|
Graduate Sociology at SUNY Albany
Department of Sociology Graduate Student
Handbook
Introduction
Department Goals
The Department of Sociology aims to prepare
graduate students for research and service positions
in the public and private sectors and for careers
as scholar-teachers in universities and colleges.
The doctoral program in sociology is designed
to prepare graduate students for a career as
a professor or for research and service positions
in a broad range of public and private sectors
such as law, business, medicine, social work,
etc.
Role of the Graduate Committee
The Graduate Committee is comprised of the
Graduate Director, five or six faculty members,
and graduate student representatives. The faculty
committee members and the Graduate Director
are designated by the department's Executive
Committee. The sociology graduate student organization,
S.O.S., selects the student representatives.
Student representatives participate in all committee
deliberations, except when decisions relevant
to admissions and specific students are discussed.
The Graduate Committee is responsible for admitting
students to the department's master's and doctoral
programs. The evaluations and recommendations
of the Department of Communication are used
in decisions for admissions to the joint Ph.D.
program in Sociology and Communication, and
the coordinator of the Certificate Program in
Demography manages applications to that program.
The Graduate Committee is responsible for evaluating
each student's progress in the program and provides
students with a written assessment at the end
of each academic year. The committee awards
assistantships and fellowships; the Graduate
Director assigns graduate assistants to faculty
and coordinates the evaluation of assistants'
performances. Except for individual advisement,
the Graduate Committee is responsible for approving
the substance and procedure by which a student
meets degree requirements. Individual academic
advisement is provided by the Graduate Director
and also by professors, or mentors, for advanced
students.
The Graduate Committee evaluates applications
for GSO and Benevolent Association grants, and
selects the recipients of the Paul Meadows Awards
for Excellence in Teaching and Research, and
the Allen E. Liska Award for Dissertation Research.
The Handbook
This handbook is designed as a reference manual
for graduate students and faculty in the department.
It outlines the requirements of the master’s
and doctoral programs. The appendix provides
samples of forms used by the University and
the department to mark the progress of a student.
University rules and regulations guide the procedures
of the department. For details on University
policies and procedures, as well as an overall
description of its programs and regulations,
see the University at Albany Graduate Bulletin
(www.albany.edu/grad/).
It is hoped that this handbook will serve as
a reference guide for our graduate students
and will answer most questions that may arise
during their course of study. However, students
should always feel free, at any time, to seek
the assistance of the Director of Graduate Studies,
faculty, and staff if necessary.
|
