Admission and Financial Assistance

Applications are accepted only for Fall semester matriculation October 1st; the deadline for the application is December 15th for admission the following August (December 15, 2017 for admission August 2018 for example.) No applications will be accepted after the application site closes. Decisions regarding admissions and support are controlled separately by each of the individual graduate groups pending approval by the Dean. In the Graduate Group in Sociology, such decisions are made by the Admissions Committee, which meets in late January/early February. Complete applications include: the application itself, the personal statement, three letters of recommendation (are uploaded to the on-line system), and unofficial transcripts. Submission of a writing sample (especially of research you may have done) is highly recommended. All applicants are required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Applicants whose native language is not English are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) except those who have degrees from or who are currently enrolled in a graduate program where the primary language of instruction is English.

All students matriculating in the Graduate Group in Sociology receive support for their tuition as well as a stipend for modest living expenses. Financial support comes in the form of Benjamin Franklin or Fontaine Society Fellowships, which cover a monthly stipend, tuition for 3-4 courses per semester, and health insurance for five years. During the first and fourth years, the Fellowships do not require service in the form of a teaching (TA) or research assistantship (RA); during the second and third years, students will serve as either a TA or RA, the fifth year students may be asked to serve as a TA in return for their support. Fifth year students often teach their own courses or apply for fellowships to support writing their dissertation. A variety of fellowships that support dissertation writing in the fifth year are based on university-wide competitions, and our sociology students have been quite successful in these competitions. In addition, summer research assistant positions and summer-school teaching positions are often available as typical support packages run for 10 months each year (from September 30 through June 30.)