The Berkeley Sociology Graduate Program is the heart of our collective enterprise as a department. We have been able to recruit superlative students year after year thanks to the efforts of the University, the faculty, and our current graduate students. Students who come here find a graduate program that has been carefully designed to offer them a rich and complete sociological education, while simultaneously allowing space and incentives to explore and develop their original ideas.
Thank you for considering UC Berkeley for graduate study! UC Berkeley offers more than 120 graduate programs representing the breadth and depth of interdisciplinary scholarship. The Graduate Division hosts a complete list of graduate academic programs, departments, degrees offered, and application deadlines can be found on the Graduate Division website.
Prospective students must submit an online application to be considered for admission, in addition to any supplemental materials specific to the program for which they are applying. The online application and steps to take to apply can be found on the Graduate Division website.
Admission Requirements
The minimum graduate admission requirements are:
A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
A satisfactory scholastic average, usually a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 (B) on a 4.0 scale; and
Enough undergraduate training to do graduate work in your chosen field.
For a list of requirements to complete your graduate application, please see the Graduate Division’s Admissions Requirements page. It is also important to check with the program or department of interest, as they may have additional requirements specific to their program of study and degree. Department contact information can be found here.
Applicants must hold a bachelor of arts degree or its equivalent from an institution of acceptable standing and may hold a master of arts in Sociology or another field. Previous concentration in Sociology is not required.
The department does not accept applicants interested in a terminal Master of Arts in Sociology; this graduate program leads to the PhD.
Official TOEFL score reports must be sent directly from Educational Test Services (ETS). The institution code for Berkeley is 4833. Official IELTS score reports must be mailed directly to our office from British Council. TOEFL and IELTS score reports are only valid for two years.
Additional Required Documents for Applications (continued from above)
4: Graduate Record Examinations (GRE): For 2024-25 admissions cycle, the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) will be optional.
5. Statement of Purpose: Please describe your aptitude and motivation for graduate study in your area of specialization, including your preparation for this field of study, your academic plans or research interests in your chosen area of study, and your future career goals. Please be specific about why UC Berkeley would be a good intellectual fit for you.
6. Personal History Statement: In an essay, discuss how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Please include any educational, familial, cultural, economic, or social experiences, challenges, or opportunities relevant to your academic journey; how you might contribute to social or cultural diversity within your chosen field; and/or how you might serve educationally underrepresented segments of society with your degree.
7. Writing Sample: One Writing Sample of your work in English (e.g. term paper, thesis, publication). Written work should be non-fiction and conducive to evaluation on its own merit. Admission committee members are especially impressed with writing samples that attempt to link theoretically informed arguments with empirical evidence. The average length is 15-20 pages.
8. Three Letters of Recommendation: Please provide three letters of recommendation from social science faculty members who are familiar with your recent work.
Doctoral Degree Requirements
Required Courses
Students are required to take a minimum of eight courses for the MA. An additional three courses for a total of eleven courses are required to receive the PhD. In their first year, most students are required to take the methods sequence (271A-B-C) and the theory sequence (201A-B). Students who receive special consideration may fulfill all or part of the Methods requirements through a combination of exams, exercises, and/or written work. This option is discouraged because the 271A-B–C sequence is unlike similar sequences offered elsewhere. Students without a previous MA who are exempted from a methods course still need to complete an alternate course in its place.
Additional course requirements include two 280s (pre-MA, introductions to subfields), one 273 (post-MA) advanced methods course, and three additional elective courses. Some recommended courses are SOCIOL 202s (advanced theory), additional 280s or 290 (special topics). In addition, two graduate-level, sociologically relevant, 3 or 4 unit courses are allowed from a department outside Sociology. A minimum of 35 units is required to complete the PhD program. Finally, no more than two substantive, letter-graded independent study 299s are allowed toward the 11-course PhD requirement.
Students Entering with an MA
Students who enter the program with an MA must meet with the director of graduate studies during their first semester in the department to work out an acceptable program of study. Normally, students who enter with an MA take the five courses required of students seeking the MA at Berkeley (i.e., Sociology 201A, 201B, 271A, 271B, and 271C) or petition for special consideration as described above. Most students also take two other courses (280s). Students who are exempted from one or more of these required courses must still take a minimum of three courses at the MA level.
Normative time to advancement is the end of the fourth year (eighth semester) in the program. Normative time to complete the masters paper is the fifth semester in the program (must also have completed eight of the eleven required courses before this time). Normative time to complete the qualifying examinations is seventh semester in the program (must also have completed the eleven required courses before this time).
Normative Time in Candidacy
Normative time in doctoral candidacy is two years.
Total Normative Time
Total normative time is six years.
Pre-Candidacy Academic Milestones
Master’s Paper
The department requires students to write a master’s paper to receive the MA degree. This paper needs to be approved by an MA committee composed of two to three faculty members. Sometimes these research papers begin as coursework, but the finished product is significantly more developed than a typical term paper.
Qualifying Examination
The purpose of the qualifying examination is to ascertain the breadth of the student’s comprehension of fundamental facts and principles that apply to theory and at least two subfields of sociology. It also determines whether the student has the ability to think incisively and critically about the theoretical and practical aspects of these subfields.
Prospectus
The dissertation prospectus is the last requirement that graduate students must meet before advancing to candidacy. The prospectus is a description of the proposed dissertation research. Through the prospectus, students articulate the topic and research question that motivates the dissertation research; explain why this question is of importance to the relevant fields of study; and describe as thoroughly and succinctly as possible their research design.
Time in Candidacy
Dissertation
The student assembles a committee that generally consists of two regular sociology faculty, one of whom will serve as chair, as well as one regular member from another department at Berkeley. The research project is carried out and analyzed in dissertation form. Most dissertations go through several drafts. Once the committee members accept the final draft, the work is signed and submitted to the Graduate Division as complete. There is no formal defense of the completed dissertation.
Required Professional Development
Proseminar
First-year students attend SOCIOL 200. This proseminar offers an introduction to the faculty and the discipline as well as advice about completing the requirements of the program.
Teaching Opportunities
Students are encouraged to teach during their graduate study in the program as part of their professional training. A significant number of our undergraduate courses offer graduate student instructor (GSI) positions. The department offers training for our new GSIs through our pedagogy course (SOCIOL 375). New GSIs are required to attend the Teaching Conference for First-Time GSIs each year and are encouraged to attend further offerings through the GSI Teaching & Resource Center on campus, including their Certificate Program in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.
Professional Development Activities
Colloquium
Students are strongly encouraged to attend the sociology colloquium series. The departmental colloquium is generally a who’s who of contemporary sociology. Attending these talks is a very efficient and lively way of getting an overview of the discipline. It is also a means by which students are introduced to the profession.
Workshops
The department offers a variety of workshops (SOCIOL 292) each semester which is formed in collaboration with faculty and interested students. Topics cover a variety of subfields and topics, such as immigration, race, economic sociology, gender, archival methods, qualitative data analysis as well as mathematical, analytical and experimental sociology. New workshops are often arranged according to student interests.
Professional Conference Attendance and Presentation
Each year our students attend and present at conferences relevant to their research interests, including the American Sociological Conference and the International Sociological Conference, among others.
Job Market Workshops
Our PhD students have been extraordinarily successful in obtaining research and teaching positions in research-oriented universities as well as more teaching-oriented colleges. A smaller but significant number have pursued careers in research institutes, business, government, and nonprofits.
To prepare for the current job market, we encourage students to produce publishable research papers early in their studies, master both quantitative and/or qualitative research techniques, and gain relevant teaching experience. Students also benefit from presenting their own research in department workshops and at professional conferences.
We encourage all students who are about to enter the job market to attend our departmental Job Market Workshops. These workshops are designed to help locate both academic and non-academic job openings as well as post-doctoral positions and refine application materials. The workshops also help students prepare for the job talk and understand the interview process.
Courses
Sociology
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2021
This proseminar is required of all first-year graduate students and is supervised by a regular faculty member. The seminar will familiarize students with faculty and their various research interests and of opportunities available for funding via research and teaching assistantships. It consists of presentations by faculty on their past, present and future research and by representatives of Organized Research Units on their mission, programs of research, and opportunities for assistantships. Proseminar: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Sociology/Graduate
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
Social Theory began as an attempt to come to grips with the massive social transformations in Europe beginning around 1500. Modernity was understood in three ways. It concerned the development of a capitalist economy based on the use of science to develop new technology, the emergence of states with bureaucracies allied with military organizations, and the decline of religious authority as the main arbiter of moral values accompanied by the rise of the model of the self-interested purposive actor. Social theory was produced not just to create an understanding of these changes and the problems they caused, but also to be used to propose how society ought to be structured. In this class, we examine how classical thinkers, like Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim among others, proposed how to analyze those changes and in doing so created theories of society. Classical Social Theory: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for 201A after taking 201.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
This course is a continuation of our required graduate theory course. We separate modern and classical social theory by considering modern social theory to consist of works published after World War II. Modern sociological theory uses classical social theory both as a source and a foil. There have been continuities in social thought whereby more contemporary theorists view themselves as using elements of classical social theory, sometimes in combination and at other times to understand different kinds of phenomena, such as micro-interaction or gender relations. Contemporary theory has also been critical of classical theory. This has caused different theorists to construct entirely new ideas or rely on new sources for their theories. The course considers a wide variety of authors and perspectives to illustrate the current breadth of social thought. Modern Social Theory: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for 201B after taking 201.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2009, Spring 2008, Spring 2001
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Law: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Spring 2003, Spring 1999, Spring 1997
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Race and Ethnic Relations: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Fall 1997
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Political Sociology: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Organizations: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Industrial Sociology: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Spring 2005, Spring 2000
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Family: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Social Stratification and Class Analysis: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Fall 2005, Spring 2001, Fall 1997
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Development: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Spring 1998, Spring 1996
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Religion: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Spring 1999
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Urban Sociology: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Social Psychology: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Spring 2006, Spring 2004, Spring 2000
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Gender: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Fall 2004, Spring 2004, Fall 1996
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Culture: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Education: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Health and Medicine: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Spring 2006, Spring 2001
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Area Studies: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Economy and Society: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Professions: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Social Movements: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Fall 2011
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Theory: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Society and Environment: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Introductory study of a sociological field, among those listed in the 280 series, including participation in the appropriate undergraduate course in that field. Also includes individual meetings with the faculty sponsor, who may stipulate additional requirements. Supervised Preparatory Course Work: Society and Technology: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consultation with and approval of regular faculty member responsible
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2020
A three-semester sequence course introducing logical and analytic techniques commonly employed in social science research. The methodological problems encountered in field work, historical and comparative inquiry, experimental research, and survey analysis. The first semester concentrates on techniques for gathering evidence; the second and third semesters focuses on beginning and intermediate numerical techniques for analyzing evidence. Methods of Sociological Research: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Credit Restrictions: Credit and grade to be assigned at the end of each semester.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
A three-semester sequence course introducing logical and analytic techniques commonly employed in social science research. The methodological problems encountered in field work, historical and comparative inquiry, experimental research, and survey analysis. The first semester concentrates on techniques for gathering evidence; the second and third semesters focuses on beginning and intermediate numerical techniques for analyzing evidence. Methods of Sociological Research: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Credit Restrictions: Credit and grade to be assigned at the end of each semester.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 0-2 hours of discussion per week
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
A three-semester sequence course introducing logical and analytic techniques commonly employed in social science research. The methodological problems encountered in field work, historical and comparative inquiry, experimental research, and survey analysis. The first semester concentrates on techniques for gathering evidence; the second and third semesters focuses on beginning and intermediate numerical techniques for analyzing evidence. Methods of Sociological Research: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 0-2 hours of discussion per week
Terms offered: Fall 2021, Spring 1997, Spring 1996
In this graduate-level research methods course we will revisit and extend many of the issues with
which you have dealt in conducting your MA and possibly other research. Further, some issues
that bear on your (and everyone’s) research will be brought into our discussion. As we revisit,
extend, and broaden the material of methods, students can use their research experience to
interrogate the conflicting ideas of the course, and use various conflicting ideas of the course to
interrogate (and enhance the quality of) their research. Methods of Sociological Research: Imperative and Emerging Technical and Epistemological Issues: Read More [+]
Objectives & Outcomes
Course Objectives: Gaining such consciousness and bringing it to bear in one’s research is a life-long task. The
course cannot convey a set of “answers” as the final word on many of these issues because the
dialogue on these issues continues such that there is final word to give. Thus, our aim is to
deepen your engagement with these issues, to provide an opportunity for deepened reflection on
your work and the myriad complexities embedded within.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014
Selected topics in quantitative/statistical methods of research in the social sciences and particularly in sociology. Possible topics include: analysis of qualitative/categorical data; loglinear models and latent-structure analysis; the analysis of cross-classified data having ordered and unordered categories; measure, models, and graphical displays in the analysis of cross-classified data; correspondence analysis, association analysis, and related methods of data analysis. Quantitative/Statistical Research Methods in Social Sciences: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2017
Seminar in advanced sociological research methods. This course serves as an introduction to the particular particle simulation method of agent-based modeling. As such, the course has four aims: 1) expose participants to exemplary agent-based models; 2) teach participants how to code many such models: 3) teach participants how to conduct the additional stages of a serious agent-based mode study, and 4) sensitize participants to the many epistemological and philosophical questions and implications agent-based models might pose. Adv Sem in Resrch Methods: Agent-Based Modeling-Practical Implementation and Epistemolog: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
This is the 1st semester of a two-semester course that provides a rigorous introduction to methods and tools in advanced data analytics for social science doctoral students. The goal of the course is to provide students with a strong foundation of knowledge of core methods, thereby preparing them to contribute to research teams, to conduct their own research, and to enroll in more advanced courses. The course will cover research reproducibility (fall), machine learning (fall), natural language processing (spring), and causal inference (spring). In contrast to other courses currently offered on campus, this course’s intended audience is applied researchers, typically social science doctoral students in their 2nd or 3rd yr of graduate school. Computational Social Science: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: A year-long course in statistical methods for social science graduate students (or equivalent prior experience) will generally be sufficient preparation. Students should have a background in multivariate regression (both linear and non-linear models), maximum likelihood estimation, and introductory causal inference (omitted variable bias, potential outcomes, average treatment effects, causal graphs)
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 0-2 hours of laboratory per week
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
This is the 2nd semester of a two-semester course that provides a rigorous introduction to methods and tools in advanced data analytics for social science doctoral students. The goal of the course is to provide students with a strong foundation of knowledge of core methods, thereby preparing them to contribute to research teams, to conduct their own research, and to enroll in more advanced courses. The course will cover research reproducibility (fall), machine learning (fall), natural language processing (spring), and causal inference (spring). In contrast to other courses currently offered on campus, this course’s intended audience is applied researchers, typically social science doctoral students in their 2nd or 3rd yr of graduate school. Computational Social Science: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Sociology 273L A year-long course in statistical methods for social science graduate students (or equivalent prior experience) will generally be sufficient statistical preparation. Students should have a background in multivariate regression (both linear and non-linear models), maximum likelihood estimation, and introductory causal inference (omitted variable bias, potential outcomes, average treatment effects, causal graphs). Students may consult the instructor if unsure
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 0-2 hours of laboratory per week
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
This course provides a broad introduction to the empirical and theoretical study of social networks. We will cover classic and contemporary studies, beginning with fundamental definitions and models, and then moving through a range of topics, including models of network formation and structure (homophily, foci, communities); dynamic processes on networks (contagion, influence, and disease models); collaborative networks; personal networks; online networks; and network sampling and data collection. The course material is intended to be of interest to students from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds, including demography, sociology, statistics, computer science, and related fields. Social Networks: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students who have taken DEMOG 260-001: SOCIAL NETWORKS in spring 2017 or DEMOG 260-001: SOCIAL NETWORKS in spring 2018 for credit may not receive credit for DEMOG C280 or SOCIOL C273N.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2021, Spring 2018, Spring 2015
This course will take students through the process of developing, carrying out, and writing up a research project. The course is ideal for students working on their MA papers, but it is also appropriate for students who are formulating dissertation prospectuses. We will begin by reading a guide to the logical problems that all research methods, qualitative or quantitative, must address if they are to study social causation. Research Design: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2020, Fall 2019
Courses under this number involve pursuing graduate study in substantive sociological subfields. The courses presume familiarity with the fields of study. Consult departmental catalog for current descriptions. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Law: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
This course introduces students to the sociology of poverty by understanding its causes and conditions. Poverty is part of the social stratification system as well as a condition with properties that characterize the individual living with extreme material scarcity. Thus, it involves both the social and the physical world. The course will engage a broad literature on poverty that incorporates research from sociology, economics, and anthropology. We also will consider structure, culture, and agency in creating and maintaining individuals and groups in the condition of poverty. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Sociology of Poverty: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2021, Spring 2020
Courses under this number involve pursuing graduate study in substantive sociological subfields. The courses presume familiarity with the fields of study. Consult departmental catalog for current descriptions. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Political Sociology: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2023, Spring 2021
Courses under this number involve pursuing graduate study in substantive sociological subfields. The courses presume familiarity with the fields of study. Consult departmental catalog for current descriptions. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Organizations: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2018
Courses under this number involve pursuing graduate study in substantive sociological subfields. The courses presume familiarity with the fields of study. Consult departmental catalog for current descriptions. Sociology of Medicine: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Spring 2017, Fall 2015
Courses under this number involve pursuing graduate study in substantive sociological subfields. The courses presume familiarity with the fields of study. Consult departmental catalog for current descriptions. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Sociology of Work: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2025
We’re in the midst of a climate emergency, with climate change the most pressing problem. We need to transform our social and economic system to avoid the worst. There's still time to do this, while establishing the conditions for us, and our descendants, to live brilliant, stimulating lives. To move forward, we need to supplement natural science with social science. This course is a survey of key research topics in climate and environmental sociology tuned to the pressing effort to understand the core social (and political, and economic) dimensions of this crisis, and the extent to which these are (or are not) novel dynamics. Put another way: how much continuity, and how much change, is there in the climate emergency? Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Environmental and Climate Sociology: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2012, Spring 2012
Courses under this number involve pursuing graduate study in substantive sociological subfields. The courses presume familiarity with the fields of study. Consult departmental catalog for current descriptions. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Family: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2020, Fall 2018
Courses under this number involve pursuing graduate study in substantive sociological subfields. The courses presume familiarity with the fields of study. Consult departmental catalog for current descriptions. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Development: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2013, Fall 2010
Courses under this number involve pursuing graduate study in substantive sociological subfields. The courses presume familiarity with the fields of study. Consult departmental catalog for current descriptions. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Religion: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2020, Fall 2018
Courses under this number involve pursuing graduate study in substantive sociological subfields. The courses presume familiarity with the fields of study. Consult departmental catalog for current descriptions. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Urban Sociology: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Fall 2010
Courses under this number involve pursuing graduate study in substantive sociological subfields. The courses presume familiarity with the fields of study. Consult departmental catalog for current descriptions. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Social Psychology: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2017, Spring 2014
Courses under this number involve pursuing graduate study in substantive sociological subfields. The courses presume familiarity with the fields of study. Consult departmental catalog for current descriptions. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Gender: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Spring 2017
Courses under this number involve pursuing graduate study in substantive sociological subfields. The courses presume familiarity with the fields of study. Consult departmental catalog for current descriptions. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Culture: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Spring 2019, Fall 2016
Courses under this number involve pursuing graduate study in substantive sociological subfields. The courses presume familiarity with the fields of study. Consult departmental catalog for current descriptions. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Education: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2016, Fall 2015
Courses under this number involve pursuing graduate study in substantive sociological subfields. The courses presume familiarity with the fields of study. Consult departmental catalog for current descriptions. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Area Studies: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Courses under this number involve pursuing graduate study in substantive sociological subfields. The courses presume familiarity with the fields of study. Consult departmental catalog for current descriptions. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Economy and Society: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2006, Spring 2001
Courses under this number involve pursuing graduate study in substantive sociological subfields. The courses presume familiarity with the fields of study. Consult departmental catalog for current descriptions. War & Genocide: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2022, Spring 2015
Courses under this number involve pursuing graduate study in substantive sociological subfields. The courses presume familiarity with the fields of study. Consult departmental catalog for current descriptions. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Social Movements: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2012, Spring 2000, Spring 1998
This seminar approaches the sociology of everyday life from a thematic perspective. This course covers topics grouped in six major rubics: the habitus, the public sphere, the private sphere, strategy and tactics, space, and time. We will focus on codes/rules of conduct and etiquette, taste, style, self-presentation, (house) work, emotions, resistance, and the spatial and temporal coordinates of social action. Readings will cover a broad terrain chronologically and geographically. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Sociology of Everyday Life: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Terms offered: Spring 2009, Fall 2008, Fall 2007
In this course we address a wide range of social theories and sociological investigations of sexuality as it is conceptualized and experienced in social contexts. Theoretical approaches to sexuality may include psychoanalytic, feminist, Marxist, symbolic-interactionist, and discursive/post-structural approaches to understanding how sexual categories vary over time and across cultures, how people identify with or against them, and how social power works through time. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Sexuality: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2018, Fall 2014
This seminar examines the dynamics of migration, integration, and citizenship, both from the perspective of the receiving society and from the lived experiences of migrants themselves. The seminar focuses on processes of incorporation--economic, social, cultural, and political--but we also look at paradigms that challenge an integrationist reading of migration, in particular transnationalism and models of postnational citizenship. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Immigration and Incorporation: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2019
Sociology now analyzes social organization that transcends national boundaries, not just as linking national societies or as influencing national societies, but as a phenomenon in its own right. This course brings together a selection of literature that looks at transnational social organizations and the distinctive dynamics of global political economy and culture and offers a sociological perspective on what lies behind the vague and confusing label of "globalization." Sociology of Globalization: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2020, Spring 2019
This course will examine the major theoretical arguments that seek to account for the development of social policy, including arguments about the pwoer of social forces such as business and labor, the role of racial and ethnic division, the influence of ideas, and the organizational features of the state. The course readings examine developments in the United States with some comparision to other countries. Advanced Study in Substantive Sociological Fields: Sociol Policy: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Undergraduate preparation in the field; completion of a 205 in the field or an equivalent determined by the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-2 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2012, Spring 2010, Spring 2008
The seminar is a forum for intensive attention to writing of seminar members at any stage, from initial planning of the dissertation to the job presentation talk. We will be especially concerned with reflexive issues: the choice of problem and method as a sociological, political, personal, and market issue; the place of the researcher in research; sociology as a discipline and interdiscipline. Problems of organization, scope, theoretical and empirical emphasis will also be addressed. Dissertation Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2015, Spring 2012
This seminar is a workshop on professional writing for sociologists. We will focus on editing, rewriting, re-editing, and re-rewriting seminar members' papers with the goal of completing a paper appropriate for the professional journals. In addition, we will cover several topics in writing, including psychological inhibition, style, journals, writing for the general public, and the world of book publishing. Class time will be divided into short lectures and workshop periods, during which we will discuss work in-progress and do some collective editing of sample texts. Professional Writing Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Sociology/Graduate
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Advanced study in modern sociology. The specific topics will be announced at the beginning of each semester. Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2022
The purpose of this seminar is to provide participants with an opportunity to present their work-in-progress, be it a potential academic journal submission, dissertation chapter, dissertation prospectus or even a draft interview schedule. Through a process of peer-review, we will work on improving each participant's written work, and to stay abreast of the diverse work being done in the field of the seminar's topic. Advanced Research Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Sociology/Graduate
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
The purpose of this seminar is to provide students an opportunity to present their work in progress (dissertation, chapter/prospectus, etc.). Through a process of peer review we will work to improve each student's dissertation work. Advanced Research Seminar--Dissertation: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 8 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week 15 weeks - 1 hour of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Sociology/Graduate
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015
The purpose of this seminar is to provide students an opportunity to present their work in progress (academic journal submission, dissertation chapter/prospectus, etc., or even a draft interview schedule). Through a process of peer review, we will work to improve each student's written work and to stay abreast of the diverse work being done in the field of the seminar's topic. Advanced Research Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 8 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week 15 weeks - 1 hour of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Sociology/Graduate
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-30 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 1.5-22.5 hours of independent study per week 10 weeks - 1.5-18 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Sociology/Graduate
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014
For students engaged in individual research and study. May not be substituted for available graduate lecture courses or 290. Individual Study and Research: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 1.5-14.5 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 1-9 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Fall 2014
Individual study for the master's requirements in consultation with the adviser. Units may not be used to meet either unit or residency requirements for the master's degree. Individual Study for Master's Students: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-12 hours of independent study per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 1-12 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 1-12 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Summer 2016 8 Week Session, Spring 2016, Summer 2015 8 Week Session
Individual study in consultation with the adviser intended to provide an opportunity for qualified students to prepare themselves for the various examinations required of candidates for the Ph.D. May not be used for unit or residence requirements for the doctoral degree. Individual Study for Doctoral Students: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 1-16 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 1-12 hours of independent study per week
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