Yale's graduate program in sociology offers the following three concentrations: comparative and historical sociology, cultural sociology and social theory and social stratification and the life course. Within these concentrations, graduate students can pursue work in urban sociology and ethnography.
Before writing the dissertation, students must take 12 courses, four of which must be chosen from the core courses in sociological theory, statistics and research methods. Three ethnography courses are listed in the course catalog, all of which are taught by Professor Elijah Anderson, editor of "Urban Ethnography: Its Traditions and Its Future," a special double issue of "Ethnography," an academic journal, that collects papers that were delivered at the first Yale Urban Ethnography Conference in 2008. Each year, between six and 10 new students are admitted into the graduate program. The GRE and two writing samples are required. An undergraduate degree in sociology is not; but applicants should have taken courses in the social sciences and statistics.
Department of Sociology
Yale University
140 Prospect St.
New Haven, CT 06511
203-432-3313
yale.edu/sociology
The PhD program in Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania is comprised of graduate groups organized by area of study, including ethnography. Students can also earn a joint degree between two groups or between the Sociology Department and another. Graduate students work toward their PhD degree, which requires 20 courses, 12 of which must be in sociology, within those groups. At the end of the first year, students must pass a qualifying exam based upon the reading list from the core sociological theory courses students take in their first year. At the end of the second year, students must produce a publishable paper, which is equivalent to a master's thesis.
Completion of the dissertation includes a public presentation of its research in the form of a job talk or seminar before the dissertation defense. Students interested in ethnography will work with Professor Charles Bosk, Associate Professor David Grazian and Assistant Professor Chenoa Flippen, who all do work in the field. All admitted students receive tuition support and a modest stipend or living expenses provided by the Benjamin Franklin Fellowships.
Sociology Department
University of Pennsylvania
3718 Locust Walk
McNeil Building, Suite 113
Philadelphia, PA 19104
215-898-7665
sociology.sas.upenn.edu
Northwestern's Department of Sociology focuses its graduate program with comprehensive training in methodology that is organized by the four following areas: culture, social inequity, comparative-historical sociology and law, economy and organizations. Students interested in ethnography have ample faculty support at Northwestern, one of the first to make qualitative ethnographic research an integral component of its graduate training.
Graduate students studying ethnography can work with Professors Carol Heimer, Gary Alan Fine and Mary Pattillo as well as Associate Professors Carolyn Chen and Celeste Watkins-Hayes. The department sponsors a bi-weekly workshop on ethnographic methods as well as a monthly ethnographic support group meeting. It is also hosts the annual Chicago Conference on Sociological Ethnography.
Students are encouraged to participate in the Graduate Interdisciplinary Cluster Initiative through which they can affiliate with 13 other Northwestern graduate programs, including Critical Theory and Gender Studies. A sociology undergraduate degree is not required to apply but a passion for the field is.
Northwestern University
Department of Sociology
1810 Chicago Ave.
Evanston, IL 60208
847-491-5415
sociology.northwestern.edu