Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology

Among the top ten sociology departments in the nation, Northwestern's Department of Sociology enjoys a reputation for balancing scholarly rigor with an open and collegial atmosphere among its professors and students. Structural elements a weekly colloquium series, numerous workshops, an open-door faculty, a supportive staff combine with tradition to sustain this distinctive departmental culture.

We take pride in working with each student to create an individualized program of study and research. In the first year students are offered a variety of courses in theory and methods. The second year of the program revolves around seminars, workshops and independent research leading to completion of a required second year paper. By the end of the third year, students are required to write a special field paper to show command of the literature in their chosen subfield. Work beyond the third year is directed toward the dissertation, research seminars, and workshops.

There is virtually no area of sociological inquiry that students cannot pursue at Northwestern. A look at faculty interests and recent dissertations attests to the variety of topics members of our community have investigated. The Department has particular strength in four substantive areas: culture, law, economy, and organizations, social inequality, and comparative-historical sociology.

Admitted students must hold a U.S. bachelor’s degree or a comparable non-U.S. degree from a regionally accredited institution.

Official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are required from all applicants.

Test of English as a Foreign Language score (TOEFL) (required of all international students). Minimum score is 100 on the internet based test (iBT). Official scores must be taken no more than two (2) years before the intended quarter of entry and must come directly from the Educational Testing Service (ETS). While TOEFL is the preferred test, we do accept IELTS scores and require a minimum overall score of 7.0. Official IELTS scores must be no more than two (2) years before the intended quarter of entry and must come from IELTS directly.