prepared and evaluated by the student’s advisory committee.