PhD in education vs PhD in sociology

[nandoswitharando]

I'm facing the dilemma I stated in the title. The PhD in education is from Harvard, and the PhD in sociology is from UPenn. Duration and dollar amounts of funding at both schools are almost identical (five years of tuition and fee waivers + stipend + summer funding + healthcare guaranteed). I'm aware of the different academic career trajectories that each degree can make available, which is why I'm so worried about making this choice right now (i.e. soc PhDs can get jobs at ed schools/departments, but not vice versa). Broadly speaking, my interests are in race/ethnicity, immigration, inequality, and education, and I'm more of a qualitative researcher, though I definitely want to improve my quant skills. FWIW, I'm also entering my doctoral program straight from an interdisciplinary social science undergrad at a similarly prestigious, but not Ivy League, U.S. university. Any advice?

[rising_star]

I would talk to current grad students and make a decision based on where you'll feel most comfortable in terms of the environment and the research you'll be able to do.

[nandoswitharando]

1 hour ago, rising_star said:

I would talk to current grad students and make a decision based on where you'll feel most comfortable in terms of the environment and the research you'll be able to do.

I'm aware of this and have used info collected at visits to narrow down my choices. I haven't visited Penn yet, but assuming I like both programs equally, what should tip the scales in favor of one program over another?

[insert Psychologist]

Honestly, for your research interest, methodology, and career interest you can't go wrong with either of these choices. I had a similar dilemma as I do similar research and applied to both psychology and education programs (Dr. Gonzales at Harvard). 

I would honestly weigh faculty match heavily in making this decision. One method I used, although time consuming, was reading every article I could get a hold of from my POI's. I noticed I was more excited and engaged in the articles of the POI and program I eventually accepted. 

[rising_star]

3 hours ago, nandoswitharando said:

I'm aware of this and have used info collected at visits to narrow down my choices. I haven't visited Penn yet, but assuming I like both programs equally, what should tip the scales in favor of one program over another?

I don't know anyone who has ever visited two programs and liked them both equally. But, since you asked, I'll answer anyway. For me, what would tip the scales is the track record of the POI for placing people in the career I want to be in and/or which will give me better professional development. If, for example, you think you want to teach in higher ed post-PhD, you'll want to gain some experience as a TA during the course of your degree, ideally for the kind of intro/survey course you might be teaching if you get hired. So, for example, TAing for Intro to Soc or Intro to Ed. I would also think about the methods training I'll be getting during the degree and how that might translate into post-PhD career options.

[ZeChocMoose]

11 hours ago, nandoswitharando said:

I'm facing the dilemma I stated in the title. The PhD in education is from Harvard, and the PhD in sociology is from UPenn. Duration and dollar amounts of funding at both schools are almost identical (five years of tuition and fee waivers + stipend + summer funding + healthcare guaranteed). I'm aware of the different academic career trajectories that each degree can make available, which is why I'm so worried about making this choice right now (i.e. soc PhDs can get jobs at ed schools/departments, but not vice versa). Broadly speaking, my interests are in race/ethnicity, immigration, inequality, and education, and I'm more of a qualitative researcher, though I definitely want to improve my quant skills. FWIW, I'm also entering my doctoral program straight from an interdisciplinary social science undergrad at a similarly prestigious, but not Ivy League, U.S. university. Any advice?

I know that you said the funding packages are the same - but what is the median time to degree for both programs?  If it is over 5 years - how do students fund themselves?

Sociology PhDs can get positions in ed schools, but usually those people have full-time experience in education, which you are not going to have. I see this being a bigger problem at smaller schools especially if they have their professors teach across different programs e.g. in teacher education and education policy, but this won't be doable for you since you never worked in K-12 education. Another option if you chose the Sociology PhD - there are some public policy schools that hire sociologists assuming that their research interests align well.

I would also take a look at current job postings for assistant professors in each field to see what they are looking for and whether each program will help you gain those experiences.  I would also look at non-academic job postings just so you can get a sense of what is out there in case academia doesn't work out.  Education is ripe with non-academic jobs.  I am not familiar with what sociology PhDs do for non-academic jobs.

I also think you should think about what types of courses that you would want to teach and what type of theories/theoretical frameworks that you would want to use in your research. Also - which core curriculum is more interesting/exciting to you?