nyu phd in sociology

Sociology (BA)

Program description, honors program.

The discipline of sociology and the sociology major at NYU examine how our individual lives are embedded in families, groups and social networks, neighborhoods and schools, and organizations and institutions. Sociologists focus on the ways in which our own biographies are influenced and constrained by broader social, political, and economic forces which can be very localized, but are increasingly global in scale.

We study sociology to understand the social world and to create change that will make it a better place. It is a discipline that gives students the tools to think critically about public issues of the day and to analyze many different kinds of evidence about the world that surrounds us. It pushes students to see the world differently, and to look beyond individuals to see the ways in which power, inequality, and social hierarchies operate beneath the surface of everyday life.

Students with at least a 3.65 GPA both overall and in the major (or who have permission of the director of undergraduate studies) may elect to participate in our honors program.

In the fall of senior year, honors students register for the first term of SOC-UA 950 Senior Honors Research Seminar to develop and structure their research projects. The faculty member teaching the course assists students in finding faculty thesis advisers. In the spring of senior year, honors students take the second term of SOC-UA 951 Senior Honors Research Seminar and work under the supervision of their selected adviser. The second semester of SOC-UA 951 Senior Honors Research Seminar counts as one of the required elective courses for the major.

New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU.  For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply . 

Program Requirements

Graduate courses open to undergraduates.

The major requirements (36 credits) must be completed with a grade of C or better.

The foreign language requirement is satisfied upon successful completion through the Intermediate level of a language. This may be accomplished in fewer than 16 credits, but those credits must then be completed as elective credit.

Note that the prerequisite for the senior capstone is SOC-UA 301 Research Methods .

Please see honors program information in Overview .

Students may substitute up to two social science courses taken in other departments with the approval of the director of undergraduate studies. The second semester of SOC-UA 951 Senior Honors Research Seminar counts as an elective for the major.

Under special circumstances, courses offered in the sociology graduate program are open to qualified sociology majors with the permission of the instructor. These can substitute for required sociology elective courses for majors or minors.

Sample Plan of Study

Learning outcomes.

Upon completion of program requirements, students are expected to have acquired:

• An understanding of key concepts in the field of sociology, including class, status, capitalism, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, culture, power, stratification, rationalization, anomie, alienation, etc.
• An understanding of the key ideas of leading sociological theorists, including Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Du Bois, and others.
• Knowledge of the ways in which the field of sociology complements or intersects with other scholarly disciplines.
• The ability to analyze data and employ both qualitative methods (ethnography, interviewing, archival research, and experiments) and statistical methods to conduct rigorous investigations of a wide range of social institutions and phenomena.
• Expertise in one particular area of sociological inquiry, leading to a senior capstone (or honors) research paper.

Major Policies

Policy applying to transfer students, nyu policies, college of arts and science policies.

Advanced Placement or other advanced standing credit in statistics does not satisfy the required course SOC-UA 302 Statistics for Social Research . This policy applies to students who matriculate in CAS in and after fall, 2020.

Of the nine courses required for the major, transfer students must take at least five (20 credits) in the College of Arts and Science.

University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages .

A full list of relevant academic policies can be found on the CAS Academic Policies page . 

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NYU Shanghai Launches New Sociology PhD

September 23, 2020

NYU Shanghai this month launched a new  PhD program in Sociology  in partnership with the NYU Graduate School of Arts and Science (NYU GSAS) and the NYU Department of Sociology. The five-year program will be NYU Shanghai’s first social science doctoral program, bringing the university’s total number of  PhD offerings  to ten. The university is now accepting applications for the inaugural class arriving in the summer of 2021.

“After decades of rapid economic growth, China is facing many challenges in social development – from education to health care, housing to inequality and poverty, migration to population aging and social governance. However, we have long lacked the scientific evidence and methodology to understand the causes and consequences of these issues, let alone develop policy solutions,” said Yufeng Global Professor of Sociology  Wu Xiaogang , who will be supervising the program. “NYU Shanghai’s new program will fill this gap by harnessing the resources of NYU’s Sociology Department to train a new generation of students to study and tackle some of China’s most pressing social and economic issues related to people’s livelihood.”

Similar to the structure of other NYU Shanghai PhD programs, the Sociology PhD program will begin with a summer research rotation at NYU Shanghai, followed by two semesters of coursework in New York. After the first year, students will relocate to Shanghai for research and coursework under the supervision of NYU Shanghai faculty, and occasionally make return trips to New York. All PhD candidates will earn NYU doctoral degrees upon graduation.

NYU’s Sociology graduate program is among the best and fastest growing in the United States. NYU Shanghai students will have opportunities to work with some of the most renowned scholars in the field, including two members of the National Academy of Sciences,  Paula England  and  Mike Hout . “This program is a perfect choice for students who are highly-motivated and passionate about conducting rigorous sociological research with great relevance to China and neighboring regions,” said Wu, whose own research interests include education, inequality and social mobility, survey research and quantitative methods, urban sociology, and social demography.

In addition to rigorous training in sociological theory and methods, students will be encouraged to pursue empirical research in alignment with the research interests of NYU Shanghai’s new  Center for Applied Social and Economic Research (CASER) . Newly-appointed Assistant Professor Faculty Fellow of Sociology  Miao Jia , will also serve as a supervisor in the program. 

“We are delighted to be launching our first doctoral program in Social Sciences. At this moment, in this location, with these faculty, and in light of the new Research Center, NYU Shanghai offers the perfect conjunction for the right candidates who will receive world-class training in social research between New York and Shanghai.” said NYU Shanghai’s Provost  Joanna Waley-Cohen .

All admitted students will be fully-funded under the NYU Shanghai Doctoral Fellowship, which covers all tuition and fees, international health insurance, travel funds, and an annual stipend for PhD students at NYU Shanghai. Since Fall 2015, nearly 40 students have been admitted to NYU Shanghai PhD programs.

For more information about the PhD in Sociology program, visit the   PhD Program in Sociology webpage . Read  the Application requirements   to find out if you qualify, and submit your application through the  NYU GSAS Application portal . The application deadline for Fall 2021 admission is January 4, 2021. For further questions and inquiries, please email  [email protected] .