Sociology of Education Programs

[amlobo]

I am applying for PhD programs in the fall, and up until now, I have been looking only at Sociology programs. I plan to focus on education issues (access/achievement/inequalities), and during my school search, I have realized there are some Sociology of Education programs within Education Schools. I guess I am particularly referencing the Stanford SHIPS, NYU, and Columbia programs, but am most intrigued by the Stanford program.

I had not thought of applying to Education programs, but am wondering if anyone has some input on how a program like that compares to doing a strictly Sociology degree with a focus in education. Would an Ed degree limit my options for future employment? Is it more for those who want to go into administration or policy research? My goal is to go into academia, and it seems like a lot of the profs in these programs have Sociology degrees anyway, not Education. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

[bertiek]

I am having the same debate. I have heard that other departments look down on those with Ed degrees. What did you decide? Which Soc of Ed programs did you look at?

[amlobo]

I decided to apply to Sociology programs and no Education programs. Ultimately, I felt like an Education degree would be too limiting for my interests. And, I noticed that even professors within Education schools that are doing sociological work often have Sociology degrees. I just tailored my focus on schools to include only those with a strong concentration of faculty researching educational issues.