No letter of rec from a sociology prof. How problematic?

[niabi]

Hello all,

 

I will be applying to graduate school this fall and was hoping to solicit some advice from this very helpful community.

 

The background: I entered undergrad interested in studying politics. Unfortunately, I simplistically assumed that political science was the only way to go about doing that. I ended up majoring in history and political science, not realizing until I was writing my senior thesis (on the 2012 Quebec student movement) that political sociology was my true intellectual home.

 

My qualifications: I did reasonably well in undergrad. I was at a top 15 university and graduated cum laude, phi beta kappa, and received various awards including a prize for the "most distinguished honors thesis in political science."

 

I also have a number of great recommenders lined up. However, none are sociology professors (1 is history, 2 or 3 are polisci).

 

The question: How problematic is it that I want to apply to sociology graduate programs, but don't have any sociology professors lined up to write me a letter of recommendation?

Should I ditch the sociology grad school idea and just look for polisci programs that are good fits?

Is there a way to mitigate this disadvantage somehow?

 

tl;dr I majored in political science and history as an undergrad, want to switch to sociology for grad school. Have great letters of rec from polisci and history profs, but none from sociology profs. How problematic will this be? What can I do about it?

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

[sarab]

Well, certain programs require that you have LOR specifically from someone in the field, but if the requirements don't say that then I don't see why you shouldn't request them from professors in political science and history. 

When you did your thesis, did you work with any sociology professors? Did you take any sociology classes? If so, you can have one letter from a sociologist and the other two from polisci and history professors.

 

You could also hint at that on your personal statement and say your thesis was influenced by political sociology even though that wasn't your major.

Good luck!

[acarol]

I wouldn't worry too much about not having a sociology prof as a referee (especially since you can't change that now!).  I've also switched between fields a few times (BA English and polisci, MA English, MEd) and haven't encountered any issues.  

 

As long as you look for programs with the right fit for your research (sociology departments with strong political focus, and definitely apply to polisci departments with a sociological focus), then you'll be fine. In my experience, the social sciences are especially interdisciplinary and switching fields isn't rare. Many graduates from my current education program go on to complete PhDs in sociology or anthropology, for example, as it's common to find "sociology of education" and "anthropology of education" as a faculty research interest. All of their LORs are from education faculty members and it hasn't been a problem.

 

You should ask your referees (especially your honours thesis supervisor) to speak to your research experience and strengths in a way that highlights your ability to do interdisciplinary work.  Research methods tend to be similar / applicable across the social sciences (imo, at least), so if you have experience with ethnography, historiography, statistical analysis, policy analysis, narrative approaches, etc, then having your references speak to that will work for you regardless of whether the program is technically political science or sociology -- especially if you'll be using similar methods in your PhD research.  I also think that your supervisor should speak to how your research was sociological in nature, and how you were successful at working within political sociology for your honours thesis.  

Good luck!

[gilbertrollins]

I had three letters from economists and got 5 offers from top 20 schools -- you don't need letters from sociologists.  Also, sociology takes a disproportionate number of its graduate students from other undergraduate and graduate programs.  History and poli sci are perfect.  Good luck.  

[amlobo]

I was actually History/PoliSci undergrad, and I switched to Sociology for grad school.  I had a variety of letters, but none from sociology profs.  And, I was very happy with how my season turned out, so I would say it didn't hurt me at all  I would go with who you think can give you the best letters, whatever discipline they are.

[niabi]

Thank you all so much for the comments!!! I really really appreciate the help.

[Chuck]

My letter writers were from: Anthropology, Political Science, Law, Economics. 

 

I had never taken a "Sociology" class prior to my first semester in my top-choice PhD program. 

 

I'll echo what others have already stated so eloquently. It's not about what discipline you're coming from. Doctoral programs are primarily interested in your potential to do top-notch innovative research. If you have a strong background and you present yourself well, you can demonstrate that potential coming from pretty much any field. We've had students come from: Engineering, Natural Sciences, Mathematics, History, English... 

 

FWIW - I actually think that, in some cases, applicants with background in a different discipline have a slight advantage. Never underestimate the keen interest faculty have in moulding bright "new" students to "their way" of doing sociology.