pistachiomacaron

Hello! I have a question at this late juncture about Sociology program rankings. This should perhaps be obvious, but from what I've seen, there is GREAT variation in the different lists, and of course it differs greatly from undergrad to PhD... which are the lists or ranking websites that you all deem the most reliable / actually represent the popular opinion of top programs? (I'm talking top 30/40, not just top 5 or 10). Thanks and best of luck as many of you enter new programs, to those of you who are making final decisions, and especially to those navigating whether to re-apply! May the force be with you all.

Pittsburgh's Sociology program is largely qualitative & has a high number of staff working on gender. That and generally speaking, most soc programs will let you overlap / take courses in or consult with advisor from gender programs if you feel like you prefer sociology to WGS as a whole.

As someone finishing a second master's program finally en route to a PhD (long story), my advice would be to do the master's degree ONLY IF there are additional benefits to doing it other than raising your chances of a higher level PhD admission. If you're still exploring topic areas or wanting to solidify things like potential publications, you know it would be an enjoyable and personally valuable experience etc, then go for it. But if you know you want to do a PhD in Soc and you feel pretty confident about your specialization, I'd do that if I were you. Of course these decisions are totally based on the person and vary for a thousand little individual reasons, so trust your gut. I'd just hate for anyone to bide their time in an MA, reapply, and then get similar admits (because admit decisions can be pretty arbitrary, after all...) and feel like it was a waste of valuable time. Best of luck!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (thank you).

Hey all - congratulations to those who received acceptances and wait-lists this week! I have a question for those of you who have applied more than one cycle or plan to do so -- this is my second round applying (two years ago it was for a different degree track, I have a background in social science/English, so I have a much stronger application this round). If you don't get in somewhere or get accepted to a lower choice school, are you planning to reapply until you get a higher acceptance? I feel like there's no way I could muster the energy to do another cycle! Anyone else feel that way too? ❤️

No problem with the school! I think Canadian schools are (wrongly) not on the radars of a lot of American applicants -- I know speaking for myself I thought most / all international schools wouldn't have full funding available, so when I found out some did I was deciding very closely between McGill & Toronto and chose Toronto for area match. Good luck with your applications!

Same here! 4/15... "wide net," as they say... I told my partner I'd like to just be in a medically induced coma for the next three weeks so it's all over when I wake up. (Sorry, insensitivity.) Was hoping I'd feel mostly relieved after the long & painful application process but the anticipation is almost worse!

Good to know I should be expecting a rejection from Harvard after removing it from my list and not filling out the whole application ??‍♀️ @jriveracal how awesome that you were admitted to the MA program anyway! Take that as a high compliment instead of an extra rejection... lol

It's an interdisciplinary MA called Humanities and Social Engagement -- I'm focusing on human rights/sociology. My specialization is comparative history/collective trauma. What is your area?

So far doing a terrible job of that as I'm working from home for the first half of the day (current grad student @ NYU) - so I've been refreshing emails as usual BUT making myself go to a park later and have a full date day tomorrow to keep my mind off of things! Hoping for good news for you all today and next week!

This is literally the reason I'm finding this thread for the first time today ?‍♀️ Have been experiencing the "normal" amount of general fretting but this notice sent me over the edge! Thanks to this group for the epic amount of distraction and best of luck to everyone in the coming days & weeks. Any other Pittsburgh applicants here?

Hi @both_and_also - I did apply to LSE Soc but not until the January funding deadline, so I haven't heard anything either. What I've seen from other departments is that they stick pretty closely to their 8 week timeline but of course this will vary by program and numbers, so I wouldn't panic! I have an MA from University College London which doesn't give me expertise except to say that decisions may be later because they're on a different timeline and funding is so different. Best of luck!

Hello, all! I am a student from the US pursuing my masters degree in Human Rights in the UK this September. I have offers from both University College London (MA Human Rights) and London School of Economics (MSc Human Rights) - and am wondering which university holds the better reputation for this program and overall for social sciences, as I may choose to continue onto a PhD in international relations or a related field. I have been struggling with this decision for a while, and cannot seem to reach a conclusion! I know that UCL tends to be ranked more highly overall in leagues tables, but how realistic is this knowing that LSE is a specialized university? And do these rankings hold true for graduate programs as well? It seems to me that while UCL is ranked statistically higher, LSE has the better word of mouth reputation (at least in the US)? International reputation is key, as I am hoping to end up in either London or New York working for an IO/NGO (like the UN or Amnesty) or at a university. Other questions: -Is there a difference between the prestige of an MA and an MSc? -UCL's program is only 10 years old. Is this necessarily a disadvantage? -UCL's program has a greater number of required courses, especially in terms of research methodology. Would this be preferable in the eyes of employers? I am very grateful for ANY advice you may have!