This policy is meant to enhance transparency, equity, and efficient use of the department’s office space to meet the needs of our community.
Beginning in Autumn Quarter 2024, the department will use the following strategy to allocate office space for graduate students.
- By default, first-, second-, and third-year graduate students will be assigned to cubicles in the central part of Floor 2. This space maximizes the potential for interactions with faculty so is especially valuable early in the graduate career.
- By default, active graduate students in their fourth year and beyond will be assigned space in the "bullpens" -- Rooms 274 and 276 -- in the south hallway of Floor 2, around the corner from the elevators.
- If there is a legitimate need (e.g. for working on sensitive data, conducting interviews), a student may petition the department to be assigned a shared office with a regular door. These petitions must be endorsed by the student's faculty advisor and will be reviewed by the Executive Committee. Petitions for a change in office assignment can be made using the form HERE. The same form can be used to request changes in furnishings, new signage, or other changes to student offices.
To better meet the needs of the entire community, we will have three private offices that can be reserved by any graduate student, an hour at a time, for activities requiring a higher level of privacy (e.g., zoom calls, meetings with students, feeding a child, or prayers).
Approved by Sociology Executive Committee, March 2024