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[questioning]

I have been thinking for a long time about pursuing a PhD, and as I think about the 'burning questions' pushing my PhD plans forward, I've been trying to determine what programs are best for me.  Since the questions I am interested in are largely inter-disciplinary, it hasn't been that easy to determine what perspective to pursue my research in. 

That being said, I am becoming more certain that Sociology is the right track for me.  However, I do not have a BA or MA in the subject-  rather, both my undergraduate and graduate coursework have been very interdisciplinary in nature [BA in Middle Eastern Studies; MA in International Affairs with a focus on conflict resolution] - - although both certainly incorporated sociology classes/methods.

I am concerned that I may not be accepted to PhD programs because I lack background in the discipline.  Does anyone [student or professor] have any thoughts on exceptions to admitting PhD students who do not already have an MA in Sociology? Is this a case where, if I find someone whose interests match closely to mine and who is interested in my research interests, admission should not be a problem?

If it makes any difference, I graduated at the top of my class from both my BA program [top tier, Ivy League U] and MA program [again, top tier].  I have strong GRE scores and a long history of experience and academic study around the issues I would like to continue to pursue.

Thanks...

[anonforthis]

forget it.

most likely you won't even be accepted with your background (people who have no background at the BA/MA level are rarely accepted to a quality PhD program).

Even if you were, you could expect to have to take a considerable (40 or more) credits in sociology before you could take the pre-quals.

[sisqa_]

In some European countries (e.g., The Netherlands and Germany), the Ph.D. is more or less like a 4-year job, and not a part of a program. Everyone can do a Ph.D., if they have an M.A., no matter in which discipline  (and find a professor willing to supervise them). Normally no or only nominal coursework required.
The UK might be similar, it wouldn't hurt to google a bit to see whether there are European supervisors you wanted to work with and then contact them.

Good luck!
 

[mountainguy]

I'm not familiar with trends within the field of sociology, but I do know that in my own field [communication], having a BA/MA in the discipline is not always a prerequisite to being admitted to the PhD program. I'm in a program that is considered top-tier, and several of my classmates are from interdisciplinary backgrounds.  So you certainly aren't the first person I've heard of who has considered jumping disciplines.

[rubyslippers]

If you've identified certain professors whose research interests are closely linked with your own, I would go ahead and contact them, laying out your background and research interests and ask whether their department would be a good fit for you.  I don't think there are any hard or fast rules to respond to this query, and I myself was accepted into my humanities graduate program without a B.A. in the subject, but with prior area studies background.  If you're planning on pursuing sociology research in the general field of Middle Eastern studies, any prior background, especially language, will undoubtedly be very useful.

Another thought is that you might be asked to undertake additional study in sociology, especially research methods, before entering a full-fledged Ph.D. program.

[olive]

I'd say that about a third of my cohort (in a Sociology PhD program) came in with backgrounds outside of Soc, and it hasn't hurt their progress at all.   Some of them took extra undergrad courses our first year, and some took the same grad courses as those of us who came in with a BA and/or MA in Sociology. 

I think, like other folks have said above, it will depend on the specific programs you're interested in, and the faculty available to work with you in those programs, along with your ability to make a strong case for your how your background in other fields makes you a good fit for their dept.  Sociology is broad enough to incorporate a wide variety of approaches...so I would not feel that you have to forget about it as an option. 

[questioning]

Thanks everyone for your comments.  I've been trying to find researchers whose interests are close to mine and hoping to get some concrete advice from them, as well.


 

[socguy]

As my moniker would suggest, I am in sociology.  I've seen folks without a BA in sociology do well in graduate school, and I've seen them do poorly.  One person in particular came in to the program with four BA degrees from an institution known for its strong religious ties.  He was completely lost.  Before you think he's an idiot, let me assure you that he wasn't, really.  He just didn't have the mind-set, or "sociological imagination" needed to keep up with others.  That having been said, he will probably do fine in the end.  But the learning curve is steep.

One thing to consider in your search for a program is how theory-heavy the department is.  In general, the higher the level of theory, the more difficult the learning curve, IMHO, YMMV, naturally.

Also, as has been said many times by many smart people:  Accept the offer of admission from the best place you can get into that suits your interests.  Network, network, network.  Remember, too, that academics who set and stick to a schedule are often the most productive.  Find your schedule and stay with it.

Best of luck to you. 

SocGuy

[econ_anon]

If you're also good at math-- definitely consider economics programs as well (you will need to have taken college level calculus, and preferred linear algebra, and maybe even real analysis)!  Depending on your area of interest we answer a lot of the same questions and the job market is WAY better in economics.  That won't work so well if you're more interested in qualitative than quantitative though.

Also, depending on your interests, there are interdisciplinary programs at policy schools where you could do a sociology track-- the actual PhD would be from a policy or government school, but you would be eligible for sociology jobs afterwards.  I know people who have done this at the Kennedy school at Harvard and the policy school at UMichigan.  Your MA professors probably know more about these than I do.

[reluctant]

I would think you could get into a PhD program, but you may have to re-do the masters. In my History Dept, plenty of people came in with non-history backgrounds, including MAs, but they had to start out with all the course work of the people with just a BA.  Besides, if you decided that the PhD is not worth it after a couple years, you would also have an MA in Sociology.

[sirrah]

In my program, we've had several students come in to the Ph.D. program from other fields and it seems like hard-working, passionate students will turn out as hard-working, passionate students do in any field.  One thing I would like to mention, though, is if you do apply for a soc. dept., you may have some classes that could transfer in (methods, subfield interests, etc.) towards the Ph.D.  However, if you talk a grad. coordinator about this, please be sure and get something in writing about what classes they will accept.  I've had several friends be promised that a certain # of their masters classes will be counted towards the Ph.D. and then because of admin. turnover, miscommunication, or who knows what, are being asked to take more classes.  Just something to think about.  Sometimes coordinators get overly generous when trying to recruit good students.  Good luck!

[questioning]

Thanks again everyone.  Econ-Anon, I've actually thought a lot about inter-disciplinary programs, but have been reluctant to pursue that option because I worry that it will limit my job prospects after finishing the PhD.  In fact, my MA is from an inter-disciplinary program that offers a PhD as well, but I've been told time and time again that the PhD is not geared towards academics...

On a slightly different note, for those of you in the sociology field - my area of interest is conflict, and particularly the way in which community- or grassroots-based conflict resolution programs [dialogue groups, etc.] can have an impact on wider peace-building efforts, or, more generally, how they can affect society at large.  I'm particularly interested in youth-based programs [another discipline up for consideration has been Education, although I'm not so sure about that one].  Does anyone have thoughts on programs/professors my interests might match well with?

Thanks again

[sirrah]

Questioning,
     I'm currently on the job market and have been going to the American Sociological Association website (asanet.org) and looking at jobs.  I have seen at least a couple in peace studies.  I would go to the ASA website and look up the job bulletins from the past couple months, which you can do without joining, and look for some schools there.  You may also want to look into rural sociology that has foci on community and grassroots responses to social problems.  RS is usually very applied and may fit well with your interests, particularly if you want to go into a nonprofit sector job.  I just got back from their conference, so you may want to check out their website and see if any of the conference papers fall into an area you'd like to pursue.  I know "rural" makes you think of farms and ag, but there's also a big focus on how to mobilize communities, too.  www.ruralsociology.org  Hope this helps.

[praeceptrixancilla]

Questioning,
I had some very similar thoughts about sociology. I found that I would have to take a significant number of graduate credits in sociology to make it work. My degrees are BS in Criminal Just. / Sociology, BS Nursing, MS Nursing. I went the PhD in nursing route, but have easily aligned my research interests with cognates in sociology and psychology. Perhaps you could explore something similar, to combine your interests.

[tt_wannabe]

Questioning:

I seem to recall an article on the CHE written by an inter-disciplinary PhD candidate and/or tt. The upshot: S/he didn't feel that they fit in either department and was often shunned by both departments because they felt that s/he wasn't 'really' one of them. (That is, at least, how I remember the article. Please search the site for it to make your own judgement.) I'm not saying this is your fate, just that you need to 'take the temperature' of how an interdisciplinary course of study will go over in your field and how that course of study will translate into a job.

Good Luck!

-tt_wannabe