The Ph.D. Degree Requirements
The Ph.D. program consists of 75 semester hours of course work (including the 36 hours a student may have earned in the Department's M.A. program). Students acquire competencies in theory, methods and proposal writing during the first two years of the Ph.D. program by successfully completing a common interdisciplinary core curriculum of 12 hours of coursework.
In addition to the common core curriculum, each Ph.D. program student declares a major in Geography, Sociocultural Anthropology or Sociology. Each major consists of the corresponding disciplinary theory course; one approved methods course, a minimum of two discipline-based seminars; and a dissertation supervised by a faculty member from the major discipline. A student may declare only one major. As student's progress through the program, they increasingly pursue their own research interests by taking elective courses across the disciplines and by working with their committee to prepare a doctoral dissertation. A student takes a minimum of 30 hours of electives.
A grade of “B” or higher must be earned in all courses and a cumulative average of 3.0 or higher must be maintained. Students may apply to transfer a maximum of 6 graduate credit hours earned in another program or institution. An exception is made for courses contained within an earned master’s or doctoral degree.
After completing the common core curriculum and the major's course requirements, and while continuing to take electives, a student typically takes the Ph.D. General Exam at the end of the third year of study. A student then takes the Dissertation Proposal and Defense/Candidacy Exam, prepares a dissertation under the guidance of a faculty committee, and defends the dissertation before the committee and the University community.
Core Courses (12 Credits)
- ISS 6346 Theory and Inquiry
- ISS 6305 Research Design and Methods
- ISS 6306 Writing Research Proposals
- ISS 6317 Social Research Quantitative Methods I
Major's Requirements (33)
Geography
- GEO 6118 Theory in Geography (3)
- One additional methods course taught within the Department, for which GIS may be used. (3)
- One additional theory course, either ANT 6083 Theory in Anthropology or SYA 6018 Theory in Sociology
- Geography course electives (6 minimum)
- Exam Prep GEO 7964 (6 maximum)
- Dissertation, GEO 7980, supervised by a member of the geography faculty (15 minimum)
Sociocultural Anthropology
- Theory in Anthropology (ANT 6083).
- One additional methods course taught within the Department, for which GIS may be used. (3)
- One additional theory course, either GEO 6118 Theory in Geography or SYA 6018 in Sociology
- Anthropology course electives (6 minimum)
- Exam Prep ANG 7964 (6 maximum)
- Dissertation, ANG 7980, supervised by a member of the anthropology faculty (15 minimum)
Sociology
- SYA 6018 Theory in Sociology (3)
- One additional methods course taught within the Department, for which GIS may be used. (3)
- One additional theory course, either GEO 6118 Theory in Geography or ANT 6083 Theory in Anthropology
- Sociology course electives (6 minimum)
- Exam Prep SYA 7967 (6 maximum)
- Dissertation, SYA 7980, supervised by a member of the sociology faculty (15 minimum)
General Electives (30)
Students will take 30 hours beyond the common core curriculum and the majors’ requirements. This includes a maximum of one directed studies course (three hours). Students are allowed a maximum of two courses (six hours) taken in other departments. In some circumstances, such as the case of a student pursuing a graduate certificate, the Graduate Director may approve additional coursework outside of the department.
Total Credits (75)
Ph.D. General Examination
After successfully completing the common core requirements, the major's course requirements, and electives, a student prepares for the Ph.D. General Exam by enrolling in a maximum of six credits of exam preparation for their major. In preparation for the exam, a student forms a dissertation committee according to the regulations published on the University Graduate School web page ( http://gradschool.fiu.edu). The Ph.D. General Exam addresses the student’s anticipated dissertation topic conducted according to the University Graduate School Policies and Procedures Manual and the Department’s Ph.D. General Exam guidelines.
The Dissertation Proposal and Defense/Candidacy Exam
After passing the Ph.D. General Exam, a student works under the guidance of the dissertation committee to prepare a dissertation proposal and defend it orally before the committee. The chair of the dissertation committee must hold Dissertation Advisor Status from the University Graduate School. The proposal defense serves as the doctoral candidacy exam for the Ph.D. program in Global and Sociocultural Studies. Upon passing the proposal defense, a student is admitted to candidacy status.
The Dissertation and Dissertation Defense
After successfully defending a dissertation proposal, a student conducts the proposed research and completes a dissertation under the guidance of a dissertation committee. Only after successfully defending the dissertation proposal may a student register for dissertation hours (ANG 7980, GEO 7980, or SYA 7980). The Ph.D. program requires a student to be continuously enrolled in a minimum of 3 hours of Doctoral Dissertation each semester from the time of advancement to candidacy until completion of the dissertation, including summers. Upon completion of the dissertation manuscript and authorization by the committee, a student defends the dissertation before the committee and the University community. The University Graduate School’s regulations governing the dissertation are described at http://gradschool.fiu.edu.
