THE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE
SOCIOLOGY
SOCIOLOGY

25.2.1 THE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE

In addition to the general requirements listed in 1.5, the following requirements must be met by all students proceeding to the PhD degree in Sociology.

Admission Requirements

For admission to the PhD program in Sociology applicants must hold a Master’s degree in Sociology (or equivalent) from a recognized university. Possession of the minimum academic requirements does not ensure acceptance.

Applicants who wish to be considered for funding must apply by January 31. The closing date for all applications is April 30.

Applicants must include the following:
(a) transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended. (Transcripts must be sent directly from the institution);
(b) a statement (up to 500 words) addressing the two following questions: (i) How have you been involved in social justice issues through research, work, or community activity? And (ii) How do you envision your research contributing to social justice?
(c) a statement of a proposed area for dissertation research;
(d) a sample of written work (e.g., a term paper, thesis proposal, published work);
(e) three letters of reference in sealed envelopes with the referee’s signature across the seal. At least two should be academic references. One letter should be from the MA supervisor; one can be from a non-academic referee who has been in a supervisory or mentor role. These may be sent by the applicant or under separate cover by the referees.

In addition to assessing the submissions made by the applicant to determine admissibility, the Graduate Committee takes into account (i) the availability of faculty to advise, supervise, and provide funding and research training in conjunction with their own research projects, and (ii) the diversity of subject areas represented in the applicant pool.

Program Overview

Doctoral Committee

Upon admission to the Ph.D. program, the Graduate Committee will assign an interim faculty advisor whose research and teaching coincide with the applicant’s area of interest. Students may submit a request to the Graduate Committee for a particular advisor.

Research undertaken as part of the doctoral program is directed by a doctoral committee consisting of an advisor from the graduate faculty of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, two other faculty members from inside the department, and one faculty member from outside the department. The student should select the doctoral committee by the end of the first academic year. The membership of the doctoral committee must be approved by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research.

Course work

Ph.D. students are required to complete six graduate courses, including 48-600 and either 48-605 or 48-606. Proficiency in both quantitative and qualitative methods is required through completion of course work at the M.A. or Ph.D. level. Those without evidence of prior preparation may be required to take additional courses. Acceptable course grades are outlined in Section 1.5 of the Graduate Calendar.

Comprehensive Examinations and Dissertation Proposal

After completion of all course requirements, students must demonstrate mastery of two established and distinct fields of sociological inquiry through satisfactory completion of two comprehensive examinations. Comprehensive examinations serve as preparatory work for the dissertation and enable students to develop recognized areas of expertise for teaching and career purposes.

Comprehensive Exams:
(a) Comprehensive exams may be taken in any two of the following areas: Social Inequality, Social Change, Crime and Regulation, Research Methods, or Social Theory.
(b) Students may nominate a Comprehensive Examination Committee of three faculty members for each area in which they will be examined from a list of graduate faculty in that area of competence. The Graduate Committee must approve the composition of each committee.
(c) Responsibility for setting each exam rests with the Comprehensive Examination Committee. It is the responsibility of the committee to ensure that the questions for a student’s two comprehensive exams are distinct and without duplication. These exams and committees will be monitored by the Graduate Committee.
(d) The comprehensive examinations will have a take-home format. The exam will be given to the student seven (7) days before it is due. The students will be given three (3) questions and must answer 2 of the questions.
(e) If a student fails a comprehensive examination, he or she may retake the examination once only at the discretion of the Head of the Department and the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research.

Dissertation Proposal

The dissertation proposal should be a concise document of no more than 20 pages that discusses: the central research topic of the dissertation, the significance of the research, the theoretical framework guiding the research, proposed research methods, a plan and schedule for completion of the thesis, the feasibility of the research project, and ethical issues raised by the research. A grant proposal format derived from major funding agencies such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada of the Canadian Institutes for Health Research can be a standard format for the proposal.

The dissertation proposal must be approved at a meeting of the doctoral committee before the research can proceed. The purpose of the meeting is to reach an agreement that the research is well-designed, feasible, and appropriately grounded in the relevant research literature. All doctoral students are required to comply with the ethical principles, values, and standards of the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association’s Code of Ethics. The proposal for doctoral research involving human subjects must be approved by the University of Windsor Ethics Review Board before dissertation research can begin.

Dissertation Research

The dissertation is normally a book-length manuscript that makes an original contribution to knowledge. The dissertation should display a sophisticated awareness of the theoretical, methodological, and practical choices made during the research process and the implications of the research.

Dissertation research and writing processes vary significantly, depending on the methods used and preferences in working style. The student and supervisor should meet often during the research process, reviewing written work at regular intervals. The full doctoral committee shall meet for an assessment of progress on a schedule determined by the Graduate Committee.

The dissertation research process culminates with an oral defence. The doctoral committee will recommend to the candidate when the thesis is ready to defend. An examiner from outside the university will be selected by the doctoral committee for the final defence of the dissertation, subject to the approval of the Department Head and the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research. The external examiner must be a nationally or internationally recognized expert in the area of the candidate’s research. The external examiner does not participate in the direction of the research project, but appraises the dissertation and participates in the final oral examination.