Graduate Program Ph.D. Requirements

Ph.D. Requirements

Students receive the PhD after completing required coursework, passing the exams in theory, methods, and their specialty areas, and successfully writing and defending a dissertation.

Required Courses

Forty-five hours of coursework at or above the 5000 level are required for the Ph.D. in Sociology. Twenty-four of the forty-five hours must be taken in the Department of Sociology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The remaining twenty-one hours may be taken outside of the Department. For students who join the program with Master’s degree, the remaining twenty-one hours may be transferred from previous school with the permission of the Graduate Committee and of the Graduate School. Petitions for transfer of credit are accepted after students successfully complete at least six credits of graduate level coursework as a degree seeking student on the CU Boulder campus with a 3.0 GPA.

The following are required core courses totaling 18 credits toward the Ph.D.:

Sociology 5201 Sociological Theory	3 credits
Second Theory course of student’s area of interest	3 credits
Sociology 5111 Data 1	3 credits
Sociology 6111 Data 2	3 credits
Sociology 5031 Research Design	3 credits
Sociology 6821 Sociology Forum	2 credits
Sociology 6831 Professional Seminar in Sociology	1 credit

Time Limits

The Graduate School requires a student to get an M.A. degree within four years, and a Ph.D. within six years.

If you have any questions, please contact the Graduate Program Assistant by email or phone at (303) 735-2335.