what are the "top 10" schools for sociology?

[glee1111]

what are the "top 10" schools for sociology?

[Soc_Gen23]

On 1/30/2021 at 5:51 AM, glee1111 said:

what are the "top 10" schools for sociology?

Hello! I've looked at this website before to determine the ranking of sociology programs (I don't know if this is the best-I know others are out there. This is just what I use). This list is helpful because I believe it has almost every sociology phd program on there. Hope this helps!

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/sociology-rankings

[macska]

I also generally refer to the QS rankings https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/university-subject-rankings/2020/sociology

Although, (I guess as a word of caution) I think that a more important thing to look at when selecting a school is your fit with a specific program. There is very little difference between programs with similar ranks, and on top of that the rankings are somewhat arbitrary. This piggybacks on how when applying to PhD programs "safety schools" are less of a thing than for undergraduate programs because even schools ranked 25-50 are highly competitive and will generally also rely quite heavily on fit. 

[Warelin]

I think it's also important to remember that rankings does not equal placement. Some schools are better at ranking in certain industries. Some schools are considered better in certain fields than their rankings would indicate. Some schools might be better in placing in certain localities. Some schools are better at being able to provide certain professionalization opportunities. Some schools offer better funding or might offer a better healthcare package than others.

Your advising experience would depend on who your advisor is. It is also possible the person responsible for certain placements might retire or leave.

[glee1111]

there seems to be a lot of variation between QS rankings and US News. Is there one I should tryst more?

[gforgreat]

I would use both as a reference, rather than as a source of "trust" in deciding which program to apply. We don't know how these websites are ranking these programs, so we don't know how trustworthy these websites are. I'm actually very curious on how the programs are ranked and judged by whom. Nevertheless, like what everyone said, its more about your fit - quantitative vs. qualitative, specialization, region, career goal, etc. 

[lkaitlyn]

They haven't done the rankings since 2017 so it's really anyone's guess at this point.

Edit: That said, it's safe to assume the Top 10 includes Berkeley, UMich, and probably still Harvard/Princeton.

Edited February 5, 2021 by lkaitlyn