chicago sociology phd

• Skip to Content
• Catalog Home
• Institution Home
• The University of Chicago
• Academic Calendar
• General Information
• Interdivisional Programs
• The Division of the Biological Sciences and the Pritzker School of Medicine
• The Pritzker School of Medicine
• The Division of the Humanities
• The Division of the Physical Sciences
• MA in Computational Social Science
• Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences
• Master of Arts in Middle Eastern Studies SSD
• Department of Anthropology
• Department of Comparative Human Development
• Committee on the Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science
• Department of Economics
• Committee on Environment, Geography and Urbanization
• Department of History
• Committee on International Relations
• PhD Program in Political Economy
• Department of Political Science
• Department of Psychology
• The John U. Nef Committee on Social Thought

Department of Sociology

• The William B. and Catherine V. Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies
• The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
• The Divinity School
• The Law School
• The Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering
• The Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies
• The Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice
• Julian Go (Interim Chair)
• Andrew Abbott
• Luc Anselin
• Neil Brenner
• Terry N. Clark
• Elisabeth S. Clemens
• James A. Evans
• Andreas Glaeser
• Kimberly Hoang
• Karin Knorr Cetina, Anthropology
• John Levi Martin
• Stephen W. Raudenbush
• Ross M. Stolzenberg
• Jenny Trinitapoli
• Linda Waite
• Kazuo Yamaguchi

Associate Professors

• Rene Flores
• Marco Garrido
• Omar M. McRoberts
• Kristen Schilt
• Robert Vargas
• Geoffrey Wodtke

Assistant Professors

• Bernard Koch
• Yueran Zhang

Visiting Professor

• Hans Joas, Social Thought

Emeritus Faculty

• William L. Parish
• Dingxin Zhao

Associated Instructional Professor

• Sharon Hicks-Bartlett

Senior Lecturer

• Chad Broughton

Associated Faculty

• Eman Abdelhadi
• Luis Bettencourt
• Ronald S. Burt, Business
• Eve L. Ewing
• Chiara Galli, Comparative Human Development
• Angela Garcia, School of Social Service Administration
• Gary Herrigel, Political Science
• Guanglei Hong, Comparative Human Development
• Aziz Z. Huq, Frank and Bernice J. Greenberg Professor of Law
• Nicole Marwell, School of Social Service Administration
• Reuben Miller
• John Padgett, Political Science

The Department of Sociology, established in 1893 by Albion Small and Charles A. Henderson, has been centrally involved in the history and development of the discipline in the United States. The traditions of the Chicago School were built by pioneers such as W. I. Thomas, Robert E. Park, Ernest W. Burgess, and William F. Ogburn. It is a tradition based on the interaction of sociological theory with systematic observation and the analysis of empirical data; it is interdisciplinary, drawing on theory and research from other fields in the social sciences and the humanities; it is a tradition which seeks to fuse together concern with the persistent issues of social theory and attention to the pressing social and policy problems of modern society.

Continuous developments in social research have marked the department’s work in recent years. The department has pursued a balance in effort between individual scholarship and the development of group research approaches. Faculty members have been engaged in the development of systematic techniques of data collection and in the statistical and mathematical analysis of social data. Field studies and participant observation have been refined and extended. There has been an increased attention to macrosociology, to historical sociology, and to comparative studies. The staff is engaged in individual and large scale group projects which permit graduate students to engage in research almost from the beginning of their graduate careers. The student develops an apprenticeship relation with faculty members in which the student assumes increasing amounts of independence as he or she matures.

The study of sociology at the University of Chicago is greatly enhanced by the presence of numerous research enterprises engaged in specialized research. Students often work in these centers pursuing collection and study of data with faculty and other center researchers. Students have the opportunity for experience in the following research enterprises:  the Ogburn-Stouffer Center for the Study of Social Organizations; the Population Research Center; the Committee on Demographic Training; NORC Research Centers; the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality; the Center for the Study of Race, Culture, and Politics; the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory; the University of Chicago Urban Network; the Center for Health Administration Studies; the Rational Choice Program; and the Center on Demography and Economics of Aging. These provide an opportunity either for field work by which the student brings new primary data into existence or for the treatment of existing statistical and other data. The city of Chicago provides opportunities for a variety of field investigations, and the department also encourages cross national and foreign studies.

The Social Sciences has a strong tradition of comparative and international research, with area studies centers focused on East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Eastern Europe and Russia.  In addition, graduate students may benefit from activities at the University of Chicago centers in Paris and Beijing as well as the deep roster of language training opportunities available on campus.  There are equally diverse training opportunities and infrastructure to support quantitative research including the Survey Laboratory, the training program in Demography, course offerings in Statistics and a number of professional schools as well as a growing interdisciplinary community in computational research methods.

The Department of Sociology offers a program of studies leading to the Ph.D. degree. It does not have a master’s degree program (students interested in a one-year master's program should consider the Divisional Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences or MAPSS). Students ordinarily earn a master’s degree as part of the Ph.D. program upon successful completion of the first year of coursework and the preliminary examination. The department welcomes students who have done their undergraduate work in other social sciences and in fields such as mathematics, biological sciences, and the humanities. The department also encourages students who have had work experience, governmental or military service, or community and business experience to apply.

All applicants for admission are required to submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test scores. Foreign students must provide evidence of English proficiency by submitting scores from either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). A writing sample is required for all applications.

The application process for admission and financial aid for all Social Sciences graduate programs is administered through the divisional Office of the Dean of Students. The Application for Admission and Financial Aid, with instructions, deadlines, and department specific information is available online at https://apply-ssd.uchicago.edu/apply/ .

Questions pertaining to admissions and aid should be directed to [email protected] or (773) 702-8415. Most materials in support of the application can be uploaded through the application.

For additional information about the Sociology program, please see http://sociology.uchicago.edu/ or call (773) 702-8677.

The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

The doctoral program is designed to be completed in five to seven years of study by a student entering with a bachelor’s degree. Satisfactory completion of the first phase of the Ph.D. program also fulfills the program requirements for the M.A. degree.

Common core course requirements

To complete the requirements for the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees, students are required to complete a set of required courses for credit in the first phase of the program.  These include  SOCI 30002 Principles of Sociological Research , and SOCI 30003 History of Social Theory .  First-year students are required to register for SOCI 60020 1st-Year Proseminar Research Questions and Design , a non-credit colloquium, in Autumn, Winter, and Spring.  Also required is  SOCI 30006 Second-Year Writing Seminar and   SOCI 30008 Third-Year Dissertation Proposal Seminar .

Statistics requirement

Students seeking the doctorate are also required to complete SOCI 30004 Statistical Methods of Research  and SOCI 30005 Statistical Methods of Research-II during the first year.  The department approves alternative sequences during the first year for students with strong preparation in statistics or mathematics. All students, however, are to take two courses in statistics in the first year of study.

M.A. examinations

First-year Ph.D. students are required to take a total of five sociology (SOCI) courses designated as “exam courses” among their nine graded courses; designated exam courses will vary from year to year. The courses are divided into ten topic areas. Students are required to take SOCI 30003 History of Social Theory as their first exam course. For the remaining four courses, students select ONE course each from four additional subject areas. Students are not allowed to count multiple courses from the same subject area or to substitute in courses that are not on the list of designated exam courses for their cohort year.

The qualifying paper

The qualifying paper should represent an original piece of scholarship or theoretical analysis and must be written in a format appropriate for submission to a professional publication. Note that the requirement is “publishable,” not “published,” although many recent papers have been presented at professional conferences and eventually published. The paper is prepared under the direct supervision and approval of a faculty member and may be written or revised in connection with one or more regular courses. Students entering with M.A. papers may petition to submit an supervised revision to meet the qualifying paper requirement.

Special field requirement

Ph.D. students are required to demonstrate competence in two special fields of sociological inquiry. The Special Field Requirement is to be met during the third year of graduate study. Students must pass the M.A. Examinations at the Ph.D. level before meeting the Special Field Requirement. This requirement may be met in three ways: by examination, with a review essay, or through a specified sequence of methods courses. Both the examination and review essay options are prepared on an individual basis, overseen by two faculty readers, in the fields of sociology in which the student wishes to develop research competence; one should be related to the subject of the subsequent Ph.D. dissertation. Special Fields cover both theoretical and substantive materials as well as the methods required for effective research. Preparation takes the form of specialized courses and seminars, supplemented by independent study and reading. For either an exam or essay, the student must first construct a bibliography to be approved by both faculty readers; readers must also agree in advance to either the examination or review essay format. The fields most commonly taken are urban sociology, organizational analysis, sociology of gender, sociology of education, culture/STS/knowledge, sociology of health and medicine, economic sociology, political sociology, stratification, social movements/change, and sociology of religion. One of the two special field requirements may be met with a sequence of courses. Three types of special fields in methodology are recognized: (1) social statistics, (2) survey research methods, and (3) qualitative methods.

Dissertation

The student prepares a research plan under the guidance of a designated faculty committee. The plan is subject to review by the faculty committee organized by each student to determine whether the project is feasible and to assist in the development of research. Upon approval of the dissertation proposal (by the first quarter of the fifth year of study) and completion of the other requirements listed above, the department recommends that the Division of the Social Sciences formally admit the student to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. When the dissertation is completed, an oral examination is held on the dissertation and the field to which it is related.

Mentored Teaching Experiences

Students are required to complete four mentored teaching experiences (MTEs) during their time in the program. MTEs are intended to help students form working relationships with faculty, to build students’ skills with public speaking and presentation, and to develop students’ capacity to teach a method or area of sociological inquiry effectively. Students will work with their advisers in Year 1 to develop an individualized teaching plan that details their goals for developing pedagogical experience in a particular area, such as sociological theory or statistical methods. The Graduate Administrator and the Director of Graduate Studies will be responsible for matching students with MTE positions. Students typically begin teaching in Year 2, though students who enter the program with an M.A. may be able to begin teaching in Year 1. Students are expected to complete three mentored teaching experiences by spring Year 3. The fourth teaching experience must be completed prior to scheduling a dissertation defense. 

Graduate Workshops

Students in sociology are invited to participate in the program of Graduate Workshops in the Humanities and Social Sciences, a series of interdepartmental discussion groups that bring faculty and advanced graduate students together to discuss their current work. At the workshops, Chicago faculty and students or invited guests present portions of books or other projects in which they are currently engaged. Workshops in which students and faculty in the department participate include those addressed to the following topics: City, Society, and Space; Computational Social Science; Demography; East Asia: Politics, Economy, and Society; Education, Gender and Sexuality; History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science; Money, Markets, and Consumption; Reproduction of Race and Racial Ideology; Semiotics: Culture in Context; and Social Theory and Evidence.

Sociology Courses

SOCI 30002. Principles of Sociological Research. 100 Units.

Explores how theoretical questions and different types of evidence inform decisions about methodological approach and research design. This course is required for first year Sociology PhD students.

Instructor(s): J. Martin     Terms Offered: Autumn Prerequisite(s): Open only to 1st year Sociology PhD students

SOCI 30003. History of Social Theory. 100 Units.

This course provides a general introduction to theory and theoretical thinking in sociology. One meeting per week is dedicated to group discussion of a common text from the canon of sociology. (There will be three of these.) The other meeting will be an individually scheduled meeting (a on-on-one tutorial session) with the professor, discussing theoretical work related to each student's particular sociological interests and chosen by agreement between that student and the professor.

Instructor(s): A. Abbott     Terms Offered: Autumn Prerequisite(s): Open only to 1st-year Sociology Phd students

SOCI 30004. Statistical Methods of Research. 100 Units.

This course has two purposes. First, using nationally representative US surveys, we'll examine the early emergence of educational inequality and its evolution during adolescence and adulthood. We'll ask about the importance of social origins (parent social status, race/ethnicity, gender, and language) in predicting labor market outcomes. We'll study the role that education and plays in shaping economic opportunity, beginning in early childhood. We'll ask at what points interventions might effectively advance learning and reduce inequality. Second, we'll gain mastery over some important statistical methods required for answering these and related questions. Indeed, this course provides an introduction to quantitative methods and a foundation for other methods courses in the social sciences. We consider standard topics: graphical and tabular displays of univariate and bivariate distributions, an introduction to statistical inference, and commonly arising applications such as the t‐test, the two‐way contingency table, analysis of variance, and regression. However, all statistical ideas and methods are embedded in case studies including a national survey of adult labor force outcomes, a national survey of elementary school children, and a national survey that follows adolescents through secondary school into early adulthood. Thus, the course will consider all statistical choices and inferences in the context of the broader logic of inquiry with the aim of strengthening our understanding of that logic as well as of the statistical methods.

Instructor(s): S. Raudenbush     Terms Offered: Autumn Prerequisite(s): Priority registration for Ugrad Sociology majors and Sociology PhD students. No prior instruction in statistical analysis is required. Others by consent of instructor. Note(s): Students are expected to attend two lectures and one lab per week. Required of students who are majoring in Sociology. Substitutes for this course are STAT 20000 Elementary Statistics or higher. Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20004

SOCI 30005. Statistical Methods of Research-II. 100 Units.

Social scientists regularly ask questions that can be answered with quantitative data from a population-based sample. For example, how much more income do college graduates earn compared to those who do not attend college? Do men and women with similar levels of training and who work in similar jobs earn different incomes? Why do children who grow up in different family or neighborhood environments perform differently in school? To what extent do individuals from different socioeconomic backgrounds hold different types of political attitudes and engage in different types of political behavior? This course explores statistical methods that can be used to answer these and many other questions of interest to social scientists. The main objectives are to provide students with a firm understanding of linear regression and generalized linear models and with the technical skills to implement these methods in practice.

Instructor(s): G. Wodtke     Terms Offered: Winter Prerequisite(s): SOCI 30004

SOCI 30006. Second-Year Writing Seminar. 100 Units.

Doctoral students in Sociology are required to take this seminar in their second year as they develop their Qualifying Paper (a full draft, at minimum, must be turned in to the department by June 11). In addition to providing a framework for these individual writing projects, the seminar will address norms of professional publishing, including professional peer review, as well as strategies for argumentation and analysis.

Instructor(s): L. Zhao     Terms Offered: Spring Prerequisite(s): Sociology PhD students only

SOCI 30008. Third-Year Dissertation Proposal Seminar. 100 Units.

This course is required for all Sociology PhD students. Most students take this course in their 3rd year, though it may be possible to take the course in year 4. The course intensively involves workshops dissertation projects, and students are expected to produce a defensible proposal by the end.

Instructor(s): K. Schilt     Terms Offered: Winter Prerequisite(s): Restricted to Sociology third year PhD students only; all others with consent of instructor.

SOCI 30103. Social Stratification. 100 Units.

Social stratification is the unequal distribution of the goods that members of a society value - earnings, income, authority, political power, status, prestige etc. This course introduces various sociological perspectives about stratification. We look at major patterns of inequality throughout human history, how they vary across countries, how they are formed and maintained, how they come to be seen as legitimate and desirable, and how they affect the lives of individuals within a society. The readings incorporate classical theoretical statements, contemporary debates, and recent empirical evidence. The information and ideas discussed in this course are critical for students who will go on in sociology and extremely useful for students who want to be informed about current social, economic, and political issues.

Instructor(s): R. Stolzenberg      Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): KNOW 30103, SOCI 20103

SOCI 30112. Applications of Hierarchical Linear Models. 100 Units.

A number of diverse methodological problems such as correlates of change, analysis of multi-level data, and certain aspects of meta-analysis share a common feature-a hierarchical structure. The hierarchical linear model offers a promising approach to analyzing data in these situations. This course will survey the methodological literature in this area, and demonstrate how the hierarchical linear model can be applied to a range of problems.

Instructor(s): S. Raudenbush     Terms Offered: Spring Prerequisite(s): Applied statistics at a level of multiple regression Equivalent Course(s): EDSO 30112, SOCI 20112, PPHA 44650

SOCI 30116. Global-Local Politics. 100 Units.

Globalizing and local forces are generating a new politics in the United States and around the world. This course explores this new politics by mapping its emerging elements: the rise of social issues, ethno-religious and regional attachments, environmentalism, gender and life-style identity issues, new social movements, transformed political parties and organized groups, and new efforts to mobilize individual citizens.

Instructor(s): T. Clark     Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): LLSO 20116, HMRT 20116, GEOG 30116, PBPL 27900, HMRT 30116, GEOG 20116, SOCI 20116

SOCI 30120. Urban Policy Analysis. 100 Units.

Cities are sites of challenge and innovation worldwide. Dramatic new policies can be implemented locally and chart new paths for national policies. Five main approaches are compared: Leadership patterns: are business, political, or other kinds of leaders more important--and where, when, and why do these matter? Second do capitalism, or more recently, global markets, make specific leaders irrelevant? Third: leaders like mayors are weaker since citizens, interest groups, and media have grown so powerful. Fourth innovation drives many policy issues. Fifth consumption, entertainment, and the arts engage citizens in new ways. Can all five hold, in some locations? Why should they differentially operate across big and small, rich and poor neighborhoods, cities, and countries? The course introduces you to core urban issues, whether your goal is to conduct research, interpret reports by others, make policy decisions, or watch the tube and discuss these issues as a more informed citizen. Chicago, US and big and small locations internationally are considered; all methods are welcome.

Instructor(s): T. Clark     Terms Offered: Autumn Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20120, GEOG 20120, PBPL 24800, GEOG 30120

SOCI 30125. Rational Foundations of Social Theory. 100 Units.

This course introduces conceptual and analytical tools for the micro foundations of macro and intermediate-level social theories, taking as a basis the assumption of rational action. Those tools are then used to construct theories of power, social exchange, collective behavior, socialization, trust, norm, social decision making and justice, business organization, and family organization.

Instructor(s): K. Yamaguchi     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20125

SOCI 30192. The Effects of Schooling. 100 Units.

From at least the Renaissance until some time around the middle of the twentieth century, social class was the pre-eminent, generalized determinant of life chances in European and, eventually, American societies. Social class had great effect on one's social standing; economic well-being; political power; access to knowledge; and even longevity, health, and height. In that time, there was hardly an aspect of life that was not profoundly influenced by social class. In the ensuing period, the effects of social class have receded greatly, and perhaps have even vanished. In their place formal schooling has become the great generalized influence over who gets access to the desiderata of social life, including food, shelter, political power, and medical care. So it is that schooling is sociologically interesting for reasons that go well beyond education. The purpose of this course is to review what is known about the long-term effects of schooling.

Instructor(s): R. Stolzenberg     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20192, EDSO 20192, EDSO 30192

SOCI 30224. Topics in Sociology of Culture. 100 Units.

This class surveys the historical bases and current extension of core readings in the sociology of culture. These works will be investigated not only in their own terms, but their position in central issues revolving around the independence (or lack of same) of cultural production communities; the omnivore/unibrow question; the role of culture in larger (and smaller) political and social environments; the use of hierarchical as opposed to non-hierarchical models of social structure; and the location of meaning.

Instructor(s): T. Clark and J. Martin     Terms Offered: Spring

SOCI 30324. Muslims in the United States. 100 Units.

Muslim migration to the United States and Western Europe proliferated in the last quarter of the 20th Century, and Islam has been a visible (and controversial) presence in these societies ever since. Though internally varied by race, ethnicity, national origins, sect and class positionality, Muslim communities have faced homogenizing narratives rooted in orientalist frameworks. As Islam continues to be a site of conflict in geopolitical struggles, these frameworks have reproduced themselves into the twenty-first century. This course will use an intersectional and critical lens to examine the issues facing Muslims in the United States and Western Europe on both macro and micro levels. One third of the course will cover the interactions between Muslim communities and their "host societies" vis-à-vis the state, mass media, and public opinion. Another third of the course will delve into issues of socioeconomic mobility and cultural assimilation, Finally, the last third will show how these macro concepts influence the everyday lived experiences of Muslims in these contexts. This is a seminar-style, reading-heavy course. Students should be familiar with and capable of deploying the sociological concepts of race, class, gender and intersectionality.

Instructor(s): E. Abdelhadi     Terms Offered: Winter Prerequisite(s): Undergrads must have 3rd or 4th year standing. Note(s): Subject area: Undergrad: C; Grad: 3 Equivalent Course(s): CRES 38990, GNSE 28990, CHDV 38990, ISLM 38990, GNSE 38990, CHDV 28999

SOCI 30233. Race in Contemporary American Society. 100 Units.

This survey course in the sociology of race offers a socio-historical investigation of race in American society. We will examine issues of race, ethnic and immigrant settlement in the United States. Also, we shall explore the classic and contemporary literature on race and inter-group dynamics. Our investigative tools will include an analysis of primary and secondary sources, multimedia materials, photographic images, and journaling. While our survey will be broad, we will treat Chicago and its environs as a case study to comprehend the racial, ethnic, and political challenges in the growth and development of a city.

Instructor(s): S. Hicks-Bartlett     Terms Offered: Autumn Spring. Autumn quarter offered at the Undergraduate level only and Spring offered at the Graduate level only Equivalent Course(s): RDIN 20233, SOCI 20233, MAPS 30233

SOCI 30252. Urban Innovation: Cultural Place Making and Scenescapes. 100 Units.

Activists from Balzac, Jane Jacobs, and others today seek to change the world using the arts. Ignored by most social science theories, these new cultural initiatives and policies are increasing globally. Urban planning and architecture policies, walking and parades, posters and demonstrations, new coffee shops and storefront churches reinforce selective development of specific cities and neighborhoods. These transform our everyday social environments into new types of scenes. They factor into crucial decisions, about where to work, to open a business, to found a political activist group, to live, what political causes to support, and more. The course reviews new case studies and comparative analyses from China to Chicago to Poland that detail these processes. Students are encouraged to explore one type of project.

Instructor(s): T. Clark     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20252, ENST 20252, ARCH 20252

SOCI 30253. Introduction to Spatial Data Science. 100 Units.

Spatial data science consists of a collection of concepts and methods drawn from both statistics and computer science that deal with accessing, manipulating, visualizing, exploring and reasoning about geographical data. The course introduces the types of spatial data relevant in social science inquiry and reviews a range of methods to explore these data. Topics covered include formal spatial data structures, geovisualization and visual analytics, rate smoothing, spatial autocorrelation, cluster detection and spatial data mining. An important aspect of the course is to learn and apply open source GeoDa software.

Instructor(s): Y. Lin     Terms Offered: Autumn Prerequisite(s): STAT 22000 (or equivalent), familiarity with GIS is helpful, but not necessary Equivalent Course(s): MACS 54000, ENST 20253, GISC 30500, SOCI 20253, GISC 20500, CEGU 20253

SOCI 30258. Maverick Markets: Cultural Economy and Cultural Finance. 100 Units.

What are the cultural dimensions of economic and financial institutions and financial action? What social variables influence and shape 'real' markets and market activities? 'If you are so smart, why aren't you rich?' is a question economists have been asked in the past. Why isn't it easy to make money in financial areas even if one knows what economists know about markets, finance and the economy? And why, on the hand, is it so easy to get rich for some participants? Perhaps the answer is the real markets are complex social and cultural institutions which are quite different form organizations, administrations and the production side of the economy. The course provides an overview over social and cultural variables and patterns that play a role in economic behavior and specifically in financial markets. The readings examine the historical and structural embeddedness of economic action and institutions, the different constructions and interpretations of money, prices, and other dimensions of a market economy, and how a financial economy affects organizations, the art and other areas.

Instructor(s): K. Knorr     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 25440, ANTH 35405, SOCI 20258

SOCI 30263. Human Migration. 100 Units.

At any moment, spatial location is a fixed, essential characteristic of people and the places they inhabit. Over time, individuals and groups of people change places. In the long run, the places themselves move in physical, social, economic and political space. These movements can be characterized by their origins and destinations, as intentional or accidental, forced or voluntary, individual or collective, within political borders (e.g. the farm-to-city migration of the 1940's in the U.S), migration across political boundaries (e.g. "displacement" of pariah ethnicities after World War II), and by other criteria. All of these phenomena are aspects of migration This course reviews contemporary demographic research and theory concerning the nature of migration, and its extent, causes and consequences for individuals and collectivities. The demographic perspective absorbs a wide range of disciplinary perspectives, including those of psychology (e.g. individual decision-making), sociology (collective behavior, stratification, race and ethnicity), economics (rational behavior, macroeconomic conditions), and more.

Instructor(s): R. Stolzenberg     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20263

SOCI 30264. Wealth. 100 Units.

Wealth is the value of a person's accumulated possessions and financial assets. Wealth is more difficult for social researchers to measure than earnings and income, and wealthy people are notoriously uncooperative with efforts to study them and their assets. Further, wealth data conveys less information than income data about the lives of the middle- and lower-classes -- who tend to have little or no wealth at all. However, information about wealth gives fundamentally important insight into the values, attitudes, behavior, consumption patterns, social standing, political power, health, happiness and yet more characteristics of individuals and population subgroups. This course considers the causes and consequences of wealth accumulation for individuals, the social groups to which they belong, and the societies in which they dwell.

Instructor(s): R. Stolzenberg     Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20264

SOCI 30283. Introduction to GIS and Spatial Analysis. 100 Units.

This course provides an introduction and overview of how spatial thinking is translated into specific methods to handle geographic information and the statistical analysis of such information. This is not a course to learn a specific GIS software program, but the goal is to learn how to think about spatial aspects of research questions, as they pertain to how the data are collected, organized and transformed, and how these spatial aspects affect statistical methods. The focus is on research questions relevant in the social sciences, which inspires the selection of the particular methods that are covered. Examples include spatial data integration (spatial join), transformations between different spatial scales (overlay), the computation of "spatial" variables (distance, buffer, shortest path), geovisualization, visual analytics, and the assessment of spatial autocorrelation (the lack of independence among spatial variables). The methods will be illustrated by means of open source software such as QGIS and R.

Instructor(s): Crystal Bae     Terms Offered: Spring Summer. Offered 2024–25 Equivalent Course(s): ARCH 28702, SOCI 20283, CEGU 28702, GISC 28702, GISC 38702, ENST 28702, PPHA 38712

SOCI 30298. Schooling and Social Inequality. 100 Units.

How and why do educational outcomes and experiences vary across student populations? What role do schools play in a society's system of stratification? How do schools both contribute to social mobility and to the reproduction of the prevailing social order? This course examines these questions through the lens of social and cultural theory, engaging current academic debates on the causes and consequences of social inequality in educational outcomes. We will engage these debates by studying foundational and emerging theories and examining empirical research on how social inequalities are reproduced or ameliorated through schools. Through close readings of historical, anthropological and sociological case studies of schooling in the U.S, students will develop an understanding of the structural forces and cultural processes that produce inequality in neighborhoods and schools, how they contribute to unequal opportunities, experiences, and achievement outcomes for students along lines of race/ethnicity, class, gender, and immigration status, and how students themselves navigate and interpret this unequal terrain. We will cover such topics as neighborhood and school segregation; peer culture; social networks; elite schooling; the interaction between home, society and educational institutions; and dynamics of assimilation for students from immigrant communities.

Instructor(s): Lisa Rosen     Terms Offered: Autumn. Offered autumn 2024 Note(s): This course is open only to students pursuing the MAPSS Education Certificate. This course is consent-only. Equivalent Course(s): RDIN 33006, EDSO 33006, MAPS 33007

SOCI 30315. Introduction to Causal Inference. 100 Units.

This course is designed for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students from the social sciences, education, public health science, public policy, social service administration, and statistics who are involved in quantitative research and are interested in studying causality. The goal of this course is to equip students with basic knowledge of and analytic skills in causal inference. Topics for the course will include the potential outcomes framework for causal inference; experimental and observational studies; identification assumptions for causal parameters; potential pitfalls of using ANCOVA to estimate a causal effect; propensity score based methods including matching, stratification, inverse-probability-of-treatment-weighting (IPTW), marginal mean weighting through stratification (MMWS), and doubly robust estimation; the instrumental variable (IV) method; regression discontinuity design (RDD) including sharp RDD and fuzzy RDD; difference in difference (DID) and generalized DID methods for cross-section and panel data, and fixed effects model. Intermediate Statistics or equivalent such as STAT 224/PBHS 324, PP 31301, BUS 41100, or SOC 30005 is a prerequisite. This course is a prerequisite for "Advanced Topics in Causal Inference" and "Mediation, moderation, and spillover effects."

Instructor(s): G. Hong     Terms Offered: Winter Prerequisite(s): Intermediate Statistics or equivalent such as STAT 224/PBHS 324, PP 31301, BUS 41100, or SOC 30005 Note(s): CHDV Distribution: M; M Equivalent Course(s): PLSC 30102, MACS 21000, STAT 31900, CHDV 30102, MACS 51000, PBHS 43201, CHDV 20102

SOCI 30337. Organizational Analysis. 100 Units.

Organizations - NGOs, corporations, social movement organizations, governments, etc. - impact almost every aspect of social life; in addition, organizations have become some of the most significant actors in modern society. The course will provide a grounding in the sociological literature on how organizations function as well as the dynamics that govern both their internal structures and how they interface with society. We will cover rational, ecological, and resource-based approaches, as well as others. We will study organizations in local and global contexts, their role in economic production, their impact on members and non-members, as well as public policy. Throughout, we will engage questions pertaining to where organizations come from, how they function, when they 'succeed' and 'fail', as well as their social consequences. At the completion of the course, students will apply the concepts covered in class to a final project.

Instructor(s): Arroyo, Pedro Alberto     Terms Offered: Autumn Winter Equivalent Course(s): MAPS 30617, MACS 20617, PBPL 23002, SOCI 20585, MACS 30617

SOCI 30345. Technologies of the Body. 100 Units.

From models and measures to imaging technologies and genomic sequencing, technologies have profoundly shaped how we know and understand human bodies, health, and disease. Drawing on foundational and contemporary science and technology studies scholarship, this class will interrogate technologies of the body: how they are made, the ways in which they have changed understandings of the human condition, their impact on individual and collective identities, and the interests and values built into their very design. Course readings will examine how technologies render bodies knowable and also construct them in particular ways. We will also focus on how technologies incorporate, and reinforce, ideas about human difference. Students will conduct an independent, quarter-long research project analyzing a biomedical technology of their choice. By the end of this course, students will be able to identify and explain the social, political and economic factors that shape the design and production of biomedical technologies, as well as the impact of these technologies on biomedicine and the social world more broadly. This course provides students with an opportunity to conduct a quarter-long research project, using a biomedical technology as a case study. Students will be introduced to foundational and cutting-edge scholarship in science and technology studies, and will use this scholarship to conduct their independent research.

Instructor(s): Melanie Jeske     Terms Offered: Autumn Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 36080, HLTH 26080, KNOW 36080, HIPS 26080, CHSS 36080

SOCI 30506. Cities, Space, Power: Introduction to urban social science. 100 Units.

This lecture course provides a broad, multidisciplinary introduction to the study of urbanization in the social sciences. The course surveys a broad range of research traditions from across the social sciences, as well as the work of urban planners, architects, and environmental scientists. Topics include: theoretical conceptualizations of the city and urbanization; methods of urban studies; the politics of urban knowledges; the historical geographies of capitalist urbanization; political strategies to shape and reshape the built and unbuilt environment; cities and planetary ecological transformation; post-1970s patterns and pathways of urban restructuring; and struggles for the right to the city.

Instructor(s): N. Brenner     Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): CCCT 30506, CHST 20506, PLSC 20506, PLSC 30506, ENST 20506, HIPS 20506, CEGU 20506, SOCI 20506, CHSS 30506, ARCH 20506, KNOW 30506

SOCI 30508. Working with Found Data: Library/Internet Research. 100 Units.

This course is an introduction to the methods involved in "research with found data:" that is, found material like manuscripts, books, journals, newspapers, ephemera, and government and institutional documents. (Such materials can be found both in print and on the Internet.) The course covers the essentials of project design, bibliography, location, access, critical reading, source evaluation, knowledge categorization and assembly, and records maintenance. The course is a methodological practicum organized around student projects. The texts are Thomas Mann's Oxford Guide to Library Research and Andrew Abbott's Digital Paper.

Instructor(s): A. Abbott     Terms Offered: Winter. Restricted to MAPSS Student Only. Note(s): Only offered at the graduate level and restricted to MAPSS Students Only Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20508

SOCI 30519. Spatial Cluster Analysis. 100 Units.

This course provides an overview of methods to identify interesting patterns in geographic data, so-called spatial clusters. Cluster concepts come in many different forms and can generally be differentiated between the search for interesting locations and the grouping of similar locations. The first category consists of the identification of extreme concentrations of locations (events), such as hot spots of crime events, and the location of geographical concentrations of observations with similar values for one or more variables, such as areas with elevated disease incidence. The second group consists of the combination of spatial observations into larger (aggregate) areas such that internal similarity is maximized (regionalization). The methods covered come from the fields of spatial statistics as well as machine learning (unsupervised learning) and operations research. Topics include point pattern analysis, spatial scan statistics, local spatial autocorrelation, dimension reduction, as well as spatially explicit hierarchical, agglomerative and density-based clustering. Applications range from criminology and public health to politics and marketing. An important aspect of the course is the analysis of actual data sets by means of open source software, such as GeoDa, R or Python.

Instructor(s): L. Anselin and P. Amaral     Terms Offered: Winter Prerequisite(s): STAT 22000 or equivalent; SOCI 20253/30253 (or equivalent) Introduction to Spatial Data Science required. Equivalent Course(s): DATA 20519, GISC 30519, SOCI 20519, ENST 20519, GISC 20519, MACS 30519, MACS 20519

SOCI 30530. Schooling and Identity. 100 Units.

This course examines the dynamic relations between schooling and identity. We will explore how schools both enable and constrain the identities available to students and the consequences of this for academic achievement. We will examine these relations from multiple disciplinary perspectives, applying psychological, anthropological, sociological, and critical theories to understanding how students not only construct identities for themselves within schools, but also negotiate the identities imposed on them by others. Topics will include the role of peer culture, adult expectations, school practices and enduring social structures in shaping processes of identity formation in students and how these processes influence school engagement and achievement. We will consider how these processes unfold at all levels of schooling, from preschool through college, and for students who navigate a range of social identities, from marginalized to privileged.

Instructor(s): Lisa Rosen     Terms Offered: Winter. Offered winter 2025 Prerequisite(s): Priority registration will be given to MAPSS students seeking the Education and Society certificate. Equivalent Course(s): EDSO 33002, RDIN 23002, SOCI 20530, EDSO 23002, RDIN 33002, CHDV 23003

SOCI 30559. Spatial Regression Analysis. 100 Units.

This course covers statistical and econometric methods specifically geared to the problems of spatial dependence and spatial heterogeneity in cross-sectional data. The main objective for the course is to gain insight into the scope of spatial regression methods, to be able to apply them in an empirical setting, and to properly interpret the results of spatial regression analysis. While the focus is on spatial aspects, the types of methods covered have general validity in statistical practice. The course covers the specification of spatial regression models in order to incorporate spatial dependence and spatial heterogeneity, as well as different estimation methods and specification tests to detect the presence of spatial autocorrelation and spatial heterogeneity. Special attention is paid to the application to spatial models of generic statistical paradigms, such as Maximum Likelihood and Generalized Methods of Moments. An import aspect of the course is the application of open source software tools such as various R packages, GeoDa and the Python Package PySal to solve empirical problems.

Instructor(s): L. Anselin     Terms Offered: Autumn Prerequisite(s): An intermediate course in multivariate regression or econometrics. Familiarity with matrix algebra Equivalent Course(s): DATA 20559, GISC 20559, GISC 30559, SOCI 20559

SOCI 30574. How to Think Sociologically. 100 Units.

This course tackles the "big problem" of low sociological literacy. When faced with the problems of the world, people usually resort to economic, biological, or ideological explanations. They cite self-interest, genetically encoded drives, or some pre-given understanding of how the world works. The price of such simple frameworks is an impoverished view of the world, a lack of understanding and empathy, and a predisposition to orthodoxy or ideology. In this sense, low sociological literacy is a big problem in the world today. This course was developed in the belief that the capacity to think sociologically-that is, to understand people as socially embedded, or shaped by the situations in which they find themselves-can enrich our understanding of the world immeasurably. It can give us analytical purchase on a number of social problems, including poverty; social inequality; racial, class, and gender discrimination; urban segregation; populism and political polarization; and organizational wrongdoing (we'll discuss each of these topics in class). A sociological perspective can also transform how we engage with the world, promoting an ethics of understanding and empathy--as opposed to the ethics apparently prevalent today: judging people and insisting they change.

Instructor(s): M. Garrido     Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20574, HIPS 20574, CHSS 30574

SOCI 30575. Logic of Social Inquiry. 100 Units.

This course is intended to cultivate deeper thinking about research practice. We will talk about different methods of sociological research, quantitative and qualitative, including surveys, interviews, systematic observation, and archival research. In particular, we will discuss the logic underlying each method, exploring questions such as What kind of data can we get at using this method? How do we know our findings are valid? To what extent are they generalizable? On what basis can we make causal inferences? Is my research ethical? and How does my positionality matter? In addition to research logic, our other focus will be on research design. Here we want to get students to think about the many choices they have to make in pursuing a research project; choices about what aspect of reality to focus on and how to construct a research question in order to get at it, which methods to employ, and which case(s) to investigate. We see this course as a necessary bridge between theory and research, believing that good sociology lies precisely in the ability to bridge this gap. Suffice it to say, it will better prepare students to write an academic paper for their capstone projects. We recommend that sociology majors take the course in their third year.

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Winter Note(s): Priority registration for Sociology 3rd year majors Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20575

SOCI 30576. Social Theory for the Digital Age. 100 Units.

Society rearranges itself, though we don't always know where it is heading. When the postmodern moment had arrived in the 1980s it perplexed social theorists, hence its characterization as simply a "post"-stage of modernity. Digitization is one answer to the question of direction of change in the last decades. In this class, we take the ongoing transformations that we attribute to digital media as a starting point to ask what challenges they provide to social theory that may force us to reconsider some of our most basic concepts and premises. We will understand the term digital age broadly to refer to the rise of algorithms, sensors, (big) data, machine learning, and computational methods, all developments that swirl in and around the Artificial Intelligence scene and intersect with and replace purely human relations. The class gives particular attention to concepts such as action and interaction, embodiment, social situations, subjectivity and autonomy, as wells as society as communication.

Instructor(s): K. Knorr     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): HIPS 20576, CHSS 30576, SOCI 20576

SOCI 30588. Beyond the Culture Wars: Social Movements and the Politics of Education in the U.S. 100 Units.

Passionate conflicts over school curriculum and educational policy are a recurring phenomenon in the history of US schooling. Why are schools such frequent sites of struggle and what is at stake in these conflicts? In this discussion-based seminar, we will consider schools as battlegrounds in the US "culture wars": contests over competing visions of national identity, morality, social order, the fundamental purposes of public education, and the role of the state vis-à-vis the family. Drawing on case studies from history, anthropology, sociology and critical race and gender studies, we will examine both past and contemporary debates over school curriculum and school policy. Topics may include clashes over: the teaching of evolution, sex and sexuality education, busing/desegregation, prayer in schools, multiculturalism, the content of the literary canon, the teaching of reading, mathematics and history, and the closure of underperforming urban schools. Our inquiry will examine how social and political movements have used schools to advance or resist particular agendas and social projects.

Instructor(s): Lisa Rosen     Terms Offered: Spring. Offered spring 2025 Equivalent Course(s): EDSO 23011, PBPL 23011, HIST 27718, CHDV 33011, HIST 37718, CHDV 23011, EDSO 33011, SOCI 20588

SOCI 30594. Sociology of religion in everyday life. 100 Units.

Religion is a non-material social fact that has been one of humankind's most important collective meaning systems. Although this social fact changes, it survives as a meaning system in different societies with different forms, representations, and functions. The survival of religion, even in the face of change, is due to its collective meaning functions, like forming and maintaining a collective conscience and social solidarity (in the Durkheimian approach). In this course, the primary purpose is to investigate religion as a social current and collective fact in the context of the everyday life of ordinary people (even in student's life experiences) and try to achieve these goals: to investigate the religious meanings in everyday life, to get an analytical view of religious phenomena as social facts, to get a sociological viewpoint about regular religious events, to differentiate analytically between positivistic and post-positivistic approaches, to provide concrete examples of religious contexts like Iran for a better understanding of students.

Instructor(s): Z. Khoshk Jan     Terms Offered: Autumn Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20594

SOCI 30595. Topics in Spatial Regression Analysis. 100 Units.

This course covers methodological issues that affect the specification and estimation of spatial regression models. The course is organized as a seminar, with a combination of brief lectures, discussion of recent article and lab exercises. Topics will vary. Examples are spatial specification search, spatial effects in models for discrete dependent variables, spatial effects in count models, semi-parametric spatial models, spatial panel data models, spatial treatment effect analysis, spatial interaction models, endogenous regimes, regularization in spatial models, spatial feature engineering, and endogenous spatial weights. An important aspect of the course is the application of open source software tools, specifically those contained in the Python package PySAL.

Instructor(s): L. Anselin     Terms Offered: Winter Prerequisite(s): An intermediate course in multivariate regression or econometrics. Familiarity with metrix algebra; SOCi 20559/30559 or equivalent is desired, but not required Equivalent Course(s): DATA 20595, SOCI 20595

SOCI 30596. Social Networks: How Networks Shape Integration and Inequality in Diverse Societies. 100 Units.

Social networks are all around us. Our social ties and interpersonal connections both reflect and influence our preferences, attitudes, decisions, and relationships. This course offers an introduction to theories of how our interpersonal networks form, what they typically look like, how they are changing, and what this means in diverse societies. When can we expect networks to build bridges and offer opportunities, or when can we instead expect them to exacerbate inequality and reinforce social divides? This course will offer theoretical frameworks for social network analyses alongside an introduction to the practical implementation of social networks analyses using R. At the completion of the course, students will apply the concepts covered in class to a final project. Prior coding experience is suggested but not required.

Instructor(s): L. Zhao     Terms Offered: Spring Prerequisite(s): Prior coding experience is suggested but not required Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20596

SOCI 30598. Slavery and Emancipation: Caribbean Perspectives. 100 Units.

This graduate-level reading colloquium explores the interpretive problems and perspectives critical to understanding the historical dynamics of slavery and emancipation in the Caribbean. Between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, over five million African men, women, and children were trafficked to the Caribbean as enslaved captives. During this period, Africans and their descendants, as well as the tens of thousands of slaveholders, indentured laborers, Indigenous peoples, and free people in the region, forged the political, economic, social, and cultural dynamics that arguably made the Caribbean the birthplace of the modern world. Through course readings in foundational and emerging scholarship, we will examine how slavery and emancipation underlined crucial historical transformations and problems in the Caribbean, with attention to their global repercussions. Students will also have the opportunity to draw comparisons with other regions in the Atlantic World. Upper-level undergraduates may enroll with instructor consent.

Instructor(s): Lyons, Deirdre     Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): HIST 39006, ANTH 46452, ANTH 26452, SOCI 20598, MAPS 33505, HIST 29006

SOCI 30599. The Logic and Methods of Historical Research. 100 Units.

This seminar introduces students to some of the major epistemological and methodological challenges confronting qualitative historical research in the social sciences. It is divided into two parts. The first half tackles key issues regarding the logic and reasoning of historical research, including causality, contingency, temporality, narrativity and the use of comparisons. The second half delves into the practical and minute complexities of historical research methods - particularly archival research and oral histories - and their epistemological roots. This seminar is NOT a substantive introduction to the vast body of work produced under the rubric of comparative historical sociology and historical social sciences, but rather familiarizes students with problems concerning the "logic of historical inquiry" as well as equips students to conduct actual historical research.

Instructor(s): Y. Zhang     Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20599

SOCI 30603. The Sociology of Racism. 100 Units.

This course seeks to give students a rigorous introduction to the sociological subfield of the study of race over the last roughly 100 years - with a specific focus on how scholars have theorized racism(s). Moving chronologically, we will begin in the early to mid 20th century with ideas of race relations and race as a social construction, move to ethnic assimilation and racial formation, racial attitudes, and then to racialized social systems and colorblind racism. Alongside this trajectory, we will read critical scholarship that troubles the more mainstream scholarly understandings of racism in each period. We will end by exploring contemporary ways scholars are pushing the subfield forward.

Instructor(s): Cuddy, Maximilian     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): RDIN 33510, MAPS 33510, RDIN 23510, SOCI 20603

SOCI 30604. Political Religion and Sociology. 100 Units.

In the era of post-secularism (with the reappearance of religion in the public arena), the contemporary world has witnessed the formation and growth of political religion approaches. Political religion has two aspects: a religion that is politicized (with non-political roots) and another with a political identity. Both elements of political religion, both in monotheistic and non-monotheistic religions, have significantly impacted the formation of movements, organizations, and fundamentalist approaches that have faced the modern world with serious challenges (especially in terms of national identity and security). The main problem of the current era of political religion is its characteristics, the roots of its formation and its different representations from a sociological perspective, and how to observe and analyze the representations of political religion even in our daily and ordinary lives.

Instructor(s): Khoshk Jan, Z.     Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20604

SOCI 30605. The sociology of revolution in the contemporary world. 100 Units.

The modern world is a complex world of technology, media, the internet, the economy, international relations, etc.. As time goes by, these complexities increase even in human relations. One of the complex and critical issues is the issue of revolution as the most radical form of the relationship between a government and the social-political forces of society. The contemporary world is full of surprises, and one of the most radical surprises is the occurrence of the revolution in an unexpected context. But there is no surprise because, Like the human body, society has warning mechanisms that ignoring by a government can cause it to be overthrown. In this course, we will investigate these alarms and conditions that can lead to revolution or any other challenging social practice by actioners and determine the answers to these critical questions: What are the differences between revolution, movement, coup, and rebellion? How can their occurrence be predicted and analyzed in a society? What is the Colour and Velvet Revolution? What is the approach of social psychology to the revolution?

Instructor(s): Khoshk Jan, Z.     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20605

SOCI 40112. Ethnographic Methods. 100 Units.

This course explores the epistemological and practical questions raised by ethnography as a method -- focusing on the relationships between theory and data, and between researcher and researched. Discussions are based on close readings of ethnographic texts, supplemented by occasional theoretical essays on ethnographic practices. Students also conduct original field research., share and critique each other's field notes on a weekly basis, and produce analytical papers based on their ethnographies.

Instructor(s): O. McRoberts     Terms Offered: Winter Note(s): Graduate students only

SOCI 40137. Introduction to Science Studies. 100 Units.

This course provides an introduction to the interdisciplinary study of science, medicine, and technology. During the twentieth century, sociologists, historians, philosophers, and anthropologists raised original, interesting, and consequential questions about the sciences. Often their work drew on and responded to each other, and, taken together, their various approaches came to constitute a field, "science studies." The course furnishes an initial guide to this field. Students will not only encounter some of its principal concepts, approaches and findings, but will also get a chance to apply science-studies perspectives themselves by performing a fieldwork project. Among the topics we may examine are: the sociology of scientific knowledge and its applications; actor-network theories of science; constructivism and the history of science; and efforts to apply science studies approaches beyond the sciences themselves.

Instructor(s): Michael Paul Rossi     Terms Offered: Winter. Offered in Winter 2024 Equivalent Course(s): HIPS 22001, ANTH 32305, CHSS 32000, HIST 44906, KNOW 31408, HLTH 22001

SOCI 40164. Involved Interviewing: Strategies for Interviewing Hard to Penetrate Communities and Populations. 100 Units.

Imagine that you must interview someone who hails from a background unlike your own; perhaps you need to interview an incarcerated youth, or gather a life history from an ill person. Maybe your task is to conduct fieldwork inside a community that challenges your comfort level. How do we get others to talk to us? How do we get out of our own way and limited training to become fully and comfortably engaged in people and the communities in which they reside? This in-depth investigation into interviewing begins with an assumption that the researcher as interviewer is an integral part of the research process. We turn a critical eye on the interviewer's role in getting others to talk and learn strategies that encourage fertile interviews regardless of the situational context. Weekly reading assignments facilitate students' exploration of what the interview literature can teach us about involved interviewing. Additionally, we critically assess our role as interviewer and what that requires from us. Students participate in evaluating interview scenarios that are designed to explore our assumptions, sharpen our interviewing skills and troubleshoot sticky situations. We investigate a diversity of settings and populations as training ground for leading effective interviews. The final project includes: 1) a plan that demonstrates knowledge of how to design an effective interviewing strategy for unique field settings; 2) instructor's feedback on students' personal journals on the role of.

Instructor(s): S. Hicks-Bartlett     Terms Offered: Autumn Winter. Autumn-restricted to 4th and 3rd year Sociology Majors ONLY. Winter restricted to graduate students ONLY. Prerequisite(s): Ugrad Level restricted to 4th and 3rd year Sociology Majors ONLY Equivalent Course(s): MAPS 40164, SOCI 20547

SOCI 40177. Coding & Analyzing Qualitative Data using MAXQDA. 100 Units.

This focus of this course is on coding and analyzing qualitative data (e.g., interview transcripts, oral histories, focus groups, letters, and diaries, etc). In this hands-on-course students learn how to organize and manage text-based data in preparation for analysis and final report writing of small scale research projects. Students use their own laptop computers to access one of two free, open-source software programs available for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. While students with extant interview data can use it for this course, those without existing data will be provided text to code and analyze. This course does not cover commercial CAQDAS, such as AtlasTi, NVivo, The Ethnograph or Hypertext.

Instructor(s): S. Hicks-Bartlett     Terms Offered: Spring Winter. Winter restricted to 4th and 3rd year Sociology Majors only and MAPS students only. Spring restricted to graduate students only. Prerequisite(s): Ugrad Level restricted to 4th and 3rd year Sociology Majors ONLY Equivalent Course(s): MAPS 40177, SOCI 20548

SOCI 40212. Demographic Technique. 100 Units.

Introduction to methods of demographic analysis. Topics include demographic rates, standardization, decomposition of differences, life tables, survival analysis, cohort analysis, birth interval analysis, models of population growth, stable populations, population projection, and demographic data sources.

Instructor(s): L. Luciana and J. Trinitapoli     Terms Offered: Winter Prerequisite(s): One Introductory statistics course. No Auditing Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20261

SOCI 40233. Sociology of Immigration. 100 Units.

This graduate seminar seeks to cover the main topics in this vast field. Topics include: determinants of migration, immigrant assimilation, transnationalism, immigration and race, immigration policies, immigration attitudes and public opinion, and illegality. We will also devote some time to immigrant-receiving contexts outside of the U.S. especially Western Europe. The purpose of the class is to encourage graduate students to develop their own immigration research projects. We will pay special attention to research design and methodological issues.

Instructor(s): R. Flores     Terms Offered: Autumn

SOCI 40242. Parametric and Semi-parametric Methods of Categorical Data Anaysis. 100 Units.

This course introduces various regression and related methods and models for the analysis of categorical data with an emphasis on their applications to social‑science research. The course covers various regression models with a categorical dependent variable, including (1) logistic regression, (2) probit regression, (3) multinomial logit regression, (4) ordered logit regression, (5) nested logit regression, (6) bivariate probit regression, and (7) regression models with a latent-class dependent variable. In addition, the course also tries to cover (8) the use of a categorical regression model for the estimation of propensity scores in causal analysis, (9) the use of propensity scores in the statistical decomposition analysis of a categorical outcome variable, and (10) the use of propensity scores in segregation analysis with covariates. The course also provides students with examples of various substantive social‑science applications of the categorical data analysis. The course employs STATA for models without using latent-class variable and employs LEM for models with a latent-class variable. LEM is made available free of charge to students. The course requires as a prerequisite only an introductory-level knowledge of regression analysis. No prior knowledge in the use of STATA and LEM is required.

Instructor(s): K. Yamaguchi     Terms Offered: Spring

SOCI 40244. Climate change, history and Social Theory. 100 Units.

This course considers some of the major approaches to climate change and society that have been elaborated by contemporary social and environmental theorists. Key topics include the legacies of environmental thought in classical social theory; the histories and geographies of environmental crises under capitalism; the conceptualization of "nature" in relation to societal dynamics; the role of capitalism and fossil capital in the production of "metabolic rifts"; questions of periodization and associated debates on the "Anthropocene," the "Capitalocene" and the "Plantationocene"; the interplay between urbanization and climate emergencies; the (geo)politics of decarbonization; insurgent struggles for climate justice; and possible post-carbon futures.

Instructor(s): N. Brenner, F. Albritton Jonsson     Terms Offered: Autumn Prerequisite(s): Some previous course work in classical and/or contemporary social theory, preferably at the graduate level Equivalent Course(s): CEGU 40244, CCCT 40244, CHSS 43204, HIST 43204, PLSC 40244

SOCI 40248. Social Network Analysis. 100 Units.

This course introduces students to Social Network Analysis (SNA) as a theoretical and methodological approach to studying the structure of relationships among entities (people, organizations, etc.). By the end of the course, students will be able to apply and interpret the most important measures and methods to study social networks from a social science perspective. Topics of this course include fundamental network measures (density, paths, centrality, etc.) and fundamental concepts (structural holes, homophily, etc.); research design; cohesive subgroups; ego networks; affiliation networks; and statistical models. The course is taught in R. Requirements: At least one prior introductory programming or statistics course in Python or R. If you are unsure, please check with the instructor to see if the course is a good fit.

Instructor(s): Sabrina Nardin     Terms Offered: Autumn Equivalent Course(s): MACS 40101, MACS 20101

SOCI 40258. Causal Mediation Analysis. 100 Units.

Causal mediation analysis lies at the very heart of social science. It seeks to uncover not just whether but al so why an exposure affects an outcome by quantifying the processes and mechanisms through which a causal effect operates. That is, it aims to identify causal chains that connect an exposure to an outcome via intermediate variables known as mediators. This class will cover methods for analyzing causal mediation with an emphasis on social science applications. It will use precise notation (potential outcomes) and accessible conceptual diagrams (directed acyclic graphs) to lead students from basic definitions of effects, via minimally necessary identification assumptions, to cutting-edge estimation procedures. It will provide a guide for analyzing causal mediation using modern techniques, including effect decomposition, adjustment for both pre- and post-exposure confounding, analysis of multiple mediators, and estimation via regression modeling, inverse probability weighting, and machine learning methods. The class will address both theory and conceptual material alongside practical implementation using R or Stata.

Instructor(s): G. Wodtke     Terms Offered: Spring Prerequisite(s): Students interested in taking this class are expected to have a solid background in probability, multivariate statistics, linear models, and the basics of causal inference. Knowledge of linear algebra and calculus will be an asset but is not required.

SOCI 40261. Politics and Sociology of Markets. 100 Units.

Course will survey conceptions of market exchange in both micro and macro dimensions. The emphasis will be (mostly) on sociological and normative understandings of markets as forms of order.

Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): PLSC 43434

SOCI 40262. Non Parliamentary Forms of Democracy. 100 Units.

This course will survey an array of theoretical arguments for democracy outside the electoral arena. In some case, the views will involve complements to electoral democracy, in other cases there will be proposals to substitute other forms of democratic process for elections. Among other traditions, the course will survey Pluralism, Guild Socialism, Labor Republicanism, Economic Democracy and Co-determination, Progressive Regulation and Democratic Experimentalism

Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): PLSC 46666

SOCI 40263. Weber, Veblen and Genealogies of Global Capitalism. 100 Units.

After quick review or Marxs, this course considers other possibilities. It focuses on critical comparative reading of Thorstein Veblen's theory of the late modern "new order" and Max Weber's comparative sociology, but will also read widely among other authors, including Simmel, Sombart, Mahan, Tolstoy and Gandhi. Questions to engage will include: relations between capital, the state, and military force (between means of production and means of coercion); commerce in Asia before European colonialism and the rise of colonial plantations and monopoly trading companies; types of capital, the rise and spread of joint-stock companies, stock markets, and capitalist corporations; the "new order," decolonization and the nation-state.

Instructor(s): John Kelly Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 43700

SOCI 40264. Education, Culture, and Power. 100 Units.

This course critically examines how power and culture operate within educational systems. This course will presume that education is not simply a neutral good that we must acquire to gain social mobility. Instead, educational systems are sites where power is enacted and where culture is learned (or suppressed). Thus, this course will ask important questions like: What type of education gets you power? What is the normative culture of education (schooling)? Do you need to perform a certain type of culture to accrue educational power? Who has power over educational systems? How is education wielded as a tool of power? Can educational systems be sites of challenging power? To answer these questions, we will read a range of educational scholars, sociologists, historians, anthropologists, and social theorists. We will pay particular attention to the many lines of difference that stratify educational systems, such as: race, indigeneity, gender, sexuality, class, nationality, and disability.

Instructor(s): Cuddy, Maximilian     Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): EDSO 31522, EDSO 21522, MAPS 31522

SOCI 40265. In-Depth Interviewing: Talk as Data. 100 Units.

This course is meant for students who have just started, or are soon planning to carry out, a qualitative research study that utilizes in-depth interviewing. This course will take a practical and hands-on approach to doing the work of listening to strangers. In addition to a brief, but rigorous, theoretical introduction to the methodology, this course will mainly be aimed at helping students collect their own rich interview data. This means that we will place the ability to problem solve research hiccups, dilemmas, and contingencies at the front and center. Along the way, our fieldwork will be supplemented by reading accessible guides by experienced qualitative scholars on the mechanics of interviewing. By the course's end, students will be expected to have collected, and begun to analyze, actual data in their research study.

Instructor(s): Cuddy, Maximilian     Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): MAPS 40165

SOCI 40267. Introduction to Computational Social Science. 100 Units.

The movement of much of our social lives online has created exciting new opportunities for social science research. This course provides a broad survey of computational methods used to make sense of this data. Students will learn how to collect online data, and analyze this data using contemporary techniques from natural language processing, supervised/unsupervised machine learning, and generative machine learning. Students will also cultivate analytical skills through formal paper presentations, oral exams, and an original research project. The course will be taught in Python. This is an intuitive introduction without prerequisites, although previous experience with probability, statistics, and/or programming will be helpful.

Instructor(s): B. Koch     Terms Offered: Autumn Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20602

SOCI 50092. Sem: Religion and Politics. 100 Units.

In this seminar we will consider meanings of religion and politics, and examine their interactions from a comparative perspective. After digesting alternative theoretical understandings of the relationship between religion, states, and political processes, we will turn to empirical accounts that illuminate historical and local issues at points around the globe. Among other phenomena, students will explore patterns of secularization, religious nationalism, fundamentalisms, and policy-oriented religious social movements.

Instructor(s): O. McRoberts     Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): AASR 50092

SOCI 50106. Sem: The Social Process. 100 Units.

This course sets forth a general analysis of the social process, based on the exposition of a processual theoretical system. It begins with desiderata for the theory, then proceeds through the topics of orders, events, locality, lineage, stability, and entity processes to the usual micro and macro analyses of social life.

Instructor(s): A. Abbott     Terms Offered: Winter Prerequisite(s): Open to undergrads by special permission from the instructor

SOCI 50118. Sem: Population. 100 Units.

This course provides a substantive overview of the field of demography -- the study of human populations, past, present and future. We focus on trends and causes and consequences of change in the three the basic components of population change: mortality, fertility, migration. We will also cover a few sub-fields outside the big three, including segregation and population health. By the end of the quarter, students will have been introduced to the major substantive issues, debates, and methods of the field. The course is non-technical but assumes graduate-level literacy in statistics and quantitative reasoning. We will focus on understanding general trends in global population, the inter-related nature of fertility, mortality, migration, and age structure, and how the demographic explanations of social phenomena are critical for understanding political, economic, and cultural changes.

Instructor(s): J. Trinitapoli     Terms Offered: Autumn

SOCI 50126. Public History Practicum I. 100 Units.

In this two-quarter course students will engage in the theory and practice of public history in partnership with organizations doing community-oriented work in a variety of areas. In the winter colloquium, we will read and discuss the theory and practice of public history as well as materials relevant to the projects you will pursue in the spring. In the spring practicum, you will work in groups of 3-5 directly with one of the partner organizations. All of the project-based work will be done collaboratively; working with partners means that there will be hard deadlines. Projects and coursework will be designed to be adaptable to current public health conditions. A showcase presentation of the projects is scheduled for the end of the spring quarter, by which time you will have become acquainted with current scholarship on public history and with experience in its actual practice. The final projects will be part of your portfolio and may be listed on your c.v.

Instructor(s): L. Auslander     Terms Offered: Winter Prerequisite(s): Students must take Public History Practicum I (HIST 47603) and II (HIST 47604) in sequence. Equivalent Course(s): CHSS 67603, ANTH 34611, HIST 47603, ARTH 47603, RDIN 47603

SOCI 50127. Public History Practicum II. 100 Units.

Terms Offered: Spring Prerequisite(s): Students must take Public History Practicum I (HIST 47603) and II (HIST 47604) in sequence. Equivalent Course(s): ARTH 47604, RDIN 47604, HIST 47604, ANTH 34612, CHSS 67604

SOCI 50132. Sem:Causal Inference in Studies of Educational Interventions. 100 Units.

This course will engage students in evaluating the validity of causal claims made in important educational studies conducted within multiple disciplines. A focus will be on what can be learned about the school as an organization and the work of teaching by evaluating attempts to improve education. Fellows will re-analyze data from such studies, write reports that critically evaluate published study findings, and consider implications for research on educational improvement. This course is required of second year Fellows in the Education Sciences. Otherwise, admission to the seminar requires permission of the instructor. Introductory coursework in applied statistics is a prerequisite; prior study of causal inference is recommended.

Instructor(s): S. Raudenbush, G. Hong     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): CHDV 50132, EDSO 50132

SOCI 50135. A Socilogy of Politics. 100 Units.

This course is interested in the sociological basis of politics. Its focus will not be on the usual topics of political science and political sociology-e.g., leaders, parties, elections, or even social movements-but, rather, on the social structures shaping political subjectivity. Discussion will revolve around the question: What does a distinctly sociological approach to politics look like? We will consider several models over the course of the quarter. Possible readings include Marx, Tocqueville, Arendt, Bourdieu, Thompson, Chatterjee, and Hochschild.

Instructor(s): M. Garrido     Terms Offered: Spring

SOCI 50136. Comparative Socialism Studies. 100 Units.

his seminar interrogates "socialism" as both an important analytical category and a diverse set of objects of social inquiry. We will examine the historical experiences of "actually existing socialism" in the Soviet Union, China, East Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa through multiple comparative lenses. We will consider the common challenges besetting socialist projects around the world, varieties of socialism and their shapers, transnational linkages and system-wide dynamics, and pathways of transitions from socialism to capitalism. Theoretical treatises, historical texts and empirical research from such disciplines as sociology, history, political science, anthropology, heterodox economics and literary/cultural studies will be surveyed for these purposes. Throughout the quarter, we will explore how a comparative inquiry of socialism helps us rethink some of the most foundational concepts in the social sciences, such as capitalism, democracy, development, labor, the state and society.

Instructor(s): Y. Zhang     Terms Offered: Winter

SOCI 50137. Colloquium on Law and Social Science. 100 Units.

This unique workshop brings together social science and law faculty and students to examine new empirical scholarship with implications for law scholarship and legal reform. Rather than being a testing ground for works-in-progress, this workshop is an incubator for legal-reform-oriented scholarship based on social science research. We will encounter a mix of law scholarship and sociology scholarship on several topics, such as poverty and housing, higher education, and criminal system replacement. Students will write reaction papers and research proposals, which will count toward the grade, in addition to class participation.

Instructor(s): S. Fairley, W. Hubbard and R. Vargas     Terms Offered: Spring

SOCI 60001. Workshop: Demography. 100 Units.

This workshop is sponsored by the Committee on Demographic Training in collaboration with the Population Research Center of NORC and the University. Visitors from other campuses as well as Chicago faculty discuss current research activities in population studies. PQ: Must Register for an R

Terms Offered: Spring Winter Equivalent Course(s): ECON 58900

SOCI 60020. 1st-Year Proseminar Research Questions and Design. 000 Units.

A required, non-credit colloquium for first-year doctoral students in Sociology. The Colloquium addresses how to generate research questions and design projects through the current work of department faculty.

Instructor(s): G. Wodtke     Terms Offered: Autumn Prerequisite(s): 1st-year Sociology PhD students only

SOCI 60021. Wksp. Politics, History and Society. 000 Units.

The Politics, History, and Society workshop provides a home for graduate students and faculty who occupy the interdisciplinary spaces that exist between sociology and political science and/or between sociology and history. All of the papers we workshop are concerned with the institutions and processes of modern political orders, studied comparatively or historically. State formation, civil society, legal structures, social movements, colonialism, empire, and globalization are all frequent themes. Recent and upcoming papers include an ethnographic study of the political culture of indigenous Taiwanese, a case study of criminal conspiracy and corporate regulation in the 1920s and 1930s United States, an analysis of the role of social networks of Sufi Saints in the 18th and 19th century Ottoman Empire, and a multi-national comparison of causes of inter-communal violence. PQ: Students must register for an R

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Autumn Spring Winter

© 2014 The University of Chicago

5801 S. Ellis Ave. Chicago, IL 60637 United States

Accessibility

Print Options

Print this page.

The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

Graduate Programs

Related Links

• Academic Programs
• Undergraduate Programs

Graduate Divisions & Professional Schools

• Support LUC
• Directories
• KRONOS Timecard
• Employee Self-Service
• Password Self-service
• Academic Affairs
• Advancement
• Admission: Adult B.A.
• Admission: Grad/Prof
• Admission: International
• Admission: Undergrad
• Alumni Email
• Alumni Relations
• Arrupe College
• Bursar's Office
• Campus Ministry
• Career Centers
• Center for Student Assistance and Advocacy
• Colleges and Schools
• Commencement
• Conference Services
• Continuing Education
• Course Evaluations IDEA
• Cuneo Mansion & Gardens
• Dining Services
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Emeriti Faculty Caucus
• Enterprise Learning Hub
• Executive and Professional Education
• Faculty Activity System
• Financial Aid
• Human Resources
• IBHE Institutional Complaint System
• Information Technology Services
• Learning Portfolio
• Loyola Health App
• Loyola University Chicago Retiree Association (LUCRA)
• Madonna della Strada Chapel
• Media Relations
• Navigate Staff
• Office of First Year Experience
• Office of Institutional Effectiveness
• President's Office
• Rambler Buzz
• Registration and Records
• Residence Life
• Retreat & Ecology Campus
• Rome Center
• School of Environmental Sustainability
• Security/Police
• Staff Council
• Student Achievement
• Student Consumer Information
• Student Development
• Study Abroad
• Summer Sessions
• University Policies
• Writing Center

Loyola University Chicago

Department of sociology, doctoral (phd) program.

The PhD program in Sociology is designed to produce independent scholars able to research, teach or serve in a variety of settings. We offer comprehensive training in the knowledge and skills which constitute professional competence in the field. The curriculum is designed to equip students with a broad foundation in general sociology and in more specialized knowledge related to students' career interests in teaching, research, governmental work, or public service.

• Skip to Content
• Catalog Home
• Institution Home

2024-2025 Catalog

• The Curriculum
• Anthropology
• Architectural Studies
• Art History
• Astrophysics
• Biological Chemistry
• Biological Sciences
• Cinema and Media Studies
• Classical Studies
• Cognitive Science
• Comparative Human Development
• Comparative Literature
• Computational and Applied Mathematics
• Computational Social Science
• Computer Science
• Creative Writing
• Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
• Data Science
• Democracy Studies
• Digital Studies of Language, Culture, and History
• East Asian Languages and Civilizations
• Education and Society
• English Language and Literature
• Environmental Science
• Environmental and Urban Studies
• Environment, Geography, and Urbanization
• Fundamentals: Issues and Texts
• Gender and Sexuality Studies
• Geographic Information Science
• Geophysical Sciences
• Germanic Studies
• Global Studies
• Health and Society
• History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine
• Human Rights
• Inequality, Social Problems, and Change
• Inquiry and Research in the Humanities
• Jewish Studies
• Latin American and Caribbean Studies
• Law, Letters, and Society
• Linguistics
• Mathematics
• Media Arts and Design
• Medieval Studies
• Molecular Engineering
• Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
• Neuroscience
• Norwegian Studies
• Political Science
• Public Policy Studies
• Quantitative Social Analysis
• Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity
• Religious Studies
• Renaissance Studies
• Romance Languages and Literatures
• Russian and East European Studies
• Science Communication and Public Discourse
• South Asian Languages and Civilizations
• Theater and Performance Studies
• Visual Arts
• Yiddish Studies
• Academic Regulations and Procedures
• Examination Credit
• Transfer Credit
• Interdisciplinary Opportunities
• Joint Degree Programs
• Study Abroad
• Career Preparation
• Research and Fellowships
• Archived Catalogs
• Academic Calendar
• The College Catalog 2024-2025 >
• Programs of Study >

Contacts | Program of Study | Course Requirements, Academic Year 2024–25 | Course Requirements for the Major in Sociology | Qualifying Courses, Academic Year 2024–2025 | BA Project Guidelines | Grades | Honors | Research Funding | IRB Approval | Study Abroad  | Policy for Students Pursuing a BA/MA Thesis | Questions? | Sociology Courses

Department Website: http://sociology.uchicago.edu

Program of Study

The discipline of sociology explores the nature, structure, and dynamics of social life, and also its causes and consequences for the world. With this broad mandate, sociology encompasses a diversity of substantive interests, methodological approaches, and theoretical orientations. Sociologists study diverse social phenomena ranging from online conversations, friendship, and families to neighborhoods, governments, and global markets. They study cities and communities, inequality, social mobility and social class, patterns of population change and migration, social identities such as race, class, and gender, ethnic relations and social conflict, social media and digital interaction, and social dimensions of sex, health, business, education, law, politics, religion, and science. Sociologists study the emergence, stabilization, disintegration, and wide-ranging implications of these social institutions, behaviors, and meanings. Methodologies of the field range from ethnography, interviews, and historical research to surveys, computational modeling, and big data analysis.

The University of Chicago’s sociology department was the first in the United States, and it stewards the American Journal of Sociology , the discipline’s longest running sociology journal. Chicago sociology builds on these legacies by continuing to sponsor pathbreaking research. Chicago training in sociology confers deep understanding of social organization and human relations, along with skill in drawing inferences from data, which has made it attractive for students considering careers in business, social media, data science, education, law, marketing, medicine, journalism, social work, politics, public administration, and urban planning. Chicago’s sociology education forms an excellent basis for specialized graduate work and affords entry to careers in federal, state, and local agencies, as well as into business enterprises, private foundations, and research institutes.

Course Requirements, Academic Year 2024–25

The curriculum has been carefully designed to provide students with instruction on essential aspects of the discipline: theory, research logic, methods, and real-world applications. To preserve its coherence, we discourage petitions to get out of taking a course requirement or to substitute a non-SOCI course for a required SOCI course.

Please plan ahead! Because several course requirements are offered concurrently, it will be difficult to take them all in one year without overloading.

Finally, please join our undergraduate listserv [email protected] so that you don't miss important news and reminders. 

Course Requirements for the Major in Sociology

For a list of which courses satisfy these requirements, see the Department of Sociology curriculum page .

It is strongly recommended that the requirements be taken in the following sequence:

(1) Introduction to Sociology, (2) Sociological Theory, (3) the two Methods courses, (4) Logic of Social Inquiry, and (5) the BA Project (seminar and paper), with the four electives taken throughout. 

Complete this checklist of requirements. It must be submitted for inspection in order to graduate as a sociology major.

Qualifying Courses, Academic Year 2024–2025

1. INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

2. SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY

3. QUANTITATIVE METHODS

 Students may also take STAT 22000, STAT 23400, and above to satisfy this requirement. Note that this is the only requirement that can be satisfied with a non-SOCI course.

4.  QUALITATIVE METHODS

5.  LOGIC OF SOCIAL INQUIRY

6.  FOUR COURSES IN SOCIOLOGY

7. BA PROJECT (OPTIONAL)

Students pursuing this option must register for the BA Seminar and BA Project in their fourth year. They should have fulfilled their Methods and Logic requirements beforehand—ideally, no later than the Autumn Quarter of their fourth year.

BA Project Guidelines

The BA project is optional. Students traditionally write an academic thesis for their project, but also have the option to complete an internship or apprenticeship.

Track 1: Thesis

The thesis option allows students to complete a 30-40-page paper based on substantial research. This track is recommended for most students and especially those pursuing academic or research-based professions.

Their research efforts are structured by the BA Thesis Seminar. Typically, students should enroll for the seminar in the Spring Quarter of their fourth year and take it all three quarters . (This is so that they can drop the seminar without penalty should they change their minds about writing a thesis.) Students will receive their course grade at the end of the Spring Quarter. 

Students will need to secure a faculty advisor from within the Department of Sociology. 

Ideally, students will have taken the relevant Methods course before taking the BA Thesis Seminar (i.e., if planning to conduct qualitative research for their thesis, they will have already completed the Qualitative Methods requirement). 

Students  will have started doing research in the summer before their fourth year. In order to prepare them to do so, the Director of Undergraduate Studies will hold a meeting in the Spring Quarter for all sociology third-years interested in pursuing a BA project.

Track 2: Internship/Apprenticeship

Students may complete a BA project in the form of an internship in an organization or an apprenticeship with professionals in various fields. They may work in non-profits or government agencies or apprentice with policymakers, journalists, lawyers, doctors, artists, investors, or others. The goal of this track is to engage students in thinking about these endeavors sociologically. To this end, they will be required to produce a review of the “literature” on their chosen field or organization, a series of sociologically minded reflection papers, and a final report considering their activities from a sociological perspective.

• Students pursuing this track must take SOCI 29998 Sociology BA Thesis Seminar . They will be grouped into a particular section.
• They must obtain two advisors: a faculty advisor from within the Department of Sociology and someone to advise their internship or apprenticeship from within their chosen organization or field.
• Their internship/apprenticeship will last for a period of six months, typically beginning in mid-October and ending in late April.
• Students may enroll for the BA Seminar without having secured an internship/apprenticeship, but they should have a good idea of the organization or field they want to work in. The first month of the seminar will be devoted to securing an internship/apprenticeship.
• For more information, see the BA seminar/internship curriculum and sample syllabus on the Department of Sociology’s website .
• We encourage students interested in pursuing this track to consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Marco Garrido [email protected] , by the Spring Quarter of their third year.

Want to get an idea of previous BA projects? Visit BA Thesis Symposium .

Students will receive a grade on their transcript for SOCI 29998 Sociology BA Thesis Seminar . This grade will reflect the faculty advisor’s evaluation of the student’s thesis.

To attain honors in the major, students will need to meet all four conditions: (1) a GPA of 3.25 in the College, (2) a GPA of 3.5 in the major, (3) completing a BA project, and (4) their advisor’s determination that the project merits honors.

Research Funding

The Department of Sociology is able to make available seven to ten small grants of around $1,000 each to students conducting research associated with their BA project during the summer months. Students will complete a brief application in the Spring Quarter of their third year. Their preceptors will recommend a set of applications to the Director of Undergraduate Studies. The Director of Undergraduate Studies will review the applications and determine which merit funding. Students may also apply to the  Dean’s Fund  for research funding. For research grants and opportunities, see the Department of Sociology web page .

IRB Approval

If you aim to eventually publish results from your BA thesis in a peer-reviewed academic journal, you will need to obtain approval from the Social and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board (IRB) before commencing data collection. The IRB oversees research ethics. You can learn how to navigate the IRB at How to IRB .

Study Abroad 

We support sociology students wishing to study abroad during their time at the University of Chicago. However, if you plan to study abroad in your fourth year,  we ask that you participate in the BA Thesis Seminar remotely . This means keeping up with the readings via Canvas, completing assignments on time, participating in the discussion boards, and attending office hours with your assigned preceptor as needed. 

Policy for Students Pursuing a BA/MA Thesis

Undergraduate sociology majors enrolled in the four-year BA/MA program typically write an MA thesis in their fourth year. They cannot also write a BA thesis. The reasoning is as follows: To preserve the integrity of the BA and MA programs, the BA and MA theses must be distinct intellectual products. It is very difficult, and, in any case, ill-advised, to pursue two separate research projects in the same year. Thus we ask students to choose: pursue the BA thesis for honors in the major or the MA thesis for an MA degree.

Students enrolled in a five-year BA/MA program (such as MACSS and CMES) may, if they so choose, write a BA thesis in their fourth year and then an MA thesis in their fifth. But again, the two theses should represent distinct research projects. While the two projects may be related, the MA thesis should not be a duplication of BA work.

Students must complete all BA/MA requirements, including the MA thesis, by June in order to graduate by August.

For substantive questions, contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Marco Garrido ( [email protected] ). You can also save your questions for the quarterly town halls (pizza with the DUS!). For administrative matters, email Pat Princell ( [email protected] ).

Sociology Courses

SOCI 20001. Sociological Methods. 100 Units.

This course introduces the approach and practice of social research. This course explores questions of causality in social research and the limits of knowledge. It then covers the basic practices that are a component of all methods of social research through an in-depth examination of interviews, ethnography, surveys, archival, online and computational research. Students spend the quarter working on a series of assignments that culminate in a research proposal for the BA thesis.

Terms Offered: Winter. Not Being offered in 2024-25 Note(s): Required of students who are majoring in Sociology

SOCI 20002. Society, Power and Change. 100 Units.

The central objective of this course is to introduce students to some key themes of sociological thought and research relating to social structures, power relations and social transformation. Themes include but are not restricted to the relationship of the individual to society, the social construction of societal institutions and identities, social cleavages such as race, gender and class, and social movements and revolution.

Instructor(s): J. Go     Terms Offered: Autumn Note(s): Required of students who are majoring in Sociology

SOCI 20004. Statistical Methods of Research. 100 Units.

This course has two purposes. First, using nationally representative US surveys, we'll examine the early emergence of educational inequality and its evolution during adolescence and adulthood. We'll ask about the importance of social origins (parent social status, race/ethnicity, gender, and language) in predicting labor market outcomes. We'll study the role that education and plays in shaping economic opportunity, beginning in early childhood. We'll ask at what points interventions might effectively advance learning and reduce inequality. Second, we'll gain mastery over some important statistical methods required for answering these and related questions. Indeed, this course provides an introduction to quantitative methods and a foundation for other methods courses in the social sciences. We consider standard topics: graphical and tabular displays of univariate and bivariate distributions, an introduction to statistical inference, and commonly arising applications such as the t‐test, the two‐way contingency table, analysis of variance, and regression. However, all statistical ideas and methods are embedded in case studies including a national survey of adult labor force outcomes, a national survey of elementary school children, and a national survey that follows adolescents through secondary school into early adulthood. Thus, the course will consider all statistical choices and inferences in the context of the broader logic of inquiry with the aim of strengthening our understanding of that logic as well as of the statistical methods.

Instructor(s): S. Raudenbush     Terms Offered: Autumn Prerequisite(s): Priority registration for Ugrad Sociology majors and Sociology PhD students. No prior instruction in statistical analysis is required. Others by consent of instructor. Note(s): Students are expected to attend two lectures and one lab per week. Required of students who are majoring in Sociology. Substitutes for this course are STAT 20000 Elementary Statistics or higher. Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 30004

SOCI 20005. Sociological Theory. 100 Units.

This course provides a general introduction to theory and theoretical thinking in sociology. The readings include both classical and contemporary theoretical works and arguments. Since the course emphasizes theoretical thinking, it also involves papers applying theoretical ideas from the readings to social situations familiar to any student.

Instructor(s): A. Abbott     Terms Offered: Autumn Note(s): Required of students who are majoring in Sociology.

SOCI 20103. Social Stratification. 100 Units.

Social stratification is the unequal distribution of the goods that members of a society value - earnings, income, authority, political power, status, prestige etc. This course introduces various sociological perspectives about stratification. We look at major patterns of inequality throughout human history, how they vary across countries, how they are formed and maintained, how they come to be seen as legitimate and desirable, and how they affect the lives of individuals within a society. The readings incorporate classical theoretical statements, contemporary debates, and recent empirical evidence. The information and ideas discussed in this course are critical for students who will go on in sociology and extremely useful for students who want to be informed about current social, economic, and political issues.

Instructor(s): R. Stolzenberg      Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): KNOW 30103, SOCI 30103

SOCI 20112. Applications of Hierarchical Linear Models. 100 Units.

A number of diverse methodological problems such as correlates of change, analysis of multi-level data, and certain aspects of meta-analysis share a common feature-a hierarchical structure. The hierarchical linear model offers a promising approach to analyzing data in these situations. This course will survey the methodological literature in this area, and demonstrate how the hierarchical linear model can be applied to a range of problems.

Instructor(s): S. Raudenbush     Terms Offered: Spring Prerequisite(s): Applied statistics at a level of multiple regression Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 30112, EDSO 30112, PPHA 44650

SOCI 20116. Global-Local Politics. 100 Units.

Globalizing and local forces are generating a new politics in the United States and around the world. This course explores this new politics by mapping its emerging elements: the rise of social issues, ethno-religious and regional attachments, environmentalism, gender and life-style identity issues, new social movements, transformed political parties and organized groups, and new efforts to mobilize individual citizens.

Instructor(s): T. Clark     Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): LLSO 20116, HMRT 20116, GEOG 30116, PBPL 27900, HMRT 30116, GEOG 20116, SOCI 30116

SOCI 20120. Urban Policy Analysis. 100 Units.

Cities are sites of challenge and innovation worldwide. Dramatic new policies can be implemented locally and chart new paths for national policies. Five main approaches are compared: Leadership patterns: are business, political, or other kinds of leaders more important--and where, when, and why do these matter? Second do capitalism, or more recently, global markets, make specific leaders irrelevant? Third: leaders like mayors are weaker since citizens, interest groups, and media have grown so powerful. Fourth innovation drives many policy issues. Fifth consumption, entertainment, and the arts engage citizens in new ways. Can all five hold, in some locations? Why should they differentially operate across big and small, rich and poor neighborhoods, cities, and countries? The course introduces you to core urban issues, whether your goal is to conduct research, interpret reports by others, make policy decisions, or watch the tube and discuss these issues as a more informed citizen. Chicago, US and big and small locations internationally are considered; all methods are welcome.

Instructor(s): T. Clark     Terms Offered: Autumn Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 30120, GEOG 20120, PBPL 24800, GEOG 30120

SOCI 20125. Rational Foundations of Social Theory. 100 Units.

This course introduces conceptual and analytical tools for the micro foundations of macro and intermediate-level social theories, taking as a basis the assumption of rational action. Those tools are then used to construct theories of power, social exchange, collective behavior, socialization, trust, norm, social decision making and justice, business organization, and family organization.

Instructor(s): K. Yamaguchi     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 30125

SOCI 20140. Qualitative Field Methods. 100 Units.

This course introduces techniques of, and approaches to, ethnographic field research. We emphasize quality of attention and awareness of perspective as foundational aspects of the craft. Students conduct research at a site, compose and share field notes, and produce a final paper distilling sociological insight from the fieldwork.

Instructor(s): O. McRoberts     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): RDIN 20140, CHDV 20140

SOCI 20175. The Sociology of Deviant Behavior. 100 Units.

This course examines how distinctions between "normal" and "deviant" are created, and how these labels shift historically, culturally, and politically. We analyze the construction of social problems and moral panics (e.g., smoking, "satanic" daycares, obesity) to explore how various moral entrepreneurs shape what some sociologists call a "culture of fear." Additionally, we investigate the impact on individuals of being labeled "deviant" either voluntarily or involuntarily, as a way of illustrating how both social control and social change operate in society.

Instructor(s): K. Schilt     Terms Offered: Autumn. Not Being offered in 2024/25 Equivalent Course(s): CHDV 20175

SOCI 20192. The Effects of Schooling. 100 Units.

From at least the Renaissance until some time around the middle of the twentieth century, social class was the pre-eminent, generalized determinant of life chances in European and, eventually, American societies. Social class had great effect on one's social standing; economic well-being; political power; access to knowledge; and even longevity, health, and height. In that time, there was hardly an aspect of life that was not profoundly influenced by social class. In the ensuing period, the effects of social class have receded greatly, and perhaps have even vanished. In their place formal schooling has become the great generalized influence over who gets access to the desiderata of social life, including food, shelter, political power, and medical care. So it is that schooling is sociologically interesting for reasons that go well beyond education. The purpose of this course is to review what is known about the long-term effects of schooling.

Instructor(s): R. Stolzenberg     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): EDSO 20192, EDSO 30192, SOCI 30192

SOCI 20233. Race in Contemporary American Society. 100 Units.

This survey course in the sociology of race offers a socio-historical investigation of race in American society. We will examine issues of race, ethnic and immigrant settlement in the United States. Also, we shall explore the classic and contemporary literature on race and inter-group dynamics. Our investigative tools will include an analysis of primary and secondary sources, multimedia materials, photographic images, and journaling. While our survey will be broad, we will treat Chicago and its environs as a case study to comprehend the racial, ethnic, and political challenges in the growth and development of a city.

Instructor(s): S. Hicks-Bartlett     Terms Offered: Autumn Spring. Autumn quarter offered at the Undergraduate level only and Spring offered at the Graduate level only Equivalent Course(s): RDIN 20233, MAPS 30233, SOCI 30233

SOCI 20252. Urban Innovation: Cultural Place Making and Scenescapes. 100 Units.

Activists from Balzac, Jane Jacobs, and others today seek to change the world using the arts. Ignored by most social science theories, these new cultural initiatives and policies are increasing globally. Urban planning and architecture policies, walking and parades, posters and demonstrations, new coffee shops and storefront churches reinforce selective development of specific cities and neighborhoods. These transform our everyday social environments into new types of scenes. They factor into crucial decisions, about where to work, to open a business, to found a political activist group, to live, what political causes to support, and more. The course reviews new case studies and comparative analyses from China to Chicago to Poland that detail these processes. Students are encouraged to explore one type of project.

Instructor(s): T. Clark     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): ENST 20252, ARCH 20252, SOCI 30252

SOCI 20253. Introduction to Spatial Data Science. 100 Units.

Spatial data science consists of a collection of concepts and methods drawn from both statistics and computer science that deal with accessing, manipulating, visualizing, exploring and reasoning about geographical data. The course introduces the types of spatial data relevant in social science inquiry and reviews a range of methods to explore these data. Topics covered include formal spatial data structures, geovisualization and visual analytics, rate smoothing, spatial autocorrelation, cluster detection and spatial data mining. An important aspect of the course is to learn and apply open source GeoDa software.

Instructor(s): Y. Lin     Terms Offered: Autumn Prerequisite(s): STAT 22000 (or equivalent), familiarity with GIS is helpful, but not necessary Equivalent Course(s): MACS 54000, ENST 20253, GISC 30500, GISC 20500, CEGU 20253, SOCI 30253

SOCI 20258. Maverick Markets: Cultural Economy and Cultural Finance. 100 Units.

What are the cultural dimensions of economic and financial institutions and financial action? What social variables influence and shape 'real' markets and market activities? 'If you are so smart, why aren't you rich?' is a question economists have been asked in the past. Why isn't it easy to make money in financial areas even if one knows what economists know about markets, finance and the economy? And why, on the hand, is it so easy to get rich for some participants? Perhaps the answer is the real markets are complex social and cultural institutions which are quite different form organizations, administrations and the production side of the economy. The course provides an overview over social and cultural variables and patterns that play a role in economic behavior and specifically in financial markets. The readings examine the historical and structural embeddedness of economic action and institutions, the different constructions and interpretations of money, prices, and other dimensions of a market economy, and how a financial economy affects organizations, the art and other areas.

Instructor(s): K. Knorr     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 25440, SOCI 30258, ANTH 35405

SOCI 20261. Demographic Technique. 100 Units.

Introduction to methods of demographic analysis. Topics include demographic rates, standardization, decomposition of differences, life tables, survival analysis, cohort analysis, birth interval analysis, models of population growth, stable populations, population projection, and demographic data sources.

Instructor(s): L. Luciana and J. Trinitapoli     Terms Offered: Winter Prerequisite(s): One Introductory statistics course. No Auditing Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 40212

SOCI 20263. Human Migration. 100 Units.

At any moment, spatial location is a fixed, essential characteristic of people and the places they inhabit. Over time, individuals and groups of people change places. In the long run, the places themselves move in physical, social, economic and political space. These movements can be characterized by their origins and destinations, as intentional or accidental, forced or voluntary, individual or collective, within political borders (e.g. the farm-to-city migration of the 1940's in the U.S), migration across political boundaries (e.g. "displacement" of pariah ethnicities after World War II), and by other criteria. All of these phenomena are aspects of migration This course reviews contemporary demographic research and theory concerning the nature of migration, and its extent, causes and consequences for individuals and collectivities. The demographic perspective absorbs a wide range of disciplinary perspectives, including those of psychology (e.g. individual decision-making), sociology (collective behavior, stratification, race and ethnicity), economics (rational behavior, macroeconomic conditions), and more.

Instructor(s): R. Stolzenberg     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 30263

SOCI 20264. Wealth. 100 Units.

Wealth is the value of a person's accumulated possessions and financial assets. Wealth is more difficult for social researchers to measure than earnings and income, and wealthy people are notoriously uncooperative with efforts to study them and their assets. Further, wealth data conveys less information than income data about the lives of the middle- and lower-classes -- who tend to have little or no wealth at all. However, information about wealth gives fundamentally important insight into the values, attitudes, behavior, consumption patterns, social standing, political power, health, happiness and yet more characteristics of individuals and population subgroups. This course considers the causes and consequences of wealth accumulation for individuals, the social groups to which they belong, and the societies in which they dwell.

Instructor(s): R. Stolzenberg     Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 30264

SOCI 20282. Immigrant America. 100 Units.

Nearly 60 million immigrants have arrived in the U.S. in the past 50 years, mostly from Latin America and Asia, but also from Africa and the Middle-East. Today, a near-record 14% of the country's population is foreign born compared with just 5% in 1965. These profound demographic changes raise critical questions: Why do immigrants come to the U.S.? What impact do they have on U.S. society? Are today's immigrants fundamentally different from previous waves of immigrants? Are these immigrants assimilating to the U.S. or retaining their culture? Why do some immigrant groups appear to fare better than others? This course will expose students to the latest social science research on contemporary immigration to the United States. We will explore its origins, adaptation patterns, and long-term effects on American society.

Instructor(s): R. Flores     Terms Offered: Autumn Equivalent Course(s): CRES 20282

SOCI 20283. Introduction to GIS and Spatial Analysis. 100 Units.

This course provides an introduction and overview of how spatial thinking is translated into specific methods to handle geographic information and the statistical analysis of such information. This is not a course to learn a specific GIS software program, but the goal is to learn how to think about spatial aspects of research questions, as they pertain to how the data are collected, organized and transformed, and how these spatial aspects affect statistical methods. The focus is on research questions relevant in the social sciences, which inspires the selection of the particular methods that are covered. Examples include spatial data integration (spatial join), transformations between different spatial scales (overlay), the computation of "spatial" variables (distance, buffer, shortest path), geovisualization, visual analytics, and the assessment of spatial autocorrelation (the lack of independence among spatial variables). The methods will be illustrated by means of open source software such as QGIS and R.

Instructor(s): Crystal Bae     Terms Offered: Spring Summer. Offered 2024–25 Equivalent Course(s): ARCH 28702, CEGU 28702, GISC 28702, GISC 38702, ENST 28702, SOCI 30283, PPHA 38712

SOCI 20295. Morrissey's America: Contemporary Social Problems. 100 Units.

What are the most pressing social problems in the U.S.? What do we know about them and what can we do to address them? We will use the life and music of Morrissey, the controversial former frontman of The Smiths, as a lens through which to explore our country's most critical social issues. An outspoken defender of animal rights and disaffected youth's preeminent lyricist, Morrissey has also increasingly flirted with nationalist policies. As such, he embodies the tensions, complexities, and ambiguities around critical topics that characterize our time. Guided by sociological theory, we will examine the latest social science evidence on race, immigration, gender and sexuality, health, poverty, segregation, crime, and education as they are key sites in which social inequality is produced and reproduced today. Finally, we will discuss potential solutions to these problems.

Instructor(s): R. Flores     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 22295

SOCI 20297. Education and Social Inequality. 100 Units.

How and why do educational outcomes and experiences vary across student populations? What role do schools play in a society's system of stratification? How do schools both contribute to social mobility and to the reproduction of the prevailing social order? This course examines these questions through the lens of social and cultural theory, engaging current academic debates on the causes and consequences of social inequality in educational outcomes. We will engage these debates by studying foundational and emerging theories and examining empirical research on how social inequalities are reproduced or ameliorated through schools. Through close readings of historical, anthropological and sociological case studies of schooling in the U.S, students will develop an understanding of the structural forces and cultural processes that produce inequality in neighborhoods and schools, how they contribute to unequal opportunities, experiences, and achievement outcomes for students along lines of race/ethnicity, class, gender, and immigration status, and how students themselves navigate and interpret this unequal terrain. We will cover such topics as neighborhood and school segregation; peer culture; social networks; elite schooling; the interaction between home, society and educational institutions; and dynamics of assimilation for students from immigrant communities.

Instructor(s): Lisa Rosen     Terms Offered: Autumn. Offered autumn 2024 Equivalent Course(s): EDSO 23005, CHDV 23005, CHST 23005, CRES 23005

SOCI 20506. Cities, Space, Power: Introduction to urban social science. 100 Units.

This lecture course provides a broad, multidisciplinary introduction to the study of urbanization in the social sciences. The course surveys a broad range of research traditions from across the social sciences, as well as the work of urban planners, architects, and environmental scientists. Topics include: theoretical conceptualizations of the city and urbanization; methods of urban studies; the politics of urban knowledges; the historical geographies of capitalist urbanization; political strategies to shape and reshape the built and unbuilt environment; cities and planetary ecological transformation; post-1970s patterns and pathways of urban restructuring; and struggles for the right to the city.

Instructor(s): N. Brenner     Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): CCCT 30506, SOCI 30506, CHST 20506, PLSC 20506, PLSC 30506, ENST 20506, HIPS 20506, CEGU 20506, CHSS 30506, ARCH 20506, KNOW 30506

SOCI 20508. Working with Found Data: Library/Internet Research. 100 Units.

This course is an introduction to the methods involved in "research with found data:" that is, found material like manuscripts, books, journals, newspapers, ephemera, and government and institutional documents. (Such materials can be found both in print and on the Internet.) The course covers the essentials of project design, bibliography, location, access, critical reading, source evaluation, knowledge categorization and assembly, and records maintenance. The course is a methodological practicum organized around student projects. The texts are Thomas Mann's Oxford Guide to Library Research and Andrew Abbott's Digital Paper.

Instructor(s): A. Abbott     Terms Offered: Winter. Restricted to MAPSS Student Only. Note(s): Only offered at the graduate level and restricted to MAPSS Students Only Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 30508

SOCI 20519. Spatial Cluster Analysis. 100 Units.

This course provides an overview of methods to identify interesting patterns in geographic data, so-called spatial clusters. Cluster concepts come in many different forms and can generally be differentiated between the search for interesting locations and the grouping of similar locations. The first category consists of the identification of extreme concentrations of locations (events), such as hot spots of crime events, and the location of geographical concentrations of observations with similar values for one or more variables, such as areas with elevated disease incidence. The second group consists of the combination of spatial observations into larger (aggregate) areas such that internal similarity is maximized (regionalization). The methods covered come from the fields of spatial statistics as well as machine learning (unsupervised learning) and operations research. Topics include point pattern analysis, spatial scan statistics, local spatial autocorrelation, dimension reduction, as well as spatially explicit hierarchical, agglomerative and density-based clustering. Applications range from criminology and public health to politics and marketing. An important aspect of the course is the analysis of actual data sets by means of open source software, such as GeoDa, R or Python.

Instructor(s): L. Anselin and P. Amaral     Terms Offered: Winter Prerequisite(s): STAT 22000 or equivalent; SOCI 20253/30253 (or equivalent) Introduction to Spatial Data Science required. Equivalent Course(s): DATA 20519, SOCI 30519, GISC 30519, ENST 20519, GISC 20519, MACS 30519, MACS 20519

SOCI 20530. Schooling and Identity. 100 Units.

This course examines the dynamic relations between schooling and identity. We will explore how schools both enable and constrain the identities available to students and the consequences of this for academic achievement. We will examine these relations from multiple disciplinary perspectives, applying psychological, anthropological, sociological, and critical theories to understanding how students not only construct identities for themselves within schools, but also negotiate the identities imposed on them by others. Topics will include the role of peer culture, adult expectations, school practices and enduring social structures in shaping processes of identity formation in students and how these processes influence school engagement and achievement. We will consider how these processes unfold at all levels of schooling, from preschool through college, and for students who navigate a range of social identities, from marginalized to privileged.

Instructor(s): Lisa Rosen     Terms Offered: Winter. Offered winter 2025 Prerequisite(s): Priority registration will be given to MAPSS students seeking the Education and Society certificate. Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 30530, EDSO 33002, RDIN 23002, EDSO 23002, RDIN 33002, CHDV 23003

SOCI 20547. Involved Interviewing: Strategies for Interviewing Hard to Penetrate Communities and Populations. 100 Units.

Imagine that you must interview someone who hails from a background unlike your own; perhaps you need to interview an incarcerated youth, or gather a life history from an ill person. Maybe your task is to conduct fieldwork inside a community that challenges your comfort level. How do we get others to talk to us? How do we get out of our own way and limited training to become fully and comfortably engaged in people and the communities in which they reside? This in-depth investigation into interviewing begins with an assumption that the researcher as interviewer is an integral part of the research process. We turn a critical eye on the interviewer's role in getting others to talk and learn strategies that encourage fertile interviews regardless of the situational context. Weekly reading assignments facilitate students' exploration of what the interview literature can teach us about involved interviewing. Additionally, we critically assess our role as interviewer and what that requires from us. Students participate in evaluating interview scenarios that are designed to explore our assumptions, sharpen our interviewing skills and troubleshoot sticky situations. We investigate a diversity of settings and populations as training ground for leading effective interviews. The final project includes: 1) a plan that demonstrates knowledge of how to design an effective interviewing strategy for unique field settings; 2) instructor's feedback on students' personal journals on the role of.

Instructor(s): S. Hicks-Bartlett     Terms Offered: Autumn Winter. Autumn-restricted to 4th and 3rd year Sociology Majors ONLY. Winter restricted to graduate students ONLY. Prerequisite(s): Ugrad Level restricted to 4th and 3rd year Sociology Majors ONLY Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 40164, MAPS 40164

SOCI 20548. Coding & Analyzing Qualitative Data using MAXQDA. 100 Units.

This focus of this course is on coding and analyzing qualitative data (e.g., interview transcripts, oral histories, focus groups, letters, and diaries, etc). In this hands-on-course students learn how to organize and manage text-based data in preparation for analysis and final report writing of small scale research projects. Students use their own laptop computers to access one of two free, open-source software programs available for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. While students with extant interview data can use it for this course, those without existing data will be provided text to code and analyze. This course does not cover commercial CAQDAS, such as AtlasTi, NVivo, The Ethnograph or Hypertext.

Instructor(s): S. Hicks-Bartlett     Terms Offered: Spring Winter. Winter restricted to 4th and 3rd year Sociology Majors only and MAPS students only. Spring restricted to graduate students only. Prerequisite(s): Ugrad Level restricted to 4th and 3rd year Sociology Majors ONLY Equivalent Course(s): MAPS 40177, SOCI 40177

SOCI 20555. The Sociology of Work. 100 Units.

From the Great Depression to the Great Resignation, paid work has played a central role in American life. The average American spends 1/3 of their life at work - making it an area of the social world heavily examined by politicians, journalists, and social scientists. In this course, we will look at the structural and interpersonal dynamics of work to consider the questions of what makes a "good job" in America and who gets to decide? Our topics will include low-wage work, the stigma of "dirty jobs," gender and racial inequality at work, physical and emotional labor on the job, side hustles and the gig economy, and life after retirement. Students will be required to write a 15 page research paper that draws on interview data they will collect over the quarter. No prior background in doing interviews is required!

Instructor(s): K. Schilt     Terms Offered: Winter. Not Being offered in 2024/25 Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 20555, PBPL 20555, CHDV 24711

SOCI 20559. Spatial Regression Analysis. 100 Units.

This course covers statistical and econometric methods specifically geared to the problems of spatial dependence and spatial heterogeneity in cross-sectional data. The main objective for the course is to gain insight into the scope of spatial regression methods, to be able to apply them in an empirical setting, and to properly interpret the results of spatial regression analysis. While the focus is on spatial aspects, the types of methods covered have general validity in statistical practice. The course covers the specification of spatial regression models in order to incorporate spatial dependence and spatial heterogeneity, as well as different estimation methods and specification tests to detect the presence of spatial autocorrelation and spatial heterogeneity. Special attention is paid to the application to spatial models of generic statistical paradigms, such as Maximum Likelihood and Generalized Methods of Moments. An import aspect of the course is the application of open source software tools such as various R packages, GeoDa and the Python Package PySal to solve empirical problems.

Instructor(s): L. Anselin     Terms Offered: Autumn Prerequisite(s): An intermediate course in multivariate regression or econometrics. Familiarity with matrix algebra Equivalent Course(s): DATA 20559, GISC 20559, GISC 30559, SOCI 30559

SOCI 20574. How to Think Sociologically. 100 Units.

This course tackles the "big problem" of low sociological literacy. When faced with the problems of the world, people usually resort to economic, biological, or ideological explanations. They cite self-interest, genetically encoded drives, or some pre-given understanding of how the world works. The price of such simple frameworks is an impoverished view of the world, a lack of understanding and empathy, and a predisposition to orthodoxy or ideology. In this sense, low sociological literacy is a big problem in the world today. This course was developed in the belief that the capacity to think sociologically-that is, to understand people as socially embedded, or shaped by the situations in which they find themselves-can enrich our understanding of the world immeasurably. It can give us analytical purchase on a number of social problems, including poverty; social inequality; racial, class, and gender discrimination; urban segregation; populism and political polarization; and organizational wrongdoing (we'll discuss each of these topics in class). A sociological perspective can also transform how we engage with the world, promoting an ethics of understanding and empathy--as opposed to the ethics apparently prevalent today: judging people and insisting they change.

Instructor(s): M. Garrido     Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 30574, HIPS 20574, CHSS 30574

SOCI 20575. Logic of Social Inquiry. 100 Units.

This course is intended to cultivate deeper thinking about research practice. We will talk about different methods of sociological research, quantitative and qualitative, including surveys, interviews, systematic observation, and archival research. In particular, we will discuss the logic underlying each method, exploring questions such as What kind of data can we get at using this method? How do we know our findings are valid? To what extent are they generalizable? On what basis can we make causal inferences? Is my research ethical? and How does my positionality matter? In addition to research logic, our other focus will be on research design. Here we want to get students to think about the many choices they have to make in pursuing a research project; choices about what aspect of reality to focus on and how to construct a research question in order to get at it, which methods to employ, and which case(s) to investigate. We see this course as a necessary bridge between theory and research, believing that good sociology lies precisely in the ability to bridge this gap. Suffice it to say, it will better prepare students to write an academic paper for their capstone projects. We recommend that sociology majors take the course in their third year.

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Winter Note(s): Priority registration for Sociology 3rd year majors Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 30575

SOCI 20576. Social Theory for the Digital Age. 100 Units.

Society rearranges itself, though we don't always know where it is heading. When the postmodern moment had arrived in the 1980s it perplexed social theorists, hence its characterization as simply a "post"-stage of modernity. Digitization is one answer to the question of direction of change in the last decades. In this class, we take the ongoing transformations that we attribute to digital media as a starting point to ask what challenges they provide to social theory that may force us to reconsider some of our most basic concepts and premises. We will understand the term digital age broadly to refer to the rise of algorithms, sensors, (big) data, machine learning, and computational methods, all developments that swirl in and around the Artificial Intelligence scene and intersect with and replace purely human relations. The class gives particular attention to concepts such as action and interaction, embodiment, social situations, subjectivity and autonomy, as wells as society as communication.

Instructor(s): K. Knorr     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): HIPS 20576, CHSS 30576, SOCI 30576

SOCI 20588. Beyond the Culture Wars: Social Movements and the Politics of Education in the U.S. 100 Units.

Passionate conflicts over school curriculum and educational policy are a recurring phenomenon in the history of US schooling. Why are schools such frequent sites of struggle and what is at stake in these conflicts? In this discussion-based seminar, we will consider schools as battlegrounds in the US "culture wars": contests over competing visions of national identity, morality, social order, the fundamental purposes of public education, and the role of the state vis-à-vis the family. Drawing on case studies from history, anthropology, sociology and critical race and gender studies, we will examine both past and contemporary debates over school curriculum and school policy. Topics may include clashes over: the teaching of evolution, sex and sexuality education, busing/desegregation, prayer in schools, multiculturalism, the content of the literary canon, the teaching of reading, mathematics and history, and the closure of underperforming urban schools. Our inquiry will examine how social and political movements have used schools to advance or resist particular agendas and social projects.

Instructor(s): Lisa Rosen     Terms Offered: Spring. Offered spring 2025 Equivalent Course(s): EDSO 23011, PBPL 23011, SOCI 30588, HIST 27718, CHDV 33011, HIST 37718, CHDV 23011, EDSO 33011

SOCI 20594. Sociology of religion in everyday life. 100 Units.

Religion is a non-material social fact that has been one of humankind's most important collective meaning systems. Although this social fact changes, it survives as a meaning system in different societies with different forms, representations, and functions. The survival of religion, even in the face of change, is due to its collective meaning functions, like forming and maintaining a collective conscience and social solidarity (in the Durkheimian approach). In this course, the primary purpose is to investigate religion as a social current and collective fact in the context of the everyday life of ordinary people (even in student's life experiences) and try to achieve these goals: to investigate the religious meanings in everyday life, to get an analytical view of religious phenomena as social facts, to get a sociological viewpoint about regular religious events, to differentiate analytically between positivistic and post-positivistic approaches, to provide concrete examples of religious contexts like Iran for a better understanding of students.

Instructor(s): Z. Khoshk Jan     Terms Offered: Autumn Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 30594

SOCI 20595. Topics in Spatial Regression Analysis. 100 Units.

This course covers methodological issues that affect the specification and estimation of spatial regression models. The course is organized as a seminar, with a combination of brief lectures, discussion of recent article and lab exercises. Topics will vary. Examples are spatial specification search, spatial effects in models for discrete dependent variables, spatial effects in count models, semi-parametric spatial models, spatial panel data models, spatial treatment effect analysis, spatial interaction models, endogenous regimes, regularization in spatial models, spatial feature engineering, and endogenous spatial weights. An important aspect of the course is the application of open source software tools, specifically those contained in the Python package PySAL.

Instructor(s): L. Anselin     Terms Offered: Winter Prerequisite(s): An intermediate course in multivariate regression or econometrics. Familiarity with metrix algebra; SOCi 20559/30559 or equivalent is desired, but not required Equivalent Course(s): DATA 20595, SOCI 30595

SOCI 20596. Social Networks: How Networks Shape Integration and Inequality in Diverse Societies. 100 Units.

Social networks are all around us. Our social ties and interpersonal connections both reflect and influence our preferences, attitudes, decisions, and relationships. This course offers an introduction to theories of how our interpersonal networks form, what they typically look like, how they are changing, and what this means in diverse societies. When can we expect networks to build bridges and offer opportunities, or when can we instead expect them to exacerbate inequality and reinforce social divides? This course will offer theoretical frameworks for social network analyses alongside an introduction to the practical implementation of social networks analyses using R. At the completion of the course, students will apply the concepts covered in class to a final project. Prior coding experience is suggested but not required.

Instructor(s): L. Zhao     Terms Offered: Spring Prerequisite(s): Prior coding experience is suggested but not required Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 30596

SOCI 20599. The Logic and Methods of Historical Research. 100 Units.

This seminar introduces students to some of the major epistemological and methodological challenges confronting qualitative historical research in the social sciences. It is divided into two parts. The first half tackles key issues regarding the logic and reasoning of historical research, including causality, contingency, temporality, narrativity and the use of comparisons. The second half delves into the practical and minute complexities of historical research methods - particularly archival research and oral histories - and their epistemological roots. This seminar is NOT a substantive introduction to the vast body of work produced under the rubric of comparative historical sociology and historical social sciences, but rather familiarizes students with problems concerning the "logic of historical inquiry" as well as equips students to conduct actual historical research.

Instructor(s): Y. Zhang     Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 30599

SOCI 20601. Gender, Violence, and the Carceral State. 100 Units.

What is the relationship between gender-based violence and the carceral state? This course will explore the role of gendered violence in the formation, expansion, and legitimation of the carceral state. It will look at how state institutions, like policing, criminal courts, and prisons react to, utilize, and, in some cases, perpetrate gendered violence. This course is organized thematically, using theoretical texts, empirical sociological work, and on-the-ground communiques to illuminate the gendered facets of carceral institutions. Ultimately, we will consider how normative gender regimes may shape the carceral state, and vice versa.

Instructor(s): A. Fox     Terms Offered: Autumn Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 23177

SOCI 20602. Introduction to Computational Social Science. 100 Units.

The movement of much of our social lives online has created exciting new opportunities for social science research. This course provides a broad survey of computational methods used to make sense of this data. Students will learn how to collect online data, and analyze this data using contemporary techniques from natural language processing, supervised/unsupervised machine learning, and generative machine learning. Students will also cultivate analytical skills through formal paper presentations, oral exams, and an original research project. The course will be taught in Python. This is an intuitive introduction without prerequisites, although previous experience with probability, statistics, and/or programming will be helpful.

Instructor(s): B. Koch     Terms Offered: Autumn Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 40267

SOCI 20603. The Sociology of Racism. 100 Units.

This course seeks to give students a rigorous introduction to the sociological subfield of the study of race over the last roughly 100 years - with a specific focus on how scholars have theorized racism(s). Moving chronologically, we will begin in the early to mid 20th century with ideas of race relations and race as a social construction, move to ethnic assimilation and racial formation, racial attitudes, and then to racialized social systems and colorblind racism. Alongside this trajectory, we will read critical scholarship that troubles the more mainstream scholarly understandings of racism in each period. We will end by exploring contemporary ways scholars are pushing the subfield forward.

Instructor(s): Cuddy, Maximilian     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): RDIN 33510, MAPS 33510, RDIN 23510, SOCI 30603

SOCI 20604. Political Religion and Sociology. 100 Units.

In the era of post-secularism (with the reappearance of religion in the public arena), the contemporary world has witnessed the formation and growth of political religion approaches. Political religion has two aspects: a religion that is politicized (with non-political roots) and another with a political identity. Both elements of political religion, both in monotheistic and non-monotheistic religions, have significantly impacted the formation of movements, organizations, and fundamentalist approaches that have faced the modern world with serious challenges (especially in terms of national identity and security). The main problem of the current era of political religion is its characteristics, the roots of its formation and its different representations from a sociological perspective, and how to observe and analyze the representations of political religion even in our daily and ordinary lives.

Instructor(s): Khoshk Jan, Z.     Terms Offered: Winter Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 30604

SOCI 20605. The sociology of revolution in the contemporary world. 100 Units.

The modern world is a complex world of technology, media, the internet, the economy, international relations, etc.. As time goes by, these complexities increase even in human relations. One of the complex and critical issues is the issue of revolution as the most radical form of the relationship between a government and the social-political forces of society. The contemporary world is full of surprises, and one of the most radical surprises is the occurrence of the revolution in an unexpected context. But there is no surprise because, Like the human body, society has warning mechanisms that ignoring by a government can cause it to be overthrown. In this course, we will investigate these alarms and conditions that can lead to revolution or any other challenging social practice by actioners and determine the answers to these critical questions: What are the differences between revolution, movement, coup, and rebellion? How can their occurrence be predicted and analyzed in a society? What is the Colour and Velvet Revolution? What is the approach of social psychology to the revolution?

Instructor(s): Khoshk Jan, Z.     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 30605

SOCI 20606. New Topics in Asian American Studies. 100 Units.

This course offers an introduction to new critical works of Asian American studies covering critical themes in an interdisciplinary fields including research from anthropology, cultural studies, gender and women studies, history, political science, psychology and sociology. This course will focus on new works published in recent years that showcase recent theoretical innovations and literary styles that will sharpen our analysis of both Asian and Asian American experiences in the United States and globally. We will cover topics as they relate to migration, war and empire, violence, race/class/gender/sexuality, and immigration integration in educational institutions and the labor market.

Instructor(s): K. Hoang     Terms Offered: Spring Equivalent Course(s): RDIN 20606

SOCI 20607. Sociology of the Arts. 100 Units.

How does the society shape the arts, and how do the arts in turn shape our society? In this course, we will examine the social role of the arts by looking at a wide range of artistic disciplines, including visual art, performance art, music, dance and literature. We will discuss important themes such as how the artistic field is defined by social structures, how the arts may reinforce or challenge social norms, as well as the social dimensions of artistic creation, production, consumption and appreciation.

Instructor(s): H. Xu     Terms Offered: Spring

SOCI 20608. The Social Life of Exchange. 100 Units.

Instructor(s): H. Xu     Terms Offered: Winter

SOCI 20609. Social Reproduction and Mobility in a Changing World. 100 Units.

In an era of rapid transformation, individuals navigate diverse pathways to enhance their socioeconomic status and opportunities. While some pursue higher education or migrate across borders seeking upward social mobility, entrenched social structures frequently perpetuate familial and socioeconomic statuses through various mechanisms. For example, the increasing international student mobility not only illustrates how individuals with resources seek to enhance their future prospects through education but also extends our understanding of social structures and processes on a global scale. Characteristics such as gender and race often serve as barriers, reinforcing existing inequalities.

Instructor(s): H. Jo     Terms Offered: Winter

SOCI 29997. Readings in Sociology. 100 Units.

Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. With consent of instructor, students may take this course for P/F grading if it is not being used to meet program requirements.

Terms Offered: Autumn Spring Summer Winter Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor and program chair.

SOCI 29998. Sociology BA Thesis Seminar. 100 Units.

For students who choose to pursue a BA project, this course is required. It is designed to help students develop the project and provide them with opportunities to discuss their research. While it only counts as one course, students will participate in the course throughout their fourth year in the College with meetings held 3-4 times a quarter beginning in the Autumn and lasting through Spring. Students will formally register for the course and receive their grade in the Spring quarter.

Instructor(s): M. Garrido     Terms Offered: Autumn Spring Winter Prerequisite(s): Open only to students who are majoring in sociology. Note(s): Must be taken for a quality grade.

Undergraduate Primary Contact

Director of Undergraduate Studies Marco Garrido SS 317 773.702.6515 Email

Administrative Contact

Departmental Contact Pat Princell SS 307 773.702.8677 Email

© 2024-2025 The University of Chicago

• University Homepage
• My.UChicago
• Parents and Families
• The College
• College Programming Office
• College Directory
• Campus Maps
• Accessibility

University Registrar 1427 East 60th Street Chicago, IL 60637 United States Ph: 773-702-7891 Fax: 773-702-3562

Print this page.

The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

PhD Placements

• Industry & Professional Placements

MAPSS places a large number of graduates in funded PhD programs each year. Over the last decade, we have sent an average of 82 students into fully funded doctoral programs each year. Eighty-five percent of our students applying to PhD programs have been successful in their applications, with success defined as at least one fully funded offer.

Because students are most successful in securing a PhD placement when they have completed the MA thesis and a year of graduate-level coursework at UChicago, our students typically apply to PhD programs the fall/winter after they graduate from MAPSS.

2022 PhD Placement:

During the 2022 admission cycle, 85% of MAPSS students/alumni (73 of 86) secured one or more fully funded doctoral offers. All received two or more funded offers; 10 were accepted to the University of Chicago. As of Fall 2022 there were over 100 MAPSS graduates pursuing a PhD at UChicago.

By discipline:

• Anthropology: 77% of applicants had funded offers (11 of 15). They include admits at UChicago (2), Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Cornell, Maine, UCLA, Michigan, Georgia, UC-Berkeley, Arizona, UC-Santa Barbara, Athens, Central Florida, Pittsburgh, UC-Irvine, CUNY, Oklahoma, and UC-Santa Cruz.
• Economics: 86% (6 of 7) applicants had funded offers. They include admits at UChicago (2), UC-San Diego, Toronto, the University of Hong Kong, Ohio State, Texas A&M, and SUNY-Stony Brook.
• History: 71% of applicants had funded offers (10 of 14). They include admits at Princeton, Wisconsin, Columbia, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Johns Hopkins, Rice, UC-Berkeley, Michigan, NYU, UC-San Diego, Carnegie Mellon, Tulane, Indiana, South Carolina, Cornell, UIC, Mississippi, and Loyola.
• Political Science: 88% of applicants had funded offers (14 of 16). They include admits at UChicago (3), Yale, Georgetown, McGill, Harvard, Toronto, Minnesota, Johns Hopkins, Wisconsin, UPenn, Ohio State, Tsinghua, UT-Austin, George Washington, UVA, Emory, Southern California, Rochester, Penn State, UC-Davis, Indiana, and Arizona State.
• Psychology: 86% (6 of 7) of applicants had funded offers. They include admits at UChicago, Minnesota, Washington-St. Louis, Northwestern, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, UC-Santa Cruz, the University of Maryland, UC-Irvine, Oregon, Penn State, and Connecticut.
• Sociology: 86% of applicants (19 of 22) had funded offers. They include admits at UChicago, Michigan, UCLA, NYU, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Toronto, UC-Berkeley, UIC, Brown, Emory, Yale, UC-San Diego, Northwestern, Cornell, Wisconsin, McGill, UT-Austin, Penn State, UC-Santa Barbara, Boston College, UNC-Chapel Hill, UC-Irvine, Notre Dame, Indiana, Minnesota, UC-Davis, Washington-Seattle, and Southern California.
• Other disciplines: 1 student was accepted to UChicago for the PhD in The Committee on Social Thought. 15 applicants were accepted for the PhD in Business (Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Ole Miss), Cinema and Media Studies (UCLA), Classics (Southern California), Finance (Northwestern, British Columbia), Global Studies (UC-Irvine), Near Eastern Studies (Cornell), Philosophy (Tulane), Public Policy (Princeton, Lee Kuan Yew), Religious Studies (Princeton, UC-Santa Barbara, Catholic University of America), Science and Technology Studies (Cornell), Social and Decision Sciences (Carnegie Mellon), and Theology (Notre Dame).

This Website Uses Cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.

• Career Development
• Recruiting Guidelines for Employers
• Recruiting Expectations for Graduate Students and Postdocs
• Career Events
• Career Exploration
• Job Documents
• Interviewing
• Negotiation
• Applying to PhD Programs
• Internships
• For International Students
• About the Career Team
• Campus Employers

PhD Application Support

UChicagoGRAD supports current master’s students and recent master’s alumni in applying for PhD and professional school programs. Our career advisors have successfully coached hundreds of students from all disciplines through the PhD application process. Drawing upon their own experience and years of advising expertise, UChicagoGRAD advisors understand what it takes to craft a strong application.

A successful PhD application includes, but is not limited to, the following documents:

• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Statement of Purpose
• Personal History Statement
• Academic Transcripts
• Writing Sample (for select fields)
• Letters of Recommendation

Want to learn more about the PhD application process? Review the GRAD Guide to PhD Program Applications . Want to review your application materials and discuss your strategy in a one-on-one advising appointment?  Make an advising appointment  via GRAD Gargoyle .

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.

2024-2025 Academic Catalog

Loyola university chicago, 2024-2025 catalog.

The Academic Catalog is the official listing of courses, programs of study, academic policies and degree requirements for Loyola University Chicago. It is published every year in advance of the next academic year.

School and Academic Centers and Institutes

Academic standards and regulations, professional license disclosures, accreditation, sociology (phd).

The PhD program in Sociology is designed to produce independent scholars able to conduct research, teach or serve in a variety of settings. We offer comprehensive training in the knowledge and skills which constitute professional competence in the field. The curriculum is designed to equip students with a broad foundation in general sociology and in more specialized knowledge related to students' career interests in teaching, research, governmental work, or public service.

PhD students work closely with faculty as they advance in the program. The program has particular strengths in the following sub-fields of sociology:

• Urban, Environment, and Community
• Health and Medicine
• Power, Politics, and Social Justice
• Global and Transnational 
• Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality
• Religion, Science, and Knowledge

The PhD in Sociology requires 60 credit hours, comprehensive examinations, and a dissertation. Students who enter the program with a master's degree in Sociology are required to complete 30 credit hours of coursework at Loyola. The student's thesis or research paper may also be certified at this time as meeting the department's master's thesis requirement for the PhD.

Course Requirements

After the initial integrative coursework in preparation for the qualifying exams and the doctoral review, students move on more advanced coursework. This involves specialized courses, individual study, and seminars in areas relevant for the student's scholarly and professional development.

All PhD students and students in thesis-based Master's degree programs must successfully complete UNIV 370 Responsible Conduct in Research and Scholarship or other approved coursework in responsible conduct of research as part of the degree requirements. It is strongly recommended that students complete this two-day training before beginning the dissertation/thesis stage of the program.

In planning the more specialized phase of their graduate program, doctoral students are encouraged to take full advantage of the resources of the university and, where pertinent, to take courses in other graduate departments.

Comprehensive Examinations

Written examinations in two related special fields are normally taken after coursework is completed. Students must choose two Special Fields, or sub-fields in sociology, in which they wish to be examined. We strongly suggest that these exams be completed in the third year or the beginning of the fourth year. You may not take an exam if you have any Incompletes, or if you are on Academic Probation. The Department offers exams in Gender and Sexuality, Social Movements, Medical Sociology, Political Sociology, Race and Ethnicity, Sociology of Religion, Urban and Community Sociology, Sociology of Science and Technology, and Sociology of Immigration. Students may petition to take one of the two exams in another area (but not more than one) upon consultation with the Graduate Program Director. Such exceptions are not regularly granted. The only fields that will be considered are those established as sections within the American Sociological Association: http://www.asanet.org/asa-communities/asa- sections/current-sections.

The goals of the Special Field exams are to demonstrate:

• sophisticated knowledge of the development and current theoretical and empirical debates in a sub-field
• knowledge of important empirical patterns relevant to a sub-field
• the capacity for analytic writing, including the ability to marshal evidence to make claims, the capacity to make logic comparisons, and the capacity to identify gaps and issues in fields.
• the capacity to write in a clear, organized academic style, with few grammatical and spelling errors

The exam is a five-day, take-home exam, in which students answer 3 to 4 questions chosen by the committee. The questions are typically handed out on a Monday morning and completed by the end of the day on a Friday (or a similar time period). Students, who for medical, family, or work reasons, are unable to take the five-day exam, may petition the GPD to use a different exam form: a 30-40 page review that demonstrates your knowledge of the key developments and current debates in the field, key empirical patterns relevant to your field, and methodological techniques and tools commonly used in the sub-field. Students may want to model their papers on articles in The Annual Review of Sociology and similar periodicals. Again, this option is reserved for students who have extenuating circumstances that strongly limit their ability to take the 5-day exam. The Director will provide more guidance on expectations. Under no circumstances may students answer specific questions set by the Director and Reader: the student must produce a review essay.

Dissertation

Once both comprehensive exams are passed, the next step is to prepare the dissertation proposal . The proposal is an important document for the candidate, for the faculty committee, and for the department. The acceptance of the dissertation proposal indicates that your committee is confident that the proposed research is highly likely to contribute original results that are important to other sociologists, under the limited time frame of graduate school. The Sociology Department requires that all dissertation proposals be defended in front of the Dissertation Committee. At Loyola, these hearings are “open,” which means that members of the university, as well as family and friends, may attend the defense. The purpose of the proposal hearing is primarily to judge whether the proposal is sound enough for the research to go forward; secondarily, it is to provide constructive feedback. For more on the dissertation proposal and defense, please see the graduate student handbook.

The dissertation is the culmination of your doctoral program career. It will be the most sustained piece of research and writing you will have done to this point in your career, and it will serve as the basis of publications as an Assistant Professor if you are planning an academic career. A well-planned dissertation is one of the keys to success; time management is another. The Department requires a public defense of all doctoral dissertations. When your committee agrees that the dissertation is ready for defense, you will need to follow the formal procedures laid down by the Graduate School for final defense and deposition. For more information on the dissertation and dissertation defense, please see the graduate student handbook.

Graduate & Professional Standards and Regulations

Students in graduate and professional programs can find their Academic Policies in Graduate and Professional Academic Standards and Regulations under their school. Any additional University Policies supercede school policies.

Learning Outcomes

This degree prepares students for research and teaching positions in the academic, government, non-profit, and for-profit sectors.

Research learning outcomes:

• demonstrate knowledge of the broad theoretical orientations of the discipline
• demonstrate knowledge of two empirical sub-fields in the discipline
• frame sociological research questions both theoretically and empirically
• select appropriate data sources
• analyze and present data in accordance with ethical and professional standards
• use one or more data collection methods to carry out a major research project: interviews, participant observation, surveys, or archival evidence.
• analyze quantitative or qualitative data with respect to sociological claims or theories.
• write for publication
• present findings orally for lay or professional audiences

Teaching learning outcomes:

• assist an instructor of record with grading, tutoring, and class presentations
• teach as an undergraduate instructor of record, by developing the capacity to: design a syllabus; create and carry out assignments, assessments, and lectures; integrate Ignatian pedagogical techniques, including curia personalis; and reflective learning.

Print Options

Send Page to Printer

Print this page.

Download Page (PDF)

The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

Your browser is unsupported

We recommend using the latest version of IE11, Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari.

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Letter from our Department Head

Welcome to UIC Sociology!

We are a diverse department that cares deeply about putting academic research to work in the service of community needs (called public sociology). We study inequalities, institutions, and identities in the Chicago region and beyond. Our research strategies range from analyzing “big data,” to conducting interviews, to studying historical documents, and everything in between.

Undergraduate students experience a vibrant community in the Sociology Department.  We offer classes on urgent social justice issues , extensive research and internship opportunities , mentoring and support from faculty and graduate students, exciting activities through the Sociology Club , a capstone class that includes an internship with a local community partner , and robust support for success in the major and beyond. Our alumni are thriving in a wide range of careers, including community organizing, social work, public health, education and business .

Our PhD program provides rigorous training in sociological theory, research methods, and critical pedagogy.  Our students focus their studies in six broad areas: race, ethnicity and migration; gender and sexualities; organizations and the economy; politics, globalization, and social change; urban and spatial inequality; and health, science and knowledge.   A PhD from UIC Sociology prepares students for careers in research, teaching, industry, and much more.

UIC faculty have earned a global reputation for politically-impactful, community-engaged public sociology .  Our groundbreaking research has been supported by prestigious grants, recognized with major national awards, and honored by multiple Distinguished Professor and Researcher of the Year Awards from UIC.  Our faculty have been celebrated with distinguished mentoring and teaching awards.

We welcome you to join our diverse, dynamic community committed to using research, teaching, and learning to build a more just and equitable world.

• Claire Decoteau, Interim Head and Professor of Sociology

UIC SOCIOLOGY: Ranked as one of the top 50 Sociology Departments in the World.

 -Shanghai Global Ranking of Departments, 2020

Sociology Heading link Copy link

• Undergraduate Program
• Graduate Program
• Alumni & Friends
• Engaged Sociology

Homepage Weighted Call to Action Heading link Copy link

• Matrix icon Why Sociology?
• User icon Who We Are
• Edit icon Apply to Graduate Program
• Speech bubble icon Reconnect with UIC Sociology

Give to UIC Sociology

Takeia johnson memorial scholarship fund, sociology news & events heading link copy link.

Sociology Department Head Claire Decoteau Wins Distinguished Researcher Award, Social Sciences

UIC Sociology is Hiring!

Dr. sigrid luhr publishes engineering inequality: informal coaching, glass walls, and social closure in silicon valley, south side weekly publishes two op-eds written by uic sociology grad students tirza ochrach-konradi, soleil smith, ren r, and tim johnson along with members of the collaborative for community wellness., dr. julie dowling published an op-ed for the la times on recent us census race questions, twitter & facebook heading link copy link.

Twitter & Facebook

PEOPLE BY NAME

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Show All

Yuting Chen

Kyung won choi, luke matteo cianciotto.

Terry N. Clark

Jennifer Etienne

James A. Evans

Lauren Hagani

Reyna Hernandez

Theodora K. Hurley

This website uses cookies..

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.

• Skip to Content
• Catalog Home

Academic Catalog

2024-2025 graduate & professional catalog.

• Undergraduate Catalog
• Academic Calendar
• The University
• Graduate Study at UIC
• Degree Programs
• College of Applied Health Sciences
• College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts
• College of Business Administration
• College of Dentistry
• College of Education
• College of Engineering
• Graduate College
• School of Law
• Anthropology
• Biological Sciences
• Black Studies (Interdepartmental Graduate Concentration)
• Central and Eastern European Studies (Interdepartmental Graduate Concentration)
• Communication
• Criminology, Law, and Justice
• Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Environmental and Urban Geography
• French and Francophone Studies
• Gender and Women's Studies (Interdepartmental Concentration)
• Germanic Studies
• Hispanic Studies
• Latin American and Latino Studies
• Latin American and Latino Studies (Interdepartmental Concentration)
• Linguistics
• Mathematics
• Polish, Russian, and Central and Eastern European Studies
• Political Science
• Second Language Teaching (Interdepartmental Concentration)

PhD in Sociology

• Violence Studies (Interdepartmental Graduate Concentration)
• College of Medicine
• College of Nursing
• College of Pharmacy
• School of Public Health
• Jane Addams College of Social Work
• College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs
• Council on Teacher Education
• Additional Opportunities for Graduate and Professional Study
• Graduate and Professional Course Descriptions
• Graduate Faculty
• Archive &​ Links
• Graduate College Website
• All Course Descriptions
• Graduate and Professional Catalog /
• Colleges & Schools /
• College of Liberal Arts and Sciences /
• Sociology /

Admission Requirements

The department accepts only applicants who wish to be candidates for the PhD. Applicants are not admitted as candidates for the MA as a terminal degree. Applicants are considered on an individual basis. In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, applicants must meet the following program requirements:

• Prior Degrees  Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree to enter the PhD program, but an undergraduate degree in sociology is not required. Prior work in social science and sociology is recommended.
• Grade Point Average  At least 3.00/4.00 (B average) for the final 60 semester (90 quarter) hours of undergraduate study, including all of the work taken in the quarter or semester in which the student began the final 60 semester hours of undergraduate study. A 3.50/4.00 cumulative grade point average for work completed beyond the baccalaureate is required.
• Transcripts  Required from all institutions where the applicant earned the last 60 semester (90 quarter) hours of study toward the baccalaureate degree and from all institutions where postbaccalaureate work has been done.
• Tests Required  None.
• TOEFL iBT  80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21,  OR ,
• IELTS Academic  6.5, with 6.0 in each of the four subscores,  OR ,
• PTE-Academic  54, with subscores of Reading 51, Listening 47, Speaking 53, and Writing 56.
• Letters of Recommendation  Three letters of recommendation are required. Letters from former and/or current teachers able to comment specifically on the applicant’s academic achievement and ability are strongly preferred. At least two should be from professors at the university where the master’s degree was obtained.
• Personal Statement  Required.
• Writing Sample  Required.

Degree Requirements

Master of arts.

• Minimum Semester Hours Required 37, depending on the student’s level of preparation.

SOC 520 and SOC 540  may be repeated for credit if the topic is different for each registration. Students who elect to satisfy the degree requirements by taking these specialty seminars may either take both courses or repeat one of them.

• Comprehensive Examination  None.
• Thesis, Project, or Coursework-Only Options Coursework. Students must earn at least 4 hours in SOC 596 .

Doctor of Philosophy

• Minimum Semester Hours Required 24–40 hours of coursework beyond the MA; 19–35 dissertation research hours. The minimum number of hours beyond the baccalaureate is 96.
• Coursework   Required Courses : MA in Sociology course requirements (37 hours depending on the student’s level of preparation). Students with an MA from another institution must satisfy UIC Sociology MA requirements. The graduate director will evaluate student’s prior preparation and performance in satisfying these requirements.
• In addition to SOC 509 and SOC 593 , students must complete three graduate seminars (4 credit hours each) beyond the two taken to satisfy the requirements of the MA. Students must take two courses from the following: SOC 515 , SOC 524 , SOC 525 , SOC 547 , SOC 549 , SOC 565 ; and one additional course, which can either be a specialty seminar ( SOC 520 , SOC 540 ) or a course approved by the director of graduate studies. The course content of SOC 520 and SOC 540 varies from term to term.

Students may not repeat any courses from this group ( SOC 515 , SOC 524 , SOC 525 , SOC 547 , SOC 549 , SOC 565 ) which they took as part of the UIC MA program. 

Course content of SOC 520 and SOC 540 varies from term to term. Students will receive credit for specialty seminars taken to meet the PhD requirement only if the topics are different from those previously taken.

• Preliminary Examination  Required. The examination is comprised of two parts: written examination in a major specialty area and an original research paper submitted for consideration for publication. Students must register for SOC 596 while completing their research paper.
• Dissertation Proposal Defense Required.
• Dissertation  Required.

Interdepartmental Concentrations

Students earning a graduate degree in this department may complement their courses by enrolling in select concentrations after consulting with their graduate advisor. Interdepartmental concentrations available for this degree include:

• Black Studies
• Gender and Women's Studies
• Survey Research Methodology
• Violence Studies
• Women's Health

Apply Online | Contact Admissions | Privacy Statement Having problems accessing this site? Contact the Webmaster . © 2024-2025 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Print Options

Print this page.

The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

All pages in the campus catalog.

• Support LUC
• Directories
• KRONOS Timecard
• Employee Self-Service
• Password Self-service
• Academic Affairs
• Advancement
• Admission: Adult B.A.
• Admission: Grad/Prof
• Admission: International
• Admission: Undergrad
• Alumni Email
• Alumni Relations
• Arrupe College
• Bursar's Office
• Campus Ministry
• Career Centers
• Center for Student Assistance and Advocacy
• Colleges and Schools
• Commencement
• Conference Services
• Continuing Education
• Course Evaluations IDEA
• Cuneo Mansion & Gardens
• Dining Services
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Emeriti Faculty Caucus
• Enterprise Learning Hub
• Executive and Professional Education
• Faculty Activity System
• Financial Aid
• Human Resources
• IBHE Institutional Complaint System
• Information Technology Services
• Learning Portfolio
• Loyola Health App
• Loyola University Chicago Retiree Association (LUCRA)
• Madonna della Strada Chapel
• Media Relations
• Navigate Staff
• Office of First Year Experience
• Office of Institutional Effectiveness
• President's Office
• Rambler Buzz
• Registration and Records
• Residence Life
• Retreat & Ecology Campus
• Rome Center
• School of Environmental Sustainability
• Security/Police
• Staff Council
• Student Achievement
• Student Consumer Information
• Student Development
• Study Abroad
• Summer Sessions
• University Policies
• Writing Center

Loyola University Chicago

Department of sociology.

Maria Akchurin, PhD

Title/s:   Assistant Professor

Specialty Area: Environmental sociology, political sociology, urban sociology, environmental justice, global and comparative sociology, sociology of knowledge.

Office # :   Coffey 433

Email: [email protected]

External Webpage: https://www.mariaakchurin.com/

Maria Akchurin is a sociologist working in the areas of environmental sociology, political sociology, and urban sociology. Her primary research agenda explores historical and contemporary questions about power, inequality, and social change as they relate to environment and society. She is especially interested in how global processes—such as the spread of water privatization or the global demand for extractive industries—connect to how people make sense of environmental and social consequences on the ground. She is also interested in the social processes that lead the physical and digital infrastructures we use to become morally and politically contested.

Prof. Akchurin has studied how nature became a subject of legal rights in Ecuador, conflicts over land use and water availability in areas with mining activity in northern Chile, and the privatization and transformation of urban water provision in Argentina and Chile. She is working on expanding her prior research into a book, tentatively titled  Contested Infrastructures: Water, Privatization, and Place-Based Protest in Argentina and Chile . In parallel, she is researching the politics of environmental remediation and community consultation in Latin America through an analysis of litigation relating to mining in Chilean environmental courts, focusing on cases relating to copper, gold, and lithium extraction.

With her colleague Gabriel Chouhy, she is also currently conducting research supported by the Spencer Foundation about how different education stakeholders make sense of concepts like fairness and equity in the context of centralized enrollment algorithms. The study compares two urban contexts where the charter school model has become prevalent: New Orleans in Louisiana and Santiago in Chile.

Prof. Akchurin teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on environmental sociology, urban sociology, and power in society. She is in the early stages of developing projects relating to environmental justice, climate adaptation and the “just transition,” and the social dimensions of ecological restoration efforts in Chicago. Outside of academia, she is interested in urban spaces that bring people together—whether through gardening, food, music, art, environmental education, or protest. She came to the US from Moscow, when it was still part of the former Soviet Union, but has spent most of her life in various parts of the United States. She is happy to be in the Great Lakes region.

PhD, Sociology University of Chicago, 2015

MA, Sociology University of Chicago, 2009

BA, International Studies, Specialization in Latin American Studies Johns Hopkins University, 2004

Professional & Community Affiliations

American Sociological Association

Latin American Studies Association

Social Science History Association

Non-Resident Research Fellow, Center for Inter-American Policy & Research, Tulane University

Courses Taught

Environmental Justice: From Sacrifice Zones to Sustainable Cities (520)

Environmental Sociology (272)

Cities, Suburbs, & Beyond (234)

Power in Society (260)

Urban Sociology Graduate Seminar (462)

Selected Publications

Akchurin, Maria and Gabriel Chouhy. 2024. "Designing Better Access to Education? Unified Enrollment, School Choice, and the Limits of Algorithmic Fairness in New Orleans School Admissions."  Qualitative Sociology.

Vivas Bastidas, Juanita, Maria Akchurin, Dana Garbarski, and David Doherty. 2024. “How Local Perceptions Contribute to Urban Environmental Activism: Evidence from the Chicago Metropolitan Area.”  The Sociological Quarterly  65(1): 38-60.

Akchurin, Maria. 2023. “Environmental Justice at the Environmental Courts? Mining, Socioenvironmental Conflicts, and Environmental Litigation in Northern Chile.”  Extractive Industries and Society  15 (Special Issue on the Politics of Policy Implementation, edited by Zaraí Toledo Orozco and Eduardo Silva).

Akchurin, Maria. 2022. “Contested Infrastructures: Water, Privatization, and Place-Based Protest in Greater Buenos Aires."  City & Community  22(3): 171-194.

Akchurin, Maria. 2020. “Mining and Defensive Mobilization: Explaining Opposition to Extractive Industries in Chile.”  Sociology of Development  6(1): 1-29.

Silva, Eduardo, Maria Akchurin, and Anthony Bebbington. 2018. “The Consequences of Social Resistance to Extractive Development in Latin America.”  European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies  106: 25-46.

Akchurin, Maria. 2015. “Constructing the Rights of Nature: Constitutional Reform, Mobilization, and Environmental Protection in Ecuador.”  Law and Social Inquiry  40(4): 937-968.    

Akchurin, Maria and Cheol-Sung Lee. 2013. “Pathways to Empowerment: Repertoires of Women’s Activism and Gender Earnings Equality.”  American Sociological Review  78(4): 679-701.

• Undergraduate
• Graduate/ Professional
• Adult Education

Academic Resources

• Academic Calendar
• Academic Catalog
• Academic Success
• BlueM@il (Email)
• Campus Connect
• DePaul Central
• Desire2Learn (D2L)

Campus Resources

• Campus Security
• Campus Maps

University Resources

• Technology Help Desk

Information For

• Alumni & Friends
• Current Students
• Faculty & Staff
• Undergraduate
• Combined Degree Programs
• Graduate Programs
• Class Search
• Adjunct Faculty

Emeritus Faculty

• Student Resources
• Admission & Aid
• Centers & Institutes
• Request Info
• Apply Online
• Visit Campus

College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences > Academics > Sociology > Faculty > Emeritus Faculty

Michael Bennett, PhD​​​

Roberta Garner, PhD

Traci Schlesinger, PhD

• Graduate Students
• Associate Faculty
• Affiliated Academic Appointees
• Emeritus Faculty
• Job Market Candidates
• Faculty Office Hours

PEOPLE BY NAME

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Show All

Andrew Abbott

Professions and work, urban sociology, historical sociology, methodology, and general social theory

Luc Anselin

Spatial data science, spatial econometrics, computational social science, regional science, urban studies

Race, social movements, work, professions, organizations, diversity in higher education

Neil Brenner

Critical urban theory and capitalist urbanization; cities, hinterlands and global political ecology; economic sociology and comparative-historical geopolitical economy; fossil capitalism and energy geographies; critical infrastructure studies; capitalism and social theory; Marxism

Terry N. Clark

Using decision-making theory to approach urban politics and other social phenomena, sociology of culture, transnational processes, urban sociology, social theory

Elisabeth S. Clemens

Political sociology, organizational analysis, historical sociology

James A. Evans

Knowing, computational social science, collective intelligence, science of science, skills and learning, machine learning & AI, human-machine intelligence, human and machine languages, fields and networks, text and image analysis, the science of data

René D. Flores

Immigration, race and ethnicity, identity, public policy, public opinion, quantitative methods

Marco Garrido

Political sociology, urban sociology, social theory, transnational processes, and inequality

Andreas Glaeser

Cultural change, ways of knowing and understanding, identity, emotions, social ontology and historical and ethnographic methods

Empire, colonialism and postcolonial thought, historical sociology, social theory, global and transnational sociology, politics and culture, race and ethnicity

Kimberly Kay Hoang

Economic sociology, law, global sociology, gender, qualitative research methods, theory

This Website Uses Cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.

• Department of Sociology and Criminology >
• Graduate >

PhD in Sociology

Submit your application to the Department of Sociology and Criminology today!

• 7/3/24 Info for Applicants

Already enrolled in UB? Get details about graduate forms and resources for current students.

• 7/3/24 Info for Current Students

The PhD in Sociology  offers a unique combination of academic rigor and faculty mentoring that prepares students to become first-rate researchers and educators.

Why Choose UB Sociology?

In the UB Department of Sociology and Criminology PhD program, students: 

• Collaborate and have mentorships with award-winning and internationally-recognized faculty in research and teaching from day one.
• Gain real-world skills from community partners in research specializations that prepare you for successful and impactful careers after graduation.
• Receive full funding for five years and a fellowship to focus on dissertation research.
• Thrive in either academic or nonacademic careers. Nearly half of our graduates become tenure-track faculty. Others enjoy research careers in nonprofits, government or research centers.

Degree Requirements

Coursework PhD students must earn 72 credit hours (including up to 12 hours of thesis guidance).

Unless taken during the master’s program in the Department of Sociology at UB, PhD coursework must include the required core courses in sociology:

• Two courses in statistics (SOC 504 and SOC 607)
• Two courses in methods (SOC 606 and one advanced methods course of your choosing)
• Two courses in theory (SOC 567 and 568)

Qualifying Exams and Dissertation For completion of the PhD degree, students must pass two qualifying exams in departmental areas of specialization. They must also research, write and successfully defend a dissertation that demonstrates independent scholarship and makes a contribution to the discipline. PhD students are expected to defend a dissertation prospectus that outlines their planned research and to initiate work on a dissertation topic under the guidance of their dissertation director and committee, usually during the third or fourth year in the program.

Graduate Handbook Further information about the PhD degree, including policies, requirements, qualifying exams, the dissertation and coursework, can be found in the  Graduate Handbook .

• Crime, Law, and Social Policy
• Family and Life Course
• Health and Illness
• Urban, Community, and the Environment
• Work, Labor, and Political Economy
• UB Graduate School
• 7/3/24 Meet Our Faculty
• Fellowships, Teaching Assistantships, Awards
• Graduate Handbook

We encourage prospective students to complete an  information request form  to learn more about pursuing graduate work in the Department of Sociology and Criminology. Current students may contact their faculty advisor or the Director of Graduate Studies with questions.

430 Park Hall

Phone: (716) 645-2585

[email protected]