Ladril

What do you mean by "tailoring the SOP"? What exactly does need to be different for each school? Please be explicit.

Oslo Summer School in Comparative Social Science Studies http://www.sv.uio.no/english/research/doctoral-degree/summer-school/ Also, Max Planck Research School in Demography (it's a winter, not a summer program, and requires strong quantitative skills, but posted here as there is no Demography sub-forum). http://www.demogr.mpg.de/en/education_career/european_doctoral_school_of_demography_1913/default.htm Also Migration Summer School at the EUI http://www.migrationpolicycentre.eu/summer-school/

I think putting people who post messages to an Internet board and people who turn to more invasive tactics (such as emailing accepted candidates) under the same measure is probably being a little too harsh. I also don't mean to say that making these kind of posts to Internet boards is a very sensible thing to do. That being said, however, I think some of the people who are so strongly against it may understand it better once they go through the stress of being on a waitlist. It really isn't easy on the waitlisted people, either. For the record, I'm not blaming universities for this. Waitlists are a necessary evil.

All of that is true. That being said, I still think it is poor practice. Gradcafe sees quite a bit of user turnover every year. This is why I think participating in such an old thread by arguing directly with a poster or group of posters who are most likely not forum participants anymore does not do any favours either to the old participants nor to the new ones. It might be a better idea to start a new thread on the same topic saying: "I know previous discussions in this forum have arrived at conclusions X and Y, but *still* I would like to make point Z", then carrying on discussion from there. Of course, feel free to ignore my suggestion if it contradicts any forum policies.

I believe you. That happens quite often.

Yes. I fully agree with you. I did not mean to say that my outlook would work for everyone. In my case, though, I think I made the correct choice.

This last thing also cannot be emphasized enough, When applying, I was hoping to work with a particular brilliant researcher. By corresponding with him, however, I learned he was close to retirement and not planning to take any more students. I'm grateful I took the time to contact him. Otherwise I think would have wasted my time in applying to that university.

Actually, I have reasons to believe that emailing POIs was a large factor in determining my eventual admission. I wouldn't want people to miss a chance of admission because of a misguided perception that it is useless to try contacting professors first.

The ranking is available here: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/sociology-rankings

The ranking most commonly used as reference in Sociology is the US News and World Report Ranking. It's not the only one used in the academia, of course.

Just for people who might be interested, Rice University started a doctoral program in Sociology in 2011. Obviously, the program is not ranked yet, but the faculty and research topics look great.

Another excellent book on the topic: http://www.amazon.com/The-SAGE-Handbook-Qualitative-Research/dp/0761927573

Unfortunately this is a strong assumption. Masters programs do not offer funding to all the students they admit, and when they do, it's often only partial funding. Moreover, several (if not all) of the US departments you mentioned do not have standalone MA programs. At these universities, students are only allowed to enroll for PhDs, and they earn a Master of Arts degree in the course of their studies. It's usually other universities that do offer standalone masters programs in Sociology. Standalone MA programs are way more common in English-speaking Canada because, as another poster mentioned, in the Canadian system you're expected to graduate from MA before going to PhD. The bottom line is: hunting for an MA program should be approached very differently than hunting for a doctoral program, especially in the US system.

Copenhaguen is a great university. Why do you want to go the USA? If you're definitely going to the US, the most important ranking for American sociology programs is considered to be this one: http://grad-schools....iology-rankings There is also another ranking by the NRC (see summary in comment no. 5). http://orgtheory.wor...e-nrc-book-yet/ The NRC Ranking is considered highly flawed, but it contains many of the same universities as the US News one. You would have to visit each program's webpage to see whether it meets your interests. However - and this is very important - these rankings are based on the quality of the doctoral programs. There is no ranking of masters Sociology programs I'm aware of. Some schools with little or no presence in the rankings have excellent masters programs. University of North Carolina Charlotte, for example, has very good reputation. Another user attempted a thread on good masters program. Here is what people came up with:

I applied to six last year. Many people apply to ten or more.

All the programs you listed are super-competitive, so you definitely need to apply to more than two of them. The only one I know nothing about is Purdue. Most people would consider themselves very lucky to be admitted to one of your choices.

There is no clear cut answer. Some people enter prestigious masters programs looking for connections with faculty, graduate level training, and/or more research experience, in hopes this will make them stronger candidates for doctoral programs. Some others manage to obtain enough experience and good enough letters of recommendation as undergraduates that they manage to be admitted directly to doctoral level. Another group is composed of people who apply to doctoral programs and are accepted to masters programs instead because their credentials were not considered good enough for a straight to PhD admission. Many people in this situation later take another shot at applying to doctoral programs. An important factor to keep in mind is that a doctoral program in Sociology in an American university usually takes 5-7 years to complete. This is why many people try to begin doctoral studies as soon as they can.

I would like to ask whether you have any research experience. Most of the schools you listed are top programs, which are difficult to get into. They will definitely be looking at your prior research work. Essex is one of the top UK Sociology departments, so I'd say you have a good chance.

I do not want to discourage you, but Florida State and Iowa are very competitive (don't really know much about Boulder). You haven't really given any details on your GRE scores, but why don't you attempt to adopt some strategies to improve your scores? I don't believe the test should be a stone wall for people wanting to enter college.

Not to mention a lot of people with high GPAs and top GRE scores are going to be rejected from top programs anyway. If some people think these factors alone guarantee admission they are dead wrong.

And yeah, I don't want to sound rude, but it would probably be a good idea not to be so open about your opinion of your current institution. People can probably infer who you are from the evidence you give in your posts, signature and profile.

I don't believe having a publication of any sort can hurt your chances of fellowship admission. Having a poster or an article - no matter how poor you believe it is - is going to show you can jump through hoops, and that is really what they care about. Very few fellowship applicants will have had something published in top journals anyway.

What's going on is that people - including university administrators - take rankings much more seriously than they should. US News & World Report's methodologies are not consistent from ranking to ranking. This ranking in particular is taken from the QS University Rankings, which is highly inconsistent.

As for the original question, Steven Seidman is considered one of the most important post-modern sociologists in the US.

Sorry, but I do not find it postmodern, really. It's more of an ethnomethodological approach.