Soc Programs in Immigration/Migration

[SocHope]

Hi there! New poster, sporadic lurker (depending on whether or not I'm actually thinking of applying to grad programs).

I'm gearing up to apply for Sociology PhD programs in Fall 2012. By gearing up I mean constructing an ambitious, but realistic list of schools to apply to, sussing out potential advisors, and getting a feel for how I might "fit" in a given program. My main area of interest is in immigration/migration, primarily migration from Asia to U.S. I'm also interested in demography (as it relates to immigration), education of immigrants (mainly higher ed), and social networks of immigrant enclaves. Some of the programs/faculty I think really fit my interests would be, in order:

1. UCLA - Min Zhou and Roger Waldinger

2. Duke - Nan Lin

3. CUNY - Margaret Chin

4. Princeton - Alejandro Portes

6. UCI - Ruben Rumbaut

Not really sure about faculty, but these Soc depts. work closely with demography programs and/or have immigration as one of their primary research specializations:

4. UT Austin

5. UM Ann Arbor

6. USC

With the exception of maybe CUNY and USC, most of my current list is made up of pretty well-known, competitive programs. As awesome as it would be to get into said schools, I'd also like my list to have some non-reach-for-the-stars programs. So, I'm hoping all the current/potential Soc students out there, and anyone else "in the know", can tell me if I'm missing any potential "good fits" from perhaps less well-known schools.

Throw out programs names, faculty, anything, and I'll be sure to look into it. Thanks! I hope to be pretty active on here once application season comes around again. Sooner than we all think, I bet!

[kbirch]

I would say UT-Austin is a really great bet, but it is very competitive. I want to study Latin American immigration to the US, and they have a strong program at University of Illinois Chicago. They are doing the Immigration Mobilization Project (I think that's what it's called) that looks really cool. Also, there's a prof there who does a lot of work on Filipino immigration to the States, I'm fairly certain.

Good luck applying!

[jennesy]

I'd have to say that CUNY is a really good fit for you. There are a lot of people working on the issues that you discussed. There is also the new Demography initiative (CIDR - http://www.cuny.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/cidr.html) which has affiliated faculty who are working on migration issues (Richard Alba, Holly Reed, Don Hernandez).

I have to disagree with you, though - CUNY is a really well-known program for immigration research and I would argue that it is a competitive program.

Edited March 4, 2011 by jennesy

[barilicious]

As with the above poster, from what I know CUNY is a highly competitive program and a great school. My mentor in undergrad got his PhD from there, so I definitely know it turns out amazing scholars.

I don't know much about demography, but you may want to check out Ohio State. When I visited last weekend, they talked about their demography program and their population center which is housed within the department. It sounds pretty good, and the students visiting who were interested in demography seem to be impressed.

Also, I know UT-Austin is pretty much known for their demography program, and it is ranked highly as well (I think 4 in sociology of population).

Best of luck!

[Sociologia]

Hi there! New poster, sporadic lurker (depending on whether or not I'm actually thinking of applying to grad programs).

I'm gearing up to apply for Sociology PhD programs in Fall 2012. By gearing up I mean constructing an ambitious, but realistic list of schools to apply to, sussing out potential advisors, and getting a feel for how I might "fit" in a given program. My main area of interest is in immigration/migration, primarily migration from Asia to U.S. I'm also interested in demography (as it relates to immigration), education of immigrants (mainly higher ed), and social networks of immigrant enclaves. Some of the programs/faculty I think really fit my interests would be, in order:

1. UCLA - Min Zhou and Roger Waldinger

2. Duke - Nan Lin

3. CUNY - Margaret Chin

4. Princeton - Alejandro Portes

6. UCI - Ruben Rumbaut

Not really sure about faculty, but these Soc depts. work closely with demography programs and/or have immigration as one of their primary research specializations:

4. UT Austin

5. UM Ann Arbor

6. USC

With the exception of maybe CUNY and USC, most of my current list is made up of pretty well-known, competitive programs. As awesome as it would be to get into said schools, I'd also like my list to have some non-reach-for-the-stars programs. So, I'm hoping all the current/potential Soc students out there, and anyone else "in the know", can tell me if I'm missing any potential "good fits" from perhaps less well-known schools.

Throw out programs names, faculty, anything, and I'll be sure to look into it. Thanks! I hope to be pretty active on here once application season comes around again. Sooner than we all think, I bet!

Hey I think you should PM (personal message) me. I applied to a lot of similar programs and I can give you a lot of good advice. I was pretty successful. I've also been to some of these places and have spoken to some faculty with interests similar to yours. There are also a fair number of students with similar interests to yours so I might be able to give you a sense of what the admissions competition/ future colleague is/are like.

Two things I can tell you off the bat:

1. You are better off at a place that can support your interest, but has other strengths; don't apply to a place that is only good at immigration. This is important because you should get great training as a sociologist/demographer and not just as specialist. This is also a paradox since you want to be very proficient in one or a few substantive areas so you can do well on the job market.

2. You need to look at more programs (it seems like you know this already). You have listed some tier 1 programs, and some very good 2nd tier programs. I think you should also look into Penn State, they are a very big department with a bunch of demographers. If you really want to reach I would say look at UPenn too.

I'll say that Princeton is probably the best place you can go. Don't look into all of the U.S. world news report rankings stuff. Princeton right now is hands down the best program, esp for your interests. They have Massey, Portes, Tienda, Telles, Harris, and Espenshade (possibly others I've failed to mention). They also have rock-solid training for all of thier students, and their students have been very successful in a really tight job market.

Again just PM me and I'll give you some more advice.

[vigilante]

Hi, I know this is an old thread but there is some good information and I wanted to get an update on the area. Does anyone know Sociologia's information?

[starbucks_lattie]

Same here!