Ranking of Sociology programs?

[SocPhDreamer]

Hello all!

 

I am planning to apply to PhD Sociology programs for Fall 2015 admissions...but I've been hearing that rankings of the programs will be important to consider for job placement in the future. So my question is where do I find the ranking of programs? And what are these ranks based on?

 

Many thanks

 

(Also congrats to all PhD and MA acceptees this Fall and HELLO and good luck all those who will apply this year #positivevibes)

[Darth.Vegan]

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/sociology-rankings

[Chris Bosh the Dinosaurman]

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/2014/03/10/methodology-best-social-sciences-and-humanities-schools-rankings

 

My impression is that US news is the most standard/accepted ranking system.  Its purely based on peer opinion.  For this reason, it accurately measures the academic perception of programs.   NRC is supposed to be more scientific/empirical in its ranking but its methodologies are inaccurate at best.

 

Additionally, the historical ranking of a program is actually more important than the current ranking.  For example, I decided between UNC and Penn State this spring.  UNC has been considered a top 10 for the past 50 years.  Penn State is considered an up and coming program that is probably perceived as a top 20 program currently.  UNC has an advantage because its alumni teach at many of the top universities in the US.  Penn State's best academic placement in the past 15 years is actually at UNC.

[No Transitory]

Hi c-n-s!

 

After overcoming my initial lmgtfy reaction, I wanted to give you a more productive answer to your question. I know, as most of us here, you were just hoping to get the experience of people who have gone through the entire process before you.

 

To add another perspective than the previous posters and throw in the obligatory warning about rankings, don't trust the rankings! Obviously rankings have an influence on a lot of outcomes including job placement and should be ONE aspect to consider in your applications. However, no ranking - not even the US news - can claim that

 

it accurately measures the academic perception of programs

 

(Sorry for misconstructing your argument Chris. ) - let alone their actual performance in training and placing fresh scholars. One of the biggest issues with US news, for example, is its response rate. 31 percent, in the case of sociology, does not produce the most accurate picture of program perception and particularly not one that can be compressed into a neat five point scale as US news would like you to believe.

 

I recommend reading the ranking boycott statement of the German Sociological Association. Although it primarily targets the CHE rankings, many of the objections are similarly applicable to the US News and NRC rankings.

 

If there is anything close to an "accurate" measure of academic perception, it might look something like Kieran Healy and Steve Vaisey's Department Rankings over at orgtheory.net. For one, it avoids assigning numerical ranks to departments, includes the strongly overlapping error margins every condensed single-axis ranking produces and provides some neat visualizations of department clusters and "the field" that departments play in. Additionally, it is based on pairwise department comparisons by more than eight times as many respondents (600+) as the US news (~73).

 

Besides perception and performance, you might also want to consider student satisfaction, because this will be a major factor in your own performance in graduate school.

 

As a final note, don't rely on rankings ONLY in your decisions but consider other factors like faculty, specializations, resources, department "vibe" etc. as well. After all, you would not want the ad comm to consider your application based on one aspect only. Anyway, since you've come to gradcafe to prepare yourself for the entire process, I am confident that you will make wise choices and wish you good luck for your apps.

[gingin6789]

 

 

As a final note, don't rely on rankings ONLY in your decisions but consider other factors like faculty, specializations, resources, department "vibe" etc. as well. After all, you would not want the ad comm to consider your application based on one aspect only. Anyway, since you've come to gradcafe to prepare yourself for the entire process, I am confident that you will make wise choices and wish you good luck for your apps.

Yes, please keep these things in mind!!  Things such as "fit" (for example, if you did a lot of undergrad or MA research in area X, but a top-ranked university specializes in Y, they might be less apt to consider you over someone who has research experience in X!) are very important to consider!  

 

"Vibe" is also important; is the vibe "let's work together!" or "If you leave your flash drive in a computer unattended, I'm going to delete your files because I want your funding?"  

 

The inner-workings of the program are also very important; is the program going through transitions with faculty or curriculum?  If so, you may want to avoid it.  I was all set to apply to a program that actually had been cut altogether due to such flux!  I was also discouraged from applying to a highly ranked program due to all the unsavory inner-workings of the program.  So, just ask your professors what they think about the programs you're applying to and whether they have any contacts there!

 

Best of luck to you!!

[SocPhDreamer]

Thank you ALL!!!!