Advising

The Department of Sociology is committed to providing academic advising in support of graduate student scholarly and professional development. When most effective, this advising relationship entails collaborative and sustained engagement by both the advisor and the advisee. As a best practice, advising expectations should be periodically discussed and reviewed to ensure mutual understanding. Both the advisor and the advisee are expected to maintain professionalism and integrity.

Faculty advisors guide students in critical areas such as selecting courses, designing and conducting research, developing teaching pedagogy, navigating policies and degree requirements, and exploring academic opportunities and professional pathways.

Graduate students are active contributors to the advising relationship, proactively seeking academic and professional guidance and taking responsibility for informing themselves of policies and degree requirements for their graduate program.

The university requires that the graduate advisor be assigned in the student’s first graduate quarter, even though the undergraduate career may still be open (for coterminal MA students).

The university also requires that the Master’s Degree Program Proposal be completed by the student and approved by the department by the end of the student’s first graduate quarter.

Coterminal MA students should meet with the student services officer to discuss a program proposal, then submit the proposal to the coterm director for approval. Revised program proposals, which outline the courses to be completed for the master’s degree, must be submitted before the student’s second graduate quarter starts - typically by the end of August. The Sociology student services officer is also available to assist coterminal students in navigating policies and degree requirements. Students actively contribute to the advising relationship, proactively seeking academic and professional guidance and taking responsibility for knowing and adhering to university and departmental policies, standards, and requirements for coterminal students.

Graduate Advising for a statement of university policy on graduate advising.