Program Overview

Program of Study

First Year Common Sequence

• Research Methods
• Sociological Theories I and II
• Intermediate Statistics for Sociologists
• Orientation to Sociology
• Multivariate Analysis

Additional courses are planned in consultation with your advisory committee. Your program will center around a specialization which may be individually arranged to meet your needs and objectives.

Departmental Examinations

• Comprehensive examination in methods
• Two specialty examinations

Teaching Tool Requirement

Complete the Co-teaching Internship (Soc 606) or substitute teaching experience approved by the department's graduate committee.

Research Tool Requirements

A reading knowledge in one appropriate foreign language or competence in one special methodological area.

Full Time Study in Residence

Dissertation

Additional Information

See the Graduate Bulletin for program requirement details.

Applied Learning

Collaborate with faculty and other students by becoming a member of the Students of Sociology. Our graduate student organization helps organize panels, workshops, and other social events.

Take advantage of the opportunity to work with a faculty mentor to conduct research and co-teach a course. Present your research at regional, national, and international professional organizations at any given time during the program.

Career Outcomes

A PhD in Sociology prepares you to obtain tenure-track jobs at research universities and liberal arts colleges, postdoctoral fellowships at prestigious academic centers, or jobs in state and federal research offices.

Other potential job titles for a sociology PhD include:

• Sociologist
• Market research analyst
• Postsecondary teacher
• Professor
• Social worker

Admissions Requirements

Deadlines

• Fall: January 15
• Spring: Not Available
• Summer: Not Available

Required Application Materials

• Transcripts from all schools attended
• Three Letters of Recommendation
• Official GRE scores (GRE scores greater than 5 years old will not be accepted.)

Supplemental Documents

• Statement of Goals
• Writing Sample

Student Learning Objectives

• Mastery of multivariate statistical research methods
• Mastery of advanced research methods (either qualitative or quantitative)
• Expertise in two ASA-recognized subfields of sociology, including an understanding of the development of the subfield and its research agenda in historical perspective; the status of open research questions; and current theoretical and methodological debates
• Ability to develop an original, substantial research project based in primary data analysis
• Ability to execute an original, substantial research project based on primary data
• Develop a pedagogical philosophy and design a course syllabus built around that philosophy
• Ability to lead their own undergraduate sociology course

Supplemental Degree Programs

Graduate students can typically request a supplemental degree in one or more subordinate degrees without needing to go through the full admissions process again.

Supplemental programs available with this degree:

• Africana Studies CGS
• Community College Leadership CGS
• Demography CGS
• Geospatial Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Analytics CGS
• International Education Management CGS
• Sociology MA