Sociology and Legal Studies

PhD students may specialize in the following research fields including mastery of relevant theory and methodology:

• Crime and Deviance
• Interpretive Sociology
• Social Inequality
• Work and Technology

Admission Requirements

Admission requirements for students seeking admission to the PhD program are as follows:

• normally a Master's degree or its equivalent in Sociology with at least an A- average (80%) in course work;
• three letters of reference from academic sources;
• official transcripts from all other post-secondary institutions;
• a sample of written work, preferably a chapter from the MA thesis;
• a curriculum vitae;
• a statement of academic interest (approximately a page, outlining areas of interest and reasons for choosing to study at the University of Waterloo);
• proof of competency in English (if applicable). A score of at least 600 is required in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). See Academic Regulations - English Language Proficiency Certification for other acceptable tests of English;
• (optional) applicants may choose to submit results from the Graduate Record Examination (both the General Section and the Special Field, Sociology).

Note: The deadline for applications is February 1 for Fall admission. Applications received after this deadline will be considered only if positions are available.

Degree Requirements

Students must complete the following PhD requirements:

• five graduate-level one-term courses (with a unit weight of .50 each) beyond the MA degree, three of which must be selected from regularly scheduled graduate courses;
• professional development seminar;
• two comprehensive examinations;
• dissertation proposal;
• dissertation. 

Note: Course work beyond these minima may be required at the discretion of the Associate Chair, Graduate Affairs. If further course work is required, the student will be notified in writing at the time of entry into the program. Additional course work may be required if the student's MA preparation is not the equivalent of that required for the MA degree in Sociology at the University of Waterloo. Students whose area of specialization and/or thesis requires familiarity with a subject not normally given in the Department of Sociology are encouraged to undertake additional work in the appropriate department.

Students will take five courses. Normally, PhD students will fulfill their course work requirements by:

• taking at least three of the five courses as regularly scheduled sociology graduate courses;
• taking reading courses from UW sociology faculty or adjuncts; (maximum 2)
• taking regularly scheduled courses in other UW cognate departments; (maximum 1)
• taking regularly scheduled courses at other universities where no equivalent course is available at UW. (maximum 1)

Note: Students who choose the co-op option for the PhD program will be required to submit a work report upon completion of the work terms.

Any special course work requests will need the approval of the student's advisor/supervisor and the Associate Chair, Graduate Studies. Normally, course work must be completed by the end of the fourth term in the PhD program.

The Professional Development Seminar Milestone is required of all PhD candidates.

Once a student chooses a dissertation topic, he or she selects a faculty member who is willing to supervise the dissertation.

Before submitting a dissertation proposal, the student must pass two comprehensive examinations in substantive areas, related to the department's PhD "fields" listed immediately below. Students may take two comprehensives in the same field. In each comprehensive, students are expected to demonstrate a familiarity with the theoretical and methodological approaches germane to that substantive area.

• Social Inequality
• Work and Technology
• Interpretive Sociology
• Crime and Deviance

Normally, students must complete their comprehensive examinations by the end of their sixth term in the program.

Students may take comprehensives in one of three formats:

i) a six-hour written examination; ii) an oral examination; or iii) a take-home examination with an oral defence.

The format will be decided in consultation with the students comprehensive examining committee.

Composition of Committee: The comprehensive examining committee will consist of three faculty members chosen by the student. Adjunct faculty members may sit as members of comprehensive examining committees.

For more information regarding regulations and procedures concerning the comprehensive examinations, students should consult: "Guidelines for the Administration of the Ph.D. Comprehensive Examinations," available from the Associate Chair, Graduate Affairs.

A Dissertation Committee consists of four members: the supervisor, two members of the Department, and a fourth faculty member from outside the Department of Sociology but within the University who will serve as the internal/external examiner. Committee members are chosen by the student and supervisor in consultation. The internal/external examiner may be chosen when the committee is originally formed or added later, at the discretion of the student and the supervisor. It is possible to have a faculty member from another university serve as a member of the Dissertation Committee, subject to the approval of the supervisor, the Associate Chair, Graduate Affairs and the Associate Provost, Graduate Studies.

Normally, the candidate must submit a proposal for the PhD dissertation no later than the end of the eighth term. The proposal should contain a detailed statement of the research problem and its significance for a body of sociological theory, a precise account of the methodology or research techniques to be employed, plus a detailed outline of the proposed data analysis. The dissertation proposal will be circulated and defended before the student's Dissertation Committee but need not include the internal/external examiner.

Once the dissertation is completed, there is an oral defence. The Examination Committee consists of the Dissertation Committee and a senior examiner from another university. A copy of the dissertation is retained in the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies Office and is available for inspection by Sociology faculty and graduate students prior to the oral examination.

For more detailed information regarding the PhD dissertation regulations and procedures see "The Supervisory Process: A Guide for Faculty and Graduate Students". For university regulations pertaining to the format of the dissertation, submission dates, etc., please see the "Thesis Regulations" available on-line.

Students are advised to consult the graduate course catalogue for information on general regulations concerning graduate programs at the University of Waterloo.