Do you have a non-sociology bachelors degree?

[coffeeandtoast]

I think that in sociology, as in most other graduate programs, the first year or so is going to be so packed with the "basics" that it doesn't really matter whether or not you took the classes before or not. The important thing is that you can "think sociologically".

I personally majored in sociology, but I've been out of school long enough (and some of my classes sucked) that it is almost as if I hadn't. So I could use a little refresher or two.

Yeah, I looked up some of the grad courses that the programs I applied to offer for first year students and they looked pretty basic, which gave me hope that maybe they have people with mixed backgrounds like me. They even have grad courses on how to write sociology research papers. That is not he case in theology or philosophy, for instance, which are the two programs I'm familiar with.

[Grad00000000]

I have a background in the environmental field and have never taken a course in the social sciences, let alone Sociology. I applied to at least one program who had strong wording on their application about the need for a Bachelor or Masters degree in Soc... and surprise surprise this is the school I got an acceptance from this week.

I think there are a few things I did that helped me get an acceptance as a 'wild card'. The biggest and most obvious one is fit. The time I spent researching schools who have an environmental soc focus was well worth it. Some schools seemed to be quite excited about taking on a student who could bridge the social and natural sciences. The second factor I think helped my chances was framing my previous work experience to show that I would be prepared for a Soc degree, despite my lack of formal training. Finally, I contacted the schools who proclaimed the need for a Soc degree early, and let them know I intended to apply and explained my situation. I think this prepared them for my non-trad application, and kept me off the 'immediate reject' pile.

This doesn't really help applicants this year, but hopefully someone might read this next year and not dismiss their chances too early.

PS It's early days and I've already had a few rejects - so another key factor as a wild card is to apply to a LOT of schools!