Graduate Student Resources

The Department of Sociology offers academic support, funding resources, and professional guidance to make the student experience robust and meaningful.

Comprehensive Exam Guidelines

Thesis Guidelines

Advising

All incoming graduate students are assigned a faculty advisor at the beginning of their first semester. Students should meet with their advisor early in the first semester to discuss their program of study.

Students completing a thesis (required for MA in Sociology; optional for MA in Criminology) select a thesis director in their first year. Criminology students who opt for the comprehensive exam instead of thesis retain their original faculty advisor.

The Columbian College Office of Graduate Studies offers additional advising resources and guidance, including a designated coordinator for the Sociology Department, Rebecca Burns. For more support, consult the Master’s Student Handbook on the CCAS Graduate Studies page.

Forms

Program of Studies Form (PDF): All master’s degree candidates must complete and submit this form to the Sociology Department no later than the end of the first semester of matriculation.
Thesis Title Declaration Form (PDF): All students completing a thesis must submit the completed form to their thesis director prior to registering for thesis research courses (SOC 6999).
Thesis Completion Approval Form (PDF): Thesis directors will submit the completed form to the Director of Graduate Studies once a student has completed the thesis and received the approval of their committee.
Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) Access Approval Form: All students completing a thesis must submit the completed form to their thesis director for signature, and then to the CCAS ETD Administrator prior to the ETD approval deadline in order to upload and formally submit their final and approved thesis.

Departmental Awards

Excellence in Graduate Research and Writing

The Sociology Department awards one graduate student each year in recognition of excellent research and writing on their master’s thesis.

2023: Sofia Salazar
2022: Charles Parkhurst and Rhiannon Roberts
2019: Jacqueline Groccia
2018: Erica Henderson
2017: Robert Donoghue
2016: Angela Lee

Professional Associations

National and regional professional associations in sociology and criminology offer students opportunities for academic conference presentations, career networking, local events, and discussions with fellow scholars about relevant social scientific issues and research.

Local Groups

District of Columbia Sociological Society (strongly recommended!)
Eastern Sociological Society
Southern Sociological Society
Related: Alpha Kappa Delta Honors Society for Graduate Students