Doctor of Philosophy in Development Sociology

Our doctoral program in Development Studies focuses on development, a central and contested concept that gained prominence after World War II, which implies progressive change towards improving economies and people's well-being while conserving nature at local, regional, and global scales. Faculty and graduate students in the field of Development Studies study processes of social, cultural, ecological, economic, and political change, and the historical and contemporary forces that shape those dynamics. They also study the organizations and actors that engage in development-related processes and the practices, knowledge, and forms of expertise they bring to bear on their work. An interdisciplinary field, Development Studies draws from a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, economics, political science, human geography, anthropology, history, Indigenous and postcolonial studies, and the natural and technical sciences. Our doctoral students study in a range of contexts, some working directly with communities around the globe, others exploring large data sets or studying institutions as they seek to understand the complexities behind development and its impacts on people and the planet.

The program offers preparation for research, for the application of social sciences in government positions, the non-profit sector, consulting, and think tanks, and for college teaching in development studies and related fields. For the Ph.D. degree, students are expected to demonstrate (1) a thorough knowledge of social theory in development studies, with special emphasis on theories in their major concentration, (2) knowledge of previous and current research pertinent to the concentration, and (3) knowledge of multiple research methods, including qualitative and quantitative, with special emphasis on research design, data collection, and analytical techniques relevant to study in the concentration.

Three letters of recommendation must be on business letter and contain a signature of the letter writer, two of which must be from academic recommenders
All graduate school requirements, including the toefl exam or ielts academic exam for non-native english applicants
Academic cv (upload pdf)
Short writing sample (under 10 pages, upload pdf)
Gre general test scores are optional. All official test scores should be reported directly to cornell university's institution code 2098. department codes are not needed for matching scores to applications. If ets requires you to select a department code, you may choose 0000 undecided.
TOEFL iBT - 77 (Writing 20, Listening 15, Reading 20, Speaking 22)
IELTS - 7.0 or higher