Seeking advice...

[applying10]

Hi all, I am a junior undergrad student considering to apply to soc ph.d. programs next year. It would be extremely helpful if you can answer any of the following (gazillion questions):

1) Are there any courses that are unofficially required or highly recommended? I may go postbacc/ma but in case I don't, are there any courses that I definately want to have under my belt before I graduate? Also, is a math/econ background necessary/recommended?

2) I am interested in regional studies and have taken political science and history courses relevant to the region of my interest, BUT I have yet to study the language of that region. Will this be extremely detrimental to my application? Some programs say that there is funding for summer language study, but that may be for more intermediate or advanced study.

3) Related to question #2. If lack of language skills at time of application is a significant disadvantage, should I forget about ph. d. programs for now, and apply only to M.A. programs? Do masters programs have funding? Is it worth it to pay out of the pocket/take out loans to finance masters? I would love to volunteer or teach in this country, but I don't know if this would necessarily help my language skills.

4) Do all sociology programs (even the lower-ranked ones) have funding?

5) Is research experience necessary for applicants?

Any words of wisdom to lend to an undergrad stressed out about the future? I have taken great courses that truly interest me, and I don't regret it. Yet a part of me is worried that not having any technical skills means no job/no school next year!

[slothy]

I'll answer line by line:

1 - One of the nice things about soc is that it attacts people with a wide variety of backgrounds. People occasionally get in who have never taken a single soc course! If you're in that category, though, you better be able to explain why soc is appropriate for your plans in your SOP. However, soc academics frequently complain that too many of their students lack the quantitatve background to succeed in their first year methods sequence. Thus, it would be of real benefit to at a minimum get a strong grade in an introductory stats course, with the more quantitative courses you can take the better. Econ is defintely one of our sister disiciplines (even if many sociologists detest economists with all their rational choice theory), so some exposure to it can't hurt, especially if you're thinking about economic soc as your subfield.

2 - You might try asking someone at the programs you're most interested in this question. If your research plans are such that language background might seem necessary to an adcom, you might want to downplay that part of your research agenda in your SOP. You don't want to be taking 100-level language courses in your first year of grad school (although it does happen), so I'd try to get started on that lanaguage ASAP - if you're not able to get it in before admission, you might say in your SOP that you intend to do a summer program right before you enroll.

3 - Noooooooooooooo! Language skills aren't *that* important, and if you do a master's program you'll just have to go through the misery of admissions again 2-3 years later. Master's program funding is generally difficult, and there simply aren't that many quality master's in soc programs out there. That said, you might consider a MA in area studies if you're truly unsure whether you're willing to commit to the disicipline of sociology (i.e., if you might be leaning towards comparative religion or something of that nature).

4 - All fund at least some students (in the US, at least), but not all fund all students. Chicago and Wisconsin are two that I know have admitted students without full funding before. At the Ph.D. level, I'd say that 90%+ of all admission offers come with funding, though.

5 - Research is very important. I would implore you to start doing whatever you can as soon as you can. It's not too late to get some decent research experience on your CV before applications, but you should approach professors about opportunities as soon as you can. Don't worry if your research isn't directly related to what you want to do in grad school - your first priority should be to use research as an opportunity to get face time with your future LOR writers and get a better understanding of what you're getting yourself into with a Ph.D. A little research experience will go a long way towards overcoming any concerns about lack of language experience.

These are just some ideas off the top of my head. You should confer with your professors to get their views on these questions - you'll have to get to know 3 of them before applying anyway, and most are more than willing to discuss grad school with prospective students. Hope this helps!

[Tritonetelephone]

The best people to ask about these questions are your current professors. If their advise contradicts anything we say, I would go with them (especially the ones who got their PhD fairly recently). Here are my answers, according to my own experience and advice I've received (this is my second year applying, btw)...

1) Are there any courses that are unofficially required or highly recommended?

Research methods. Very few UG programs let you graduate without it anyway, but if you can take extra as a post-bach, that's what you want to do. They don't expect you to have a lot of math/econ skills under your belt, but I've been told by profs at a few schools that it's a plus because most candidates only want to do qualitative methods. What I did was take a doctoral soc statistics class the semester after I graduated, and I'm really glad I did - I think it gave my apps some much-needed strength this time around.

2) I have yet to study the language of that region. Will this be extremely detrimental to my application?

No, that won't be a detriment. I speak some French, but almost all of the apps I filled out were only interested in full fluency, so I didn't even list it. You can highlight your coursework in poli sci/history in your SoP and don't have to mention language at all... I doubt they'll even think about it.

3) If lack of language skills at time of application is a significant disadvantage, should I forget about ph. d. programs for now, and apply only to M.A. programs?

I don't know of many terminal master's programs (in the US at least) for sociology. Soc grad programs are typically designed for people wanting a PhD, and they'll give you a Master's along the way. The only schools I've found that have terminal master's programs are very low ranked and wouldn't look good for the PhD programs to which you'd later apply. The language thing really isn't a problem anyway (as far as I know - I'm not doing regional studies).

4) Do all sociology programs (even the lower-ranked ones) have funding?

Not all programs have funding, but it doesn't depend on rank. You just have to do your research and see. All the schools I applied to have funding, and there's a wide range of rankings in that mix. You can find out what percentage of students receive funding at a particular university's department on http://www.petersons.com/ or http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/sociology but there may be more accurate information on departmental websites. My favorite prof admitted to me that she thinks it's stupid to go to a school w/o funding, which is hilarious because they don't offer it in our department (she even asked me to keep that on the d/l).

5) Is research experience necessary for applicants?

Research experience is a huge plus, but admission is not impossible without it. They know not all applicants have the opportunity, and it's still only ONE part of your application (not everyone with research experience will necessarily be accepted). If you can get some research experience before applying, go for it!! If not, spend your energy on improving other parts of your application. I didn't have any research experience last year, and I still got accepted at one school and waitlisted at my top choice. I got a research job in Fall, so we'll find out what kind of difference it makes this time.

Words of advice: you're already way ahead. Chill out. There is plenty of time to do your research and find schools that will be a good fit. Read through these forums - there's a lot to learn from our experience. But stick with your soc professors' advice (more than one, if possible)! You'll need letters of recommendation when you're ready to apply, so now's a good time to get to know them better. Start by asking how they got to where they are. Start familiarizing yourself with the GRE. You'll be fine.

Here's a link to a timetable that helped me: http://gradschool.about.com/cs/overview ... etable.htm