PhD in Sociology focused on international development / poverty?

[clairelb1]

Hi all,

I had initially posted in the econ forum, looking for advice on development economics programs, but someone suggested I should look at sociology phds.

I recently finished Masters at a well-known european school in Development studies (with a strong econ focus) with a minor in quantitative methods. I am interested in pursuing a research career studying poverty, policy and labour/household decision making in the developing world. I have an interdisciplinary undergrad from a well-ranked school in latin american studies and international development (i took several anthros but no sociology unfortunately!) I do not have the adequate math background to continue in econ, but i enjoy quantitative methods!

Can anyone suggest US schools which have programs that fit my interests? What are the job prospects in sociology of development? Do I need a stronger math background? (I have stats and advanced stats, but no advanced cal) Can someone with my inter-disciplinary background get into soc programs??

Thanks! I would be delighted,also, to hear from anyone in a soc phd with similar interests to mine!

[victorydance]

There is a lot of this type of research in political science as well (often termed political economy). For the most part, developmental research crosses quite a few lines so you have a number of options.

 

For one, I know Columbia is fairly strong in this stream of political science (not sure about sociology) with professors like Blattman, Huber, and Humphreys.

[Ladril]

Cornell has a PhD in Development Sociology.

 

https://devsoc.cals.cornell.edu/

 

 

[clairelb1]

Thanks!

[lyrehc]

FWIW, I've found that anthropology, sociology, communication, psychology, social psychology, and (to a limited extent) geography programs tend to view work in any of the other social science fields as meeting prerequisites.  As a communication major I have several sociology courses on my plan of study.  My MS is in Emergency Management and I had no problem based on my writing (I submitted my thesis when applying) getting accepted where I wanted to attend.  

[publicaffairsstudent]

You can remedy a quant deficiency in econ. You probably have the required econ courses. Into/Inter Micro and Macro and a strong development econ background. You just need Calc 1-3, and linear algebra. Stats 1-2 and real analysis are also helpful but not necessary and anything else is just window dressing provided you can study up to a GRE score above 163. Guys on econ forums talk a big game because they may be a little insecure and want to weed out competition. Don't let that talk scare you off if you are passionate about econ.

[clairelb1]

You can remedy a quant deficiency in econ. You probably have the required econ courses. Into/Inter Micro and Macro and a strong development econ background. You just need Calc 1-3, and linear algebra. Stats 1-2 and real analysis are also helpful but not necessary and anything else is just window dressing provided you can study up to a GRE score above 163. Guys on econ forums talk a big game because they may be a little insecure and want to weed out competition. Don't let that talk scare you off if you are passionate about econ.

Thanks for this- if this is true, then econ would be my top choice of program. I saw that you are in a similar situation - what cycle are you applying for? I'm curious to see if they're "talking big game" or very genuine- I'll admit the econ forum is less friendly than the soc one!

[publicaffairsstudent]

I'm applying for policy phds and masters in econ in fall 2015. Don't get me wrong, math is essential for an applicant in economics, and since the field has gotten increasingly competitive many applicants try to signal their ability by loading up on math classes. Admissions results on some of the other forums demonstrate that this is an advantage. This is what Harvard says about mathematical preparation for their graduate program:

 

The minimum level of mathematical preparation to be considered includes calculus and linear algebra and demonstration of proficiency with mathematics. Increasingly, successful applicants will have taken more mathematics. In particular, most successful applicants now take real analysis, although that is not a requirement.

 

Your background is in development economics, so its silly to be looking into sociology phds. You seem to have good grades from good schools, so if you just take the necessary math classes, you probably have a good shot at an econ program in the top 50. Apply and see what happens.

 

Also, I'm not sure how familiar you are with the American higher ed system, but policy studies is a growing field and many schools have phd's in public policy that you would be competitive for. These programs generally do not have math requirements, but policy research is heavily quantitative and a strong quant gre score is still important. Harvard, Chicago and Michigan all have programs, along with other schools like Maryland. Michigan's program is known for having focuses in the disciplines of poli sci, soc and econ, and while you have to gain admission to both the policy and econ departments, you may have an easier time going that route.

[plep05]

Hello everyone,

I actually could not find an exact place where to ask my question. So sorry in advance.

I am doing my masters about Latin American Studies in my country and trying to focus on development. I looked at some universities in USA to do Phd  in Latin American Studies as well but somehow I can not understand which uni has Phd program about Latin American studies. All is under graduate topic but it does not specify if there is a Phd program or not.

Can you give an advice?

 

Thank you. 

[SocGirl2013]

We are pushing for more development stuff at Stony Brook (though I am just a first year one month in). PM me if you are interested in applying/have questions.