Federal, state, and local agencies in Austin provide excellent sources of data, specialized advisory personnel, and fieldwork opportunities. Graduate Studies Committee Degree Requirements Master of Arts Students typically earn the Master of Arts in the course of work leading to a doctoral degree, rather than as an end in itself. The master's degree requires thirty semester hours of graduate work, including six hours in the thesis course. The coursework must include one course in social statistics, one in survey research methods, two theory courses, two graduate-level courses outside the department, and two electives. The degree program usually takes two or three years.
Students often enter with a master's degree from another university.
Such students must take the required courses at the University or transfer credit for them as described in chapter 3 . The coursework requirements include the twenty-four semester hours of work required for the master's degree, two additional courses in statistics and methods, an additional graduate course outside the department, and a variety of substantive courses in sociology. Additional information is available from the department. To be admitted to candidacy for the doctoral degree, the student must have completed all master's degree requirements and the doctoral course requirements, must satisfy a foreign language requirement, must pass a comprehensive examination in the area of specialization, and must defend a dissertation proposal. The degree is awarded after completion and defense of the dissertation.