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Graduate Program

The Department of Sociology at the University of California San Diego offers training in a wide range of theoretical and methodological approaches, from the humanistic to the computational. We have particular concentrations of expertise in the following areas:

  • Political Sociology
  • Sociology of International Migration
  • Sociology of Social Inequalities
  • Sociology of Science, Technology, and Medicine

The department is particularly strong in international and comparative scholarship, with specialists using case studies from most regions of the world, including Europe, East Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, alongside the United States. It also pioneers a cultural approach to the study of social problems that spans many subfields by focusing on the process of meaning making and identity formation.

Our program is designed to prepare students for two main goals: to contribute to the development of knowledge about societies and thereby advance the discipline of sociology; and to teach sociology at the graduate and undergraduate levels. The majority of graduates from the program find teaching and research positions in colleges and universities; many also work in nonacademic research and social policy positions. The department offers a course of study leading to the doctor of philosophy degree. It does not accept applicants seeking only an MA degree.