Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology - Demography

The Graduate Program in Sociology is designed for students seeking a Ph.D. degree. However, the M.A. option is available to students who either wish to obtain a master's degree while continuing in the Ph.D. program, or who leave the program before finishing the PhD. The graduate program is organized into four specialty areas: Demography, Political Sociology, Social Psychology, and Social Inequality & Mobility. Typically, about half the students finishing Ph.D. degrees in the Sociology Department work as faculty members at colleges and universities, and about half are working in research, administration, and consulting in federal, state, or private organizations. Our location in the Washington, D.C., area offers an unusual number of full-time research opportunities for our graduates.

Demography, or the study of population, has been an area of graduate study within the University of Maryland's Department of Sociology for many years. The focus has been on social demography, that is, the study of social factors that affect population dynamics-though also with a grounding in the traditional components of demography: fertility, migration and mortality. We study why people have the number of children they have, migrate when they do, and die when they do-and the consequences of such behaviors. We also study how these demographic processes relate to family dynamics (such as marital formation and dissolution) and labor force activity. Group differences in population outcomes-for example, differences by gender, ethnicity, and race-are important considerations in this field of study. Our perspective is both national (United States) and inter national, including developing countries.

Statement of Purpose
Transcript(s)
TOEFL/IELTS/PTE (international graduate students)
Letters of Recommendation (2)
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) (optional)
CV/Resume
Supplemental Application
Writing Sample: Limited to 35 pages with references, tables, and figures.
Description of Research/Work Experience (optional)
iBT TOEFL - 96 Overall (Speaking 22, Listening 24, Reading 26, Writing 24)
IELTS - 7 Overall (Listening 7, Reading 7, Writing 7, Speaking 6.5)