The Graduate Program in Sociology is directed primarily toward students whose ultimate goal is to receive a Ph.D. The Master of Arts degree is designed as a preparation for the Ph.D., so we do not have separate M.A. and Ph.D. curricula. Instead, students complete their M.A. en route to the Ph.D. degree. All students entering the program receive strong basic training in research methods, theory, and analytic techniques, as well as instruction in several major substantive areas. Students are expected to complete the M.A. degree in two years, after which time they are reviewed for official entry into the Ph.D. program. Work toward the Ph.D. involves coursework and intensive study in one of the department's five areas of concentration, completion of written and oral comprehensive exams, and completion of a dissertation.<br><br>The doctoral program in the Department of Sociology is located at the University of Georgia in Athens. UGA is consistently ranked as one of the top 20 public institutions in the United States and thus offers students a wide variety of resources needed for a successful graduate career. The department offers students training that ready them for careers in teaching and research.<br><br>The Graduate School requires that all Doctoral students pass a Written and Oral Comprehensive Examination before they are admitted to candidacy for the Doctoral degree. Students planning to take the Written Comprehensive Examination must meet with their Advisory Committee, as a whole, to discuss the reading and the examination at least four months prior to the exam. No student will be allowed to take the examination without having attended such a meeting. Written Comprehensive Examinations take place twice annually in the Fall and Spring semester. The exam will take place over two days within the same semester. Students must take the Written Comprehensive Examination no later than the Spring of their second year in residence in the doctoral program (fourth in the graduate program). The examination has an open book format, lasts one week, consists of 4 questions, with a 5-7-page maximum per question, exclusive of bibliography.