The department of sociology at Duke University is a vibrant intellectual community dedicated to interaction across theoretical perspectives, methods, and research areas. In the department you will find professors and graduate students studying the social effects of aging, tracing patterns of immigration into the United States, exploring the role of multinational corporations in the Third World, mapping the “tracks” along which people move during their careers, looking at who joins political coalitions, assessing the impact of women’s careers on retirement benefits, comparing social mobility and the organization of work in different countries, seeking to explain ethnic nationalism, and investigating indicators of societies of the future.

CORE STRENGTHS

The top-notch faculty at Duke pride themselves on the breadth of their interests and activities, but we offer extraordinary strength in six areas. In addition to the thorough study of general sociological theory and method, students concentrate their study in one or more of the following areas:

Comparative and Historical Sociology focuses on macro and international social phenomena in order to understand both the institutional features of societies and their processes of change, and the evolving interdependencies that link the world’s societies in a global context. Research and training address a variety of historical and contemporary issues concerning change and development.

Population Studies emphasizes the structure and dynamics of human populations. Our particular strengths include comparative demography, household and family demography, social epidemiology, minority health status, population aging, population modeling, and international migration.

Medical Sociology focuses on five specific areas: the formal organization of care; health service research and health policy; sociology of mental illness; stress, coping, and social support; and social epidemiology.

Economic Sociology focuses on economy and society with particular attention paid to organizations, occupations, markets, and work. Topics of concern to faculty include comparative studies of economic systems, complex organizations, organizational ecology, interorganizational networks, the organization of production, individual careers, and the social psychology of work.

Social Psychology focuses on microsociology and social psychology, including social nteraction, group processes, intergroup relations, self and identity, the sociology of emotion and mental health, social structure and personality, social networks and application of social psychological knowledge in organizations and health.

Stratification examines how social institutions allocate resources, facilitate or constrain social mobility, and maintain or change a society’s level of achievement and inequality. Some of our faculty seek to understand how individual and structural factors influence individuals’ educational and career outcomes. Others use a more macro perspective, taking educational institutions, labor markets, or whole societies as the unit of analysis in an effort to understand social mobility and inequality.

PROGRAM OF STUDY

We are proud to offer a challenging and rigorous program of study and research leading to the Ph.D. degree. A ratio of one faculty member for every two students guarantees each student close attention, from nationally recognized authorities in their fields.

Entering graduate students should already have completed a minimum of 12 semester hours in sociology and an additional 12 semester hours in related work (e.g., other social sciences, statistics, computer science, philosophy, mathematics.) Applicants for admission are required to take the verbal and quantitative aptitude tests of the Graduate Record Examination.

A student entering with an undergraduate degree and adequate course preparation would need to take seventeen courses to satisfy degree requirements. Five of these courses are “core” courses: one theory, two statistics and two methods. In addition, the student takes three year-long professionalization seminars for first-hand exposure from department faculty and visiting speakers on the practice of research.

Financial Aid

The principle behind Duke’s strong financial support for all its graduate students is to foster a cooperative spirit and encourage speedy progress through the program.

Financial aid is awarded for five years of study. Awards to first year students are fellowships covering tuition, related fees and a stipend. Financial aid for more advanced students are teaching assistantships or research assistantships on faculty-directed research projects. Other support is available through University fellowships (e.g. James B. Duke, Duke Endowment, Latin American Studies, Baugh, or International), external fellowships (e.g., the National Science Foundation), and traineeships available in certain programs (e.g., various International Studies programs, Center for Aging and Human Development, Center for Demographic Studies). Advanced students can compete for dissertation fellowships and for university instructorships to teach undergraduate courses. Dissertation travel awards and dissertation research awards are available on a competitive basis from the Graduate School. The Graduate School and the Department maintain a fund for students attending professional conferences to present research papers. The Department helps students identify and apply for external grants and fellowships. Finally, the graduate school can often subsidize a visit to Duke University by accepted applicants.

RESULTS

Duke’s commitment to fostering a collegial atmosphere among faculty and students is not limited to financial support. Each student has a faculty advisor or advisory committee. Graduate students share office space within the building housing the department of sociology. Weekly meetings of the professionalization seminars provide an opportunity for students to learn of each other’s research interests. A weekly colloquium, attended by all members of the department, presents some of the best new work sociology has to offer from inside and outside the department.

This approach to graduate education works. Not only do our students complete their degree, they get good jobs when they graduate

We welcome your application!

Admission is competitive and limited to applicants demonstrating academic excellence and professional promise. To insure consideration, applications to begin graduate study in Fall 2006 must be postmarked by December 31, 2005.

Take a virtual tour of Duke Sociology at:

http://www.soc.duke.edu/graduate/tour.html