Graduate Admissions Information

Application Procedures

The Graduate Program in Sociology at the University of Miami is designed for students who intend to pursue the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Sociology. The Master of Arts (M.A.) degree is awarded when a student successfully completes that portion of his or her program. Students who wish to apply for the Ph.D. may apply for either the Fall or Spring semester. However, while we have a rolling admissions policy, complete applications should be received by February 1 st to assure consideration for financial aid for the coming academic year. Applications must be accompanied by a non-refundable fee of $50.00

Applicants to the graduate program in the Department of Sociology must submit the following materials in addition to the application:

1. Transcripts from all undergraduate institutions attended. These are to be sent directly by the Registrar of each institution. Transcripts sent by an applicant cannot be considered as official.
   
   
2. A brief statement, not to exceed three pages, describing the applicant's academic background, aspirations, and professional goals.
   
   

   * As part of your statement of purpose, the following question should also be answered:

   "What are your professional goals for graduate study in Sociology at the University of Miami (e.g., MA vs. PhD or academic vs. applied or research vs. teaching)?  Given the specialties offered in the Department of Sociology at the University of Miami , how would graduate studies here help you to achieve your professional goals?  Are there particular faculty in the department with whom you hope to study and work?"
   
   

3. The official results of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Math, Verbal, and Analytic sections. Scores sent by an applicant cannot be considered as official.
   
   
4. Three letters of recommendation from persons familiar with the applicant's academic work and scholarly potential.
   
   
5. Applicants whose native language is not English must be prepared to demonstrate competency in English through satisfactory scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) examination.

Graduate Admissions Criteria

There is a department wide approval (after receiving recommendations from the Graduate Committee) of graduate student admission first, and then subsequent department wide approval ranking the admitted graduate students for available funding. Students should be admitted only for the PhD degree. The admissions process includes the following:

1. February 1st deadline for applications for funding
   
   
2. Rolling admission after February 1st to permit qualified students into the graduate program
   
   
3. Letters of acceptance into the graduate program are sent to prospective students by March 31st of each calendar year
   
   
4. The academic potential of applicants will be evaluated on their entire application which includes letters of recommendation, scores on the Graduate Records Examination and grade point averages. Successful applicants are expected to score a minimum of 1000 in the GRE (at least 450 in each of the verbal and quantitative portions). Further, students are typically expected to have a baseline of 3.2 for undergraduate GPA for those being admitted without an M.A. and 3.5 in graduate coursework for students who have completed an M.A. Prospective applicants are encouraged in our application package to visit the Department of Sociology website where many of their most frequently asked questions are answered
   
   
5. Special considerations for students being admitted with an M.A. in Sociology from another university. Under most circumstances we will accept the M.A. and related coursework from that university. Transfer students in consultation with their advisor should determine if remedial work is necessary in any area. However, in each case the Graduate Committee, in consultation with specialty committees, will ensure that the coursework is equivalent to our Master's level requirements
   
   
6. Special considerations for students admitted with an M.A. in a discipline other than Sociology or with another graduate degree. It is expected that such students will take our entire curriculum and related requirements for both the M.A. and Ph.D degrees in Sociology at the University of Miami. However, in some cases such students may petition the Graduate committee and provide requisite documentation to seek to have certain core classes (e.g. statistics) waived if they have already taken comparable graduate level coursework

Financial Assistance 

A limited number of Teaching Fellowships and Graduate Assistantships are available from the Department of Sociology for the fall and spring semesters. These Fellowships and Assistantships are competitive and are awarded each academic year. They normally include a tuition scholarship for full-time enrollment and a monthly stipend.

Graduate Assistantships: Recipients of these awards work with assigned faculty to assist in their teaching and professional responsibilities.

Research Assistantships: These are awarded by individual faculty members who have funded research grants. Professors tend to employ graduate students who are specializing in their areas of research and/or have the necessary skills to complete the work on specific projects.

Teaching Assistantships: These are awarded only to Ph.D. students after the first year of Ph.D. study, completion of the course on college teaching, and at least two years in the UM Sociology Graduate Program. An exception may be made with the approval of the Department. Teaching Assistants are assigned to teach undergraduate courses under the supervision of a regular member of the faculty.

University Fellowships: These are three-year awards provided by the Graduate School of the University of Miami to aid highly qualified applicants to achieve the Ph.D. degree.

Advising Structure 

All incoming students will be assigned an advisor from the graduate committee upon entry into the program. Students will be expected to meet with their advisor to develop course schedules and monitor progress in the program. For the incoming students, advisors will be assigned and students will be notified during the orientation session prior to the beginning of the fall semester. Continuing students may remain with their originally assigned official advisor or select another faculty member in the Sociology Department. The advisor must sign off on the student's program plan (updated each semester) and course request form needed to register for classes. As the student's interests change they may change advisors. After the first year students must complete, and keep updated, a thesis advisor election form.