Department of Sociology

Admissions | Sociology Ph.D.

Graduate training in Sociology prioritizes community engagement and policy-relevant research focused on improving people’s daily lives and society more broadly. Students focus on the integration of theory with a variety of quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches to study the dynamics of social interactions and structures.

The Ph.D. program is a combination Master’s and Doctoral program in which students first complete requirements for a Master’s Degree with thesis (minimum of 54 credits) and then continue onward to earn a Ph.D. (minimum of 108 credits, which includes 54 credits from the Master’s). Applications are accepted once per year and incoming students start in the fall term.
 

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Admissions Requirements

  • Meet PSU minimum requirements
  • Applicants for the graduate degree are normally expected to have a bachelor’s degree in Sociology.
  • Applicants with other majors must have completed courses in sociological theory, research methods, and statistics, or their equivalents.

Deadlines

This program only admits students once a year for fall term: Jan. 15th

Application portal opens Sept. 1st to Jan. 5 of each year.

Application Materials

Below is the list of the information and materials you will need to provide as part of your application. We recommend preparing these materials in advance of submitting your application.

  • Statement of Purpose: Submit an approximately 1,000 word statement of purpose, including all the following elements that are relevant to your experience: 
    • Academic and/or life experiences that motivate your interest in sociology; 
    • Reasons for pursuing graduate study in sociology; 
    • Ultimate career goals once you obtain your terminal degree; 
    • Prior academic experiences that have prepared you to do graduate level work in sociology; 
    • Research experience, including research in courses, research assistantships, research presentations, and publications (if any); 
    • Teaching experience, including teaching assistantships and community-based teaching (if any); 
    • Service experience, including volunteer work on campus, in the discipline of sociology, and in the community (if any); 
    • Areas of interest within sociology and possible areas of focus for your own research; 
    • Reasons for choosing PSU sociology.
  • Writing Sample: Please attach one recent written scholarly piece. This can be a paper written for a course, an excerpt from your thesis, or an academic publication. 30 pages maximum.
  • CV or Resume: The department requires you to upload an curriculum vitae or resume.
  • References: Submit contact information for at least three people who are qualified to assess your promise as a graduate student. Prospective students who do not have three faculty recommenders may request letters from professional contacts (e.g. collaborators, colleagues, supervisors) who can speak to the applicant's skills and experiences relevant for graduate work. Portland State University will contact your references and provide them with instructions for submitting recommendation forms.
  • Copies of transcripts only from schools where a bachelor’s degree was awarded and/or graduate-level coursework was completed.
  • Proof of English Language Proficiency (if applicable)
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Frequently Asked Questions

Sociology PhD: Application portal opens September 1 to January 5 of each year.

No.

We are currently unable to provide fee waivers, though you may qualify for a fee waiver through the PSU Graduate School. For more information, go to https://www.pdx.edu/admissions/fee-deferral

Yes! Apply via the PSU online application system to the program labeled Sociology, Ph.D.. You will complete M.S.-level work before continuing on to Ph.D.-level work.

Yes! Apply via the PSU online application system to the program labeled Sociology, Ph.D.. Your previous Master’s level work will be reviewed to ensure that you have achieved training equivalent to the M.S.-level work in our Ph.D. program. If you have not completed equivalent work, you may be required to take core courses and/or complete a thesis. You can contact the graduate director if you have questions about your specific situation.

If you complete the M.S.-level requirements of the Ph.D. program (including a thesis), you will graduate with a M.S. in Sociology.

If you complete the M.S.-level work (including a thesis), you will graduate with a M.S. in Sociology.

Students are evaluated individually for their likelihood of success in completing a Ph.D. as demonstrated by the quality of their M.S.-level work

A student in the Ph.D. program who enters at year one can request to change to the Non-Thesis M.S. program at any point. If your request is approved and you complete the requirements for the Non-Thesis M.S. (which includes additional required courses but does not include a thesis), you will graduate with a M.S. in Sociology. However, this means that you cannot continue on to do Ph.D.-level work in the PSU sociology program.

You may contact faculty members prior to submitting your application; however this is not required and not all faculty members will have capacity to meet with prospective students.

Once you begin the program, you will be paired with an initial advisor who you may or may not elect to work with long term. Students will choose their thesis/dissertation advisors during their first year in the program.

Every effort will be made to extend offers of employment within the sociology department to students in the Ph.D. program who request funding. Students in the Non-Thesis M.S. program are not eligible for funding from the sociology department but may be employed at PSU outside the department.

The availability of graduate employment in the department will vary depending on university and departmental budgets. There are three options for employment in the sociology department: Graduate Teaching Assistantship; Graduate Teaching Assistantship as Instructor of Record; and Graduate Research Assistantship. There are a number of other possible teaching and research relationships both within and external to the department (e.g., hourly research work, summer research funding) which are not covered by these designations and agreements