In 2009 "U.S. News & World Report" ranked the Ph.D. program at Berkeley as the best in the country. The Department of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, has a long, distinguished history. Famous sociologists, such as Erving Goffman and Seymouor Martin Lipset, helped develop the department's reputation. Current faculty members include Guggenheim winners and a MacArthur fellow. About ten percent of applicants are accepted into the program. Berkeley graduate students excel at winning national fellowships and academic awards, as well as having an outstanding record of publishing their dissertations. The department's record in job placement exceeds any other department in the country. Financial aid for graduate students includes teaching assistantships, research assistantships and readerships, as well as funding from outside foundations and institutions. Most new students receive some form of funding. The department is known for its rigorous research, wide range of research interests, including internationally based research projects, collegiality, and the depth and breadth of its program. Students are encouraged to develop and explore their research interests within the structure of a program designed to provide students with a well-rounded education in the fundamentals of sociology.
Department of Sociology
University of California, Berkeley
410 Barrows Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-1980
510-642-4766
sociology.berkeley.edu
This department received the number two ranking from "U.S. News & World Report." Admission to the department is highly competitive. The department has more than 60 distinguished faculty members with an impressive record of professional publications. Graduates of the program are known for the excellence of their research and the number of dissertations that have been published as books. The department provides resources and assistance to graduates in their job searches. About half of the department graduates obtain university teaching positions with others accepting postdoctoral fellowships or research positions. Fifty to eighty percent of graduate students receive financial support through minority fellowships, project assistantships, research assistantships, teaching assistantships, traineeships, university fellowships, and lecturer positions. The department emphasizes rigorous research and theoretical innovation and sophistication. Research areas include aging, economic sociology, sociology of culture, and political sociology. Graduate students have the freedom to carry out research using a diverse collection of methodologies, including ethnography, large-scale sample surveys, direct observation, and theoretical inquiry. The department's flexibility allows students to develop individualized programs.
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Department of Sociology
8128 William H. Sewell Social Sciences Building
Madison, WI 53706-1393
608-262-2921
www.ssc.wisc.edu/soc/
The Department of Sociology at Princeton placed third in the "U.S. News & World Report" rankings. The department differs significantly from those at Berkeley and Madison in its size. Twenty full-time faculty members mentor the approximately 30 graduate students who are in residence each year. This small size encourages a close relationship between faculty and students. The program centers on developing students to become "producers of scholarship." Admission is very selective; the department looks for creative students who have research interests in line with the department's strengths. Most students receive four-year fellowships. Students may support these with research and teaching assistantships. The department has an excellent record of placing program graduates. The combination of student teaching experience, research experience, and training in writing publishable papers prepares students to compete in the job market. The program focuses on three objectives: developing students' research skills, exposing them to a breadth of sociological knowledge, and encouraging their work in an area of specialization. Department specialities include the sociology of culture, social demography, comparative and regional sociology, social differentiation and inequality, economic sociology, and migration and development. The department encourages interdisciplinary research and study. Individualized programs allow students to pursue their theoretical, methodological, and research interests.
Princeton University
Department of Sociology
106 Wallance Hall
Princeton, NJ 08544
609-258-4530
sociology.princeton.edu/GraduateProgram/