Students opting for the non-thesis plan should also complete their program requirements over a period of not more than two years and should adhere to the following schedule:
Students opting for the non-thesis plan will need to make arrangements to take the Master's comprehensive examinations two months prior to their anticipated graduation date. The M.A. comprehensive examinations consist of three parts:
The theory exam and the exam on a substantive area within sociology are to be taken in the department on two different days (4 hours each exam) within one week.
The methods exam is a take-home exam that must be completed over the course of the following week.
The exam on a substantive area in sociology may be based on a course the student has taken in the department or an area the student has studied under the supervision of a sociology faculty member through independent readings or research.
The substantive areas in sociology include: class structure/stratification; sociology of gender; race and ethnic relations; sociology of the family; the community; religion; collective behavior; conformity and deviance; social psychology; political sociology; bureaucracy and large-scale organizations; work and occupations; industrial sociology; social change; socio-economic development; sociology of law; political economy; Third World studies; and other areas within sociology, as determined by the department.
All three exams are comprehensive and can cover a wide range of topics and issues. They will be graded on the basis of the following scale: High Pass; Pass; Fail. Students who fail to pass a particular exam may schedule to re-take that exam one more time.
All exams will be administered by the department chair, graded by the faculty member(s) submitting the question(s), and reviewed by the entire department, as a committee of the whole, for a final decision.