Decent PhD programs in CO and GA?

[GradGirl90]

Hey all,

I have a list of programs i plan on applying to, but there is one thing i am noticing....almost all of them are in areas i do not care to live in! In the next few years my husband and i want to start a family and buy our first house. Colorado is one of our favorite states in the country, but i'm really not sure about their CJ doctoral programs. We currently reside in GA and i am closest to Georgia State Uni in Atlanta. It would also be really great if i could stay here and attend GSU, but again, i am not sure about their reputation for CJ. It worries me to not attend a school ranked highly in US News. Is this irrational? Should i ignore those rankings and go where someone will fund me (assuming they have research that interests me?) Since i have family in GA i would not have to take out a tremendous amount of loans just to pay rent so that would be insanely helpful. I just want to make sure i am going to a good school and my future employment prospects won't be screwed.

Does anyone have any information about programs in CO and GA? Are they reputable?

Thanks you bunches!

Edited March 4, 2017 by GradGirl90

[KnowVac]

I was in the same boat when I was applying. I already have 2 kids and I wanted to make sure I wouldn't be raising them somewhere like Chicago! As far as CO goes. I am not sure, and at least none of the programs are reputable enough to be obvious candidates. GSU I believe is up and coming. I got my Masters at USC (the real USC, South Carolina). My mentor actually left the same year I did to go teach at GSU, he's really amazing so I know they have at least one awesome staff member over there.

Now let me tell you what I DO know a lot about. Indiana University-Bloomington has the most underrated PhD program out there. It's located in an amazing place to raise a family. Housing prices in Indiana are relatively low if you are willing to live outside the city of Bloomington and commute 15-20 per day and gas prices are not bad.The University itself is a HUGE R-1 institution with an overwhelming amount of resources available to its students (we have Edwin Sutherland's original handwritten notes in one of our libraries, so cool). The CJ program is awesome. The professors and students have a great relationship, the program is focused less on competition and more on learning. This is particularly great for those of us with families because it takes some of the pressure out of grad school. There is currently around 25 students in the program, so it's small but not too small. Additionally, all CJ grad students MUST choose a minor and take classes (in most cases 12-15 credit hours) in that department. You can choose any discipline as long as it's related to your CJ focus in some way. This means you can take classes from top programs at IU like sociology, psychology, stats... and many more. Many of the professors and current grad students have families so the department is especially understanding when it comes to family issues. The department funds every student it accepts and the funding is generous. Funding usually includes tuition remission, health insurance (which covers pregnancy almost completely), stipend during the school year (my stipend was $7000 over the average stipend provided at top programs like UMD) and some candidates are offered an additional stipend of $4000 for the summer (my stipend for the first calendar was $27000). All in all, IU-B has been a dream program for me and it sounds like it might be a good fit for you as well!

 

Hope this helps!

 

[RoadtoPhD]

There are also some really good sociology programs in Colorado that specialize in crime if you're looking specifically at location!

[GradGirl90]

3 hours ago, KnowVac said:

I was in the same boat when I was applying. I already have 2 kids and I wanted to make sure I wouldn't be raising them somewhere like Chicago! As far as CO goes. I am not sure, and at least none of the programs are reputable enough to be obvious candidates. GSU I believe is up and coming. I got my Masters at USC (the real USC, South Carolina). My mentor actually left the same year I did to go teach at GSU, he's really amazing so I know they have at least one awesome staff member over there.

Now let me tell you what I DO know a lot about. Indiana University-Bloomington has the most underrated PhD program out there. It's located in an amazing place to raise a family. Housing prices in Indiana are relatively low if you are willing to live outside the city of Bloomington and commute 15-20 per day and gas prices are not bad.The University itself is a HUGE R-1 institution with an overwhelming amount of resources available to its students (we have Edwin Sutherland's original handwritten notes in one of our libraries, so cool). The CJ program is awesome. The professors and students have a great relationship, the program is focused less on competition and more on learning. This is particularly great for those of us with families because it takes some of the pressure out of grad school. There is currently around 25 students in the program, so it's small but not too small. Additionally, all CJ grad students MUST choose a minor and take classes (in most cases 12-15 credit hours) in that department. You can choose any discipline as long as it's related to your CJ focus in some way. This means you can take classes from top programs at IU like sociology, psychology, stats... and many more. Many of the professors and current grad students have families so the department is especially understanding when it comes to family issues. The department funds every student it accepts and the funding is generous. Funding usually includes tuition remission, health insurance (which covers pregnancy almost completely), stipend during the school year (my stipend was $7000 over the average stipend provided at top programs like UMD) and some candidates are offered an additional stipend of $4000 for the summer (my stipend for the first calendar was $27000). All in all, IU-B has been a dream program for me and it sounds like it might be a good fit for you as well!

 

Hope this helps!

 

Wow! I'm definitely going to check out this school. Thanks for all of the info. My husband is looking into engineering programs so we're trying to attend schools that have a good PhD for me and and mechanical engineering for him.

[GradGirl90]

3 hours ago, RoadtoPhD said:

There are also some really good sociology programs in Colorado that specialize in crime if you're looking specifically at location!

I saw that! I'm just not exactly sure if I want to go that route. Is there really any distinction between a soc PhD and a crim PhD? Will I face more competition for jobs if I have a soc PhD? I've heard soc programs are kind of cut throat, and the "prestigiousness" of the school tends to matter a lot more for those programs. 

What do you think?

[KnowVac]

2 hours ago, GradGirl90 said:

I saw that! I'm just not exactly sure if I want to go that route. Is there really any distinction between a soc PhD and a crim PhD? Will I face more competition for jobs if I have a soc PhD? I've heard soc programs are kind of cut throat, and the "prestigiousness" of the school tends to matter a lot more for those programs. 

What do you think?

 

Sociologists are different. I'm taking a sociology class right now and a girl is writing a paper on how people use water fountains. I'm sure some interesting social themes will come from it, but like I said....different.

[GradGirl90]

14 minutes ago, KnowVac said:

Sociologists are different. I'm taking a sociology class right now and a girl is writing a paper on how people use water fountains. I'm sure some interesting social themes will come from it, but like I said....different.

Hmm..i don't know about that. Water fountains, really? I've always felt more of a passion for CJ\crim programs because they encompass more of what I'm interested in. I think I'd be much happier getting a CJ\crim PhD and focus some on sociology than a soc PhD and focusing somewhat on crime. Some people have stated a soc PhD is more "marketable" because universities can always hire soc PhD holders to teach CJ courses, but i'm not sure how accurate that is for today's job market.

[Brooke2016]

On March 5, 2017 at 3:45 PM, KnowVac said:

Sociologists are different. I'm taking a sociology class right now and a girl is writing a paper on how people use water fountains. I'm sure some interesting social themes will come from it, but like I said....different.

I personally use them to drink water. I tend to bend at the waist and guide the water into the hole at the bottom of my face, just above my chin.

[RoadtoPhD]

On 3/5/2017 at 4:06 PM, GradGirl90 said:

Hmm..i don't know about that. Water fountains, really? I've always felt more of a passion for CJ\crim programs because they encompass more of what I'm interested in. I think I'd be much happier getting a CJ\crim PhD and focus some on sociology than a soc PhD and focusing somewhat on crime. Some people have stated a soc PhD is more "marketable" because universities can always hire soc PhD holders to teach CJ courses, but i'm not sure how accurate that is for today's job market.

I don't think sociologists are necessarily different. If you look on the CJ faculty pages, the large majority have sociology backgrounds (especially the really well respected crim faculty who have been around for a while since CJ is relatively new). I'm actually in a sociology program now, I'm switching because sociology is a broader perspective than what I want to study and my program wasn't crime/deviance majority so there weren't many faculty members to work with. The main thing I would say is to look at the faculty, what they're studying, could you find a mentor, and is there various professors studying Criminology. If the answer is yes, then you really would be fine in either department. Hope this helps!