The Department Dirt

[nosleeptildoctorate]

Hi Soc graduate students and soon-to-be Soc grads,

We all know that Sociology departments' Web sites provide a glossy image of their graduate programs, but it can be difficult to find out what departments are really like without visiting schools and talking with current graduates. I know many people get the "dirt" on Sociology departments from their advisors at their undergraduate institutions. Now that I'm in grad school, I've heard a little about other Soc departments from my colleagues who did their BAs and MAs at other schools and a bit from faculty here and there. What I was hoping we could start a thread on is a source of information on what the departments are really like from a graduate student perspective. It can be a resource for those applying and also for current graduate students who just want to know what other departments are like.

So... here's what I have heard through the grapevine through first-hand and secondary sources. [Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for the accuracy of these statements, which may reflect the opinions or biases of the sources. And, I invite people to chime in with their perspectives to confirm or refute anything that may be written in this thread.]

Emory - strong in music, political economy, good funding, 12 hrs/week RA/TA work.

Johns Hopkins - strong in world-systems and health disparities, good funding, 15 hrs/week RA/TA work

Stanford - there is in-fighting among some faculty. Apparently, there are certain faculty members who you cannot have on the same committee.

Univ. of North Carolina - very competitive vibe among graduate students

UC San Diego - strong in culture, funding issues with the UC system, 20 hrs/week RA/TA work

UC Santa Cruz - very friendly, supportive department, but graduate students have to struggle to get funding (ditto with the other UC-system schools), 20 hrs/week RA/TA work

Univ. of Washington - very quantitative-focused department. If you do qualitative work, you may have difficulty finding a mentor, but otherwise supportive.

Please feel free to add any information you have about these or other schools... research strengths, department culture, faculty, students, funding, RA/TA work load, etc.

Thanks!

no sleep

[lambspam]

Virginia Tech:

- Solid in crim, gender, Africana studies, health, mental health/SSP, and aging. It can be hard to find committee members if your interests fall into other subfields.

- Good mix of quantitative and qualitative.

- Faculty gets along well. A lot of the faculty is nearing retirement age, though the department is beginning to bring in some fresh faces as funding starts to open up.

- Many professors are interested in publishing and conducting research with grad students. As a second-year, I've gotten more requests than I can possibly accommodate.

- Course selection is hit-or-miss. Some semesters there are interesting classes but other semesters are barren.

- Cohorts are generally 8-12 students.

- Grad students are cordial. Older grad students are more than happy to help out the newbies. Not a competitive vibe at all.

- Students haven't been very socially active. There isn't a lot of cohort bonding.

- 10 or 20 hrs/week RA/TA work for those who receive funding.

That's what's up. If anyone has any questions about Virginia Tech, feel free to send me a message.

[nosleeptildoctorate]

Thanks, lambspam! Anyone else?

Virginia Tech:

- Solid in crim, gender, Africana studies, health, mental health/SSP, and aging. It can be hard to find committee members if your interests fall into other subfields.

- Good mix of quantitative and qualitative.

- Faculty gets along well. A lot of the faculty is nearing retirement age, though the department is beginning to bring in some fresh faces as funding starts to open up.

- Many professors are interested in publishing and conducting research with grad students. As a second-year, I've gotten more requests than I can possibly accommodate.

- Course selection is hit-or-miss. Some semesters there are interesting classes but other semesters are barren.

- Cohorts are generally 8-12 students.

- Grad students are cordial. Older grad students are more than happy to help out the newbies. Not a competitive vibe at all.

- Students haven't been very socially active. There isn't a lot of cohort bonding.

- 10 or 20 hrs/week RA/TA work for those who receive funding.

That's what's up. If anyone has any questions about Virginia Tech, feel free to send me a message.