Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology - Education

The department offers both an advanced undergraduate course (648) and a graduate seminar (908) in this area. These courses examine education in its social context, including the relation between education and political and economic systems, the role of education in social and cultural reproduction and social mobility, the organization of school and schooling and the production of learning and other outcomes in schools. These courses are complemented by courses in complex organizations, social stratification, and quantitative methods, among other offerings. Related courses can be taken in the Departments of Educational Policy Studies, Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, and Curriculum and Instruction. Faculty cover a wide range of interests in the field, ranging from the role of education in social stratification (race, class, gender and their intersections) to the relationship between education and health across the life course to how educational policies and practices can help reduce of exacerbate inequalities among students. In addition to courses in the subject area and departmental brown bags, students are encouraged to attend seminars in the Interdisciplinary Training Program in Education Sciences.

A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or a comparable degree from an international institution is required. International applicants must have a degree comparable to a regionally accredited U.S. bachelor’s degree. You must have completed your undergraduate degree, or similar, before starting graduate school. A minimum undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 on the equivalent of the last 60 credit hours (approximately two years of work) or a master’s degree with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 is required. The Graduate School will take into consideration different grade scales from institutions that do not have 4.00 scales (e.g., institutions outside the United States of America).