21b4e387fa20b2007c3b7f3f5d801f7a.doc
Page 1 of 6
Senate Bill No.: 0708-23
UNIVERSITY SENATE
UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
Introduced by:
Graduate Academic Council
Date:
May 1, 2008
PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH A COMBINED M.A. WOMEN’S STUDIES
/ PH.D. SOCIOLOGY PROGRAM
IT IS HEREBY PROPOSED THAT THE FOLLOWING BE ADOPTED:
1.
That the University Senate approves the attached Proposal as approved by the
College of Arts & Sciences and the Graduate Academic Council.
2.
That this proposal be forwarded to the President for approval.
21b4e387fa20b2007c3b7f3f5d801f7a.doc
Page 2 of 6
Proposal for a Combined M.A. in Women’s Studies/PhD in Sociology Program
MA Women’s Studies, SED Program Code 22135, HEGIS Code 4903
PhD Sociology, SED Program Code 03071, HEGIS Code 2208
Proposed Combined Program:
MA Women’s Studies / PhD Sociology, HEGIS 4903/2208
This proposal for a combined M.A./PhD program is the outcome of a longstanding
pattern of informal cooperation between the Departments of Sociology and Women’s
Studies, allowing Sociology PhD students with strong interests in Gender Studies and
Women’s Studies students with sociological interests to combine their work in these two
programs. This is facilitated by the depth and strength of Sociology faculty with Joint or
Affiliated appointments in Women’s Studies, as well as the graduate-level cross-listed
coursework taught by these faculty members. It is also facilitated by the willingness of
both departments to allow requirements for one program to be included as a portion of
the coursework for the other program.
Both the Sociology and the Women’s Studies Departments have strong reputations
nationally and on this campus. The Sociology Department has a strong record of
scholarly accomplishment that has led to increasing national recognition and stature. The
U.S. News & World Report ranking of sociology graduate programs in 2005 ranked the
Department tied for 25th, with a ranking of 14 in the area of gender. An analysis in
Footnotes, the newsletter of the American Sociological Association, in 2000 placed the
Department third nationally in articles published in three leading journals of the
discipline, a ranking that has extended back to the mid-1980s. National Research
Council rankings place the Department in the first quartile on such measures as citations
and publications per faculty. Sociology is also recognized within the University: the
College of Arts and Sciences Strategic Plan cites Sociology as one of two doctoral
programs that have achieved standards of excellence and are targeted for resources to
sustain their reputations, and the University’s Mission Review II document included
Sociology among five campus graduate programs of distinction that have achieved
national prominence.
There are no official rankings of Women's Studies Departments and Programs by the
NRC or by the National Women's Studies Association; thus there are no comparative data
for the Women’s Studies Department, other than the reputation and productivity of its
faculty. As one such indicator, the core and joint faculty include two Distinguished
Professors, five Collins Fellows, and 8 holders of University Excellence Awards in
Service, Teaching, and/or Research. In addition, the University at Albany's Women's
Studies program is one of the largest and oldest in the country. The ten universities in the
United States that offer a Ph.D. in Women's Studies could be considered the top tier in
Women's Studies, and one of our faculty members received her Ph.D. in Women's Studies
at Emory. Among the 25 universities with freestanding Master's degree programs,
21b4e387fa20b2007c3b7f3f5d801f7a.doc
Page 3 of 6
University at Albany is one of the ten largest, and no others currently are located in New
York State. Thus, because of our size, long history, organization around important
contemporary themes, strong faculty record, and regional location, we believe the
Women's Studies Department is well positioned to participate in this joint PhD program.
For many years, there has been a great deal of overlapping strength between the
Departments of Sociology and Women’s Studies. A large proportion (10 of 25) of
Sociology faculty list Gender as a significant area of research, with 3 holding joint
appointments and 5 additional faculty affiliates in Women’s Studies. Many Women’s
Studies master’s students have interests that overlap with areas of teaching and research
in the Sociology Department and take Sociology courses (some of which are cross-
listed), while Gender is one of the most popular areas for comprehensive examinations
among PhD students in the Sociology Department.
Since the inception of the Women’s Studies M.A. program, 11 Sociology PhD students
have completed the Women’s Studies M.A. while pursuing their PhD, and 2 Women’s
Studies M.A. students have been accepted into the Sociology PhD program. One
additional student started both programs in Fall 2005 and is pursuing them concurrently.
We would like to formalize this option for three reasons. First, making this a formal joint
program will ensure that current students are aware of this option, rather than the more
informal publicity we have provided to current students in the past. Second, we will be
able to advertise the joint program to prospective students through both of our
departments and thus attract more students to the University who may be interested in
this unique opportunity. Third, this may serve as a first step in the process through
which the Women’s Studies Department will eventually introduce its own PhD program.
The requirements for each program remain the same. They will be described below.
Some explanatory material follows the programs. An Excel file containing a sample
year-by-year schedule showing typical coursework for each separate program and the
combined program is attached.
Women’s Studies M.A.
Course Requirements (32 credits minimum)
WSS 510 Graduate Orientation (1-2)
WSS 565 Feminist Theory (4)
WSS 590 Research Seminar (4)
Graduate course that considers the intersections of race, class, and sexuality with
sex/gender (can be met by many possible courses)
Grounding in the Disciplines (3-8 credits) Students are required to ground themselves in
more than one discipline or interdisciplinary area (added to this proposal to
conform to new Women’s Studies proposed MA requirements)
21b4e387fa20b2007c3b7f3f5d801f7a.doc
Page 4 of 6
WSS 690 Final Project (3-4). Options for the project include a research-based paper, a
comprehensive exam based on a reading list, or a pedagogy or community project with a
written component.
Other courses as advised, including three that form a coherent field of study and that are
chosen in consultation with the Graduate Director.
Sociology Ph.D.
Course Requirements (60 credits minimum)
Soc 509 Research Methods (3)
Soc 510 Sociological Theories 1 (3)
Soc 511 Sociological Theories 11 (3)
Soc 522 Intermediate Statistics (3)
Soc 590A Orientation to Sociology*
Soc 590B Orientation to Sociology*
Soc 609 Multivariate Analysis (3)
Teaching Tool Requirement (3)
Supporting courses as advised (42 Credits)
*Attendance is mandatory; course is 0 credits. .
Other requirements
Research Tool Requirement (This may be met by proficiency in a foreign language or
through coursework; if the latter, credits do not count toward the 60 credits for the
degree.)
Methods Comprehensive Examination (contingent on grades)
Comprehensive Examinations in two subject areas
Dissertation
Notes
The total number of credits for each degree will remain the same: 32 for the M.A. and 60
(plus Research Tool) for the PhD. Because of overlap, the combined total is 64 credits
(including the Research Tool). The 32 credits of Women’s Studies Department courses
will overlap with 28 credits of the Sociology PhD, plus the 4 credits of WSS590 which
counts as the PhD Research Tool (see below). It is assumed that the courses taken to
meet the new Women’s Studies Grounding in the Disciplines requirement will be likely to
count toward the PhD, given that the PhD program allows much flexibility in taking
courses outside the Department.
This implies that a significant body of courses, designated Soc/WSSxxx elective on the
attached spreadsheet, will count toward both degrees simultaneously. (This designation
is meant to indicate an elective course that is allowed to count toward both programs, as
advised by both the Sociology and the Women’s Studies Graduate Directors. This may or
21b4e387fa20b2007c3b7f3f5d801f7a.doc
Page 5 of 6
may not be an officially cross-listed course, and may be in a department other than
Sociology or Women’s Studies.) This should not be a problem, given the willingness of
the Graduate Directors to be flexible about electives. Currently there are four courses
that are formally cross listed between the two departments, and many others have been
counted toward both degrees in the past.
It is assumed that the two departments and their respective Graduate Directors will
cooperate on both admissions and advisement, and that the Graduate Directors will
communicate as needed about students in the joint program. Applicants will be reviewed
by both Graduate Committees concurrently, so as to avoid delays. Among those students
who are deemed acceptable for admission by both departments, the Graduate Directors
will consult with each other about the students to be offered the line(s) assigned to the
joint program, with the Women’s Studies Graduate Committee making the final decision.
The deadline for applications for the joint program (with funding) will be the current
deadline for such applications in Sociology, January 15th.
The Sociology comprehensive exam in Gender (and others such as Sexualities if
approved) will count as the Women’s Studies Master’s project. This is the current
practice.
WSS590 (Research Seminar) is among the courses that count toward the Research Tool
requirement for Sociology.
21b4e387fa20b2007c3b7f3f5d801f7a.doc
Page 6 of 6
Soc PhD
WS M.A.
Combined
Fall Year 1
Spring Year 1
Fall Year 1
Spring Year 1
Fall Year 1
Spring Year 1
Soc509
Methods (3)
Soc522
Statistics (3)
WSS510
Orientation (1-2)
WSS590
Res. sem. (4)
Soc509
Methods (3)
Soc522
Statistics (3)
Soc510
Theory I (3)
Soc511
Theory II (3)
WSS565
theory (4)
WSSxxx
elective (3-4)
WSS510
Orientation (2)
Soc590B
Orientation(0)
Soc590A
Orientation (0) Soc590B
Orientation(0)
WSSxxx
elective (3-4)
WSSxxx
elective (3-4)
Soc590A
Orientation (0)
Soc/WSSxxx
elective (3-4)
Socxxx
elective (3)
Socxxx
elective (3)
WSS565
Theory (4)
Soc/WSSxxx
elective (3-4)
Fall Year 2
Spring Year 2
Fall Year 2
Spring Year 2
Fall year 2
Spring Year 2
Soc510
Theory(3)
Soc511
Theory(3)
Soc609
Adv.Meth(3)
Soc606
Co teaching(3)
WSS689
Prop. Prep. (3-4)
WSS690
Mast. Proj (3-4) Soc609
Adv. Meth(3)
WSS590
Res. sem.(4)
Socxxx
elective (3)
Socxxx
elective(3)
WSSxxx
elective (3-4)
WSSxxx
elective (3-4)
Soc/WSSxxx
elective (3-4)
Soc606
Co teach.(3)
Socxxx
elective (3)
Socxxx
elective(3)
WSSxxx
elective (3-4)
if needed
methods comprehensive
methods comprehensive
if needed
exam if needed
exam if needed
Fall Year 3
Spring Year 3
Fall Year 3
Spring Year 3
WSS690
Mast. Proj.(3-4) Take Comp exam on Gender
Soc 693
Comp prep (3) Take first Comp exam
Soc/WSSxxx
elective (3-4)
Soc793
Comp prep(3)
Socxxx
elective (3)
Soc 793
Comp prep (3)
Soc/WSSxxx
elective (3-4)
Soc/WSSxxx
elective (3)
Socxxx
elective (3)
Socxxx
elective(3)
Socxxx
elective (3)
Socxxx
elective(3)
Receive WS M.A. end of year
Fall Year 4
Spring Year 4
Fall Year 4
Spring Year 4
Take second Comp exam
ABD status
Take second Comp exam
ABD status
Socxxx
elective (3)
Submit and defend
Socxxx
elective (3)
Submit and defend
Socxxx
elective (3)
proposal
Socxxx
elective (3)
proposal
research tool course
Socxxx
elective (3)
if still needed
Please see note on proposal text regarding Soc/WSSxxx
designation.
