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Appendix F: Prior Satisfactory Progress

Students who entered the program prior to May 2014

 

Purpose:

The purpose of this policy is to make explicit for students the minimum standards for making satisfactory progress through the graduate program in sociology.  Students who do not meet these minimum standards will be at risk of dismissal from the program, per faculty review and vote. 

 

Review:

Students will be reviewed each March by the graduate faculty with respect to the following criteria through their fifth year in the program.  The faculty will assess the student’s progress, consider whether the progress is both satisfactory and reasonable, and vote on the student’s continued status in the program.  Students are expected to have met the criteria for minimum satisfactory progress by the time of the review.

 

Faculty will vote according to the following recommendations:

  • Continue in the Program
  • Continue in the Program with Conditions
  • Dismissal from Program

 

Students who receive a majority vote of “Continue in the Program with Conditions” will be required to discuss those provisions with their major professor, or if a major professor has not been designated, with the Department’s Graduate Coordinator.  The purpose of the discussion will be to make explicit those areas in the student’s performance that require improvement in time for the student’s next annual review.

 

Minimum Satisfactory Progress:

Year 1:

  • Predominantly A’s in coursework
  • Successful completion of required and elective coursework
  • Successful performance of teaching/research assistantship responsibilities
  • Demonstration of ethics and a professional attitude, as well as engagement in the intellectual life of the department.  Identification of Major Professor Development of thesis topic for those students entering without a M.A. in sociology*

 

Year 2:

  • Predominantly A’s in coursework
  • Successful completion of required and elective courses
  • Successful performance of teaching/research assistantship responsibilities
  • Demonstration of ethics and a professional attitude, as well as engagement in the intellectual life of the department.
  • Formation of a thesis committee for those students entering without a M.A.
  • Steady and productive thesis research for students entering without a Master’s Degree
  • For students who enter with a M.A. in Sociology: Preparation of the M.A. thesis and/or other research paper for presentation and publication

 

Year 3:

  • Predominantly A’s in coursework
  • Successful completion of required and elective coursework
  • Successful performance in teaching/research assistantship responsibilities
  • Demonstration of ethics and a professional attitude, as well as engagement in the intellectual life of the department
  • Receipt of M.A. degree no later than Fall semester
  • Preparation of the M.A. thesis and/or other research paper for presentation and publication
  • Formation of comprehensive exam committee
  • For students who enter with a M.A. in Sociology: Successful completion of the comprehensive examination.  Consistent with the Comprehensive Exam Policy, students who enter with a M.A. are required to take the comprehensive exam by the second semester of the third year.  If a student is unsuccessful, he/she will have one opportunity to re-take the exam in the next semester.  Continuation in the program will be contingent upon successfully completing the exam during this second attempt.

 

Year 4:

  • Predominantly A’s in coursework
  • Successful completion of required and elective coursework
  • Successful performance in teaching/research assistantship responsibilities
  • Demonstration of ethics and a professional attitude, as well as engagement in the intellectual life of the department.
  • Successful completion of comprehensive examination. Consistent with the Comprehensive Exam Policy, students who enter without a M.A. are required to take the comprehensive exam by the second semester of the fourth year.  If a student is unsuccessful, he/she will have one opportunity to re-take the exam in the next semester.  Continuation in the program will be contingent upon successfully completing the exam during this second attempt.
  • Submission of at least one paper for publication in a peer-reviewed journal
  • Consistent progress toward dissertation proposal

 

Year 5:

  • Predominantly A’s in coursework  (if applicable)
  • Successful completion of required and elective coursework (if applicable)
  • Successful performance in teaching/research assistantship responsibilities
  • Demonstration of ethics and a professional attitude, as well as engagement in the intellectual life of the department
  • Evidence of on-going efforts to revise/submit research papers for publication
  • Instructor experience in free-standing courses, unless engaged in research assistantship
  • Dissertation proposal defense

 

*all items that apply to students who enter with a M.A. in sociology also apply to students who enter with a M.A. in another discipline whose thesis is deemed by the GPC to be a satisfactory substitution for the sociology M.A.