Following the written exams, an oral exam is scheduled. All oral examinations are completed by midterm. The Graduate Committee chair or the Department head acts as convener for the oral exam. The oral portion of the examination is limited to 90 minutes. Questions asked during the oral exam are based on the students written exams and on other related areas of sociology.
Marginal pass is the minimum final grade required on both the theory and the methods portions.
Students entering Purdue s graduate program with an M.S. or M.A. degree in sociology from another university must take the Qualifying Examination during their first year in residence. Exams will be administered during the second week of each semester. The written portions are administered on Monday and Tuesday of the fourth week of each semester. The chart below shows M.S. course work, a schedule for completing the core curriculum and the analytic project, the oral defense of the analytic project, and the qualifying examinations for admission to the Ph.D. program. It includes a description of expected achievements and a profile of a student in good standing for each year in the M.S. program.