Student Resources

Graduation

1. Schedule your dissertation defense date by emailing the graduate office at soc1@msu.edu early in the semester to reserve the conference room and publicize your defense. All defenses are public and all are welcome to attend. You must be enrolled the semester you defend, no exceptions.
2. When you know the date of your dissertation defense, please fill out the Apply to Graduate form with the Registrar's Office. This form should be filled out regardless of the outcome of your defense.
3. Review your GradPlan Progress and make sure you have taken all listed courses. Everything should be filled out except for the dissertation defense date (the Graduate Secretary will input that) and your official title for your dissertation. You are not able to fill in the dissertation title until the defense date has been put in. This is the title that will appear on all records, so make sure it is correct and matches your dissertation!
4. Once you pass your defense, you need to submit your dissertation to the Graduate School. Look at the Instructions for Electronic Submission and also look at the deadlines for submission. Those dates are for final approval, if you submit your paper that day it will not be approved and you will not graduate that semester. You must submit your paper at least 2 weeks prior to your given semester's deadline.
5. Resolve any outstanding bills that might hold up your transcript or diploma.
6. For more information about commencement, go to https://commencement.msu.edu/

Graduate Handbook

Our most current graduate handbook details all information related to a graduate students' studies.  It includes a overview of program requirements, specific program requirements, how to form a guidance committee, details on comprehensive exams, suggestions for the dissertation, and much more.

The list of recent handbooks can be found below:

• Fall 2025 Graduate Handbook
• Fall 2024 Graduate Handbook
• Fall 2023 Graduate Handbook
• Fall 2022 Graduate Handbook

Travel

The Sociology Department encourages graduate students to interact with other graduate students and professionals by attending various Sociology conferences hosted domestically and around the globe. We offer travel fellowships to students who have been selected to present their papers at a conference. To supplement your SOC GOF Travel Funding, please look at the following instructions on how to apply for Graduate School travel funding and what is required. Any questions should be directed to Graduate Office.

• If you are traveling to present at a conference, you need to fill out a Graduate School travel funding request form. You must include a budget, short description of the conference, and benefits of attending, and the email or letter of recommendation from the conference organizers confirming that you have been chosen to present.
• When creating your budget, include what the bare minimum would be for airfare/mileage and hotel. You may also include parking, tolls, mileage to and from airport/Michigan Flyer/taxis, meals per diem (look up city and then the breakdown), conference fees, etc.
• If you are awarded funding, it will be in the form of a fellowship, deposited into your student account. This can take up to 2 weeks from the date that the form is submitted (not the date the request is submitted). If you have any outstanding balance on this account (tuition, fees) the travel money will go to cover that first.
• Before your paperwork is submitted for the funds to be deposited you need to completely fill out the Travel Authorization Form (including the address of where you are staying). Email the form to soc1@msu.edu before your travel begins.
• If you are traveling internationally, your form will be routed to International Studies who usually gives $200-$400 per trip. This will be reimbursed so you will need to give a receipt that is equal to or more than what ISP gave you to the Graduate Program Coordinator once you RETURN from your trip.
• We award funding on a first-come, first-served basis. Our travel funding needs to be spend by mid-March, so the sooner you submit your request to the Graduate Office, the better chance you have to receive funding.
• It is possible to get funding for multiple conferences, so please apply. More than likely you will receive a little bit to go toward your travel.
• The form is routed through the Department, the College, and then the Graduate School.  All of these places are likely to give a little support to help you fund your conference.  You are encouraged to ask your advisor as well as other departments on campus for travel funding (GenCen, Asian Studies Centers, COGS, etc.) The Grad School awards up to $600 of Travel Funding over the course of a student's graduate student career at MSU. The College and Department doesn't set a limit to how much travel funding per student.

Even if you aren't awarded travel or don't apply, you need to fill out a Travel Authorization Form whenever you leave East Lansing for MSU related business!

Fact Sheets

Below is a list of fact sheets that help explain various aspects of our graduate program:

• RCR Training Requirements
• GOF Funding
• Graduate Assistantships
• Peer Mentoring Program

Financial Support

The Graduate School offers fellowship programs that provide financial support for outstanding students who plan to enroll in a doctoral or master of fine arts program.