The Department of Sociology at Emory University is a vigorous intellectual community that offers a doctoral program designed to prepare students for academic and research careers. The department provides rigorous training in theory, research design, and statistics, along with extensive preparation in the following major substantive areas

• Comparative political economy and global analysis: political sociology; political economy; global development and change; social movements; revolutions; world-systems; welfare states.
  
  
• Culture: mass media; religion; social change; world culture; music, literature, and the arts; popular culture; identity construction.
  
  
• Social psychology: interpersonal and group processes; status and power; justice;emotions; social perception; criminology; socialization and the life course; deviance; health and well being.
  
  
• Stratification and organization: inequality; complex organization; work and industry;medical sociology; gender, race, class, and ethnicity

Departmental research focuses on common themes of power and inequality, especially their consequences for micro-level social interaction and macro-level social change and cultural phenomena. Currently, graduate students are participating in ongoing research projects that include comparative revolutions, status and justice processes in interaction, welfare policies, schooling and the state, the construction of industries, the relationship between gender, race, and poverty, international non-governmental organizations, and the causes of juvenile delinquency. A low student-faculty ratio guarantees high levels of personal interaction. Faculty and graduate students take part in the Department's colloquia series involving speakers from other universities and in the Departmental seminar, which is an internal forum for the presentation of ongoing research. Travel funds are available for graduate students to present their work at professional meetings. Students pursue original research projects and many publish in scholarly journals, including American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, Social Forces, and specialty journals.

In addition, graduate students have opportunities to teach sociology at Emory, where undergraduates possess exceptionally high academic aptitude. Extensive teacher training programs prepare advanced graduate students to design and teach special courses on topics of their choosing. With emphasis on quality teaching, students are responsible for only one course during a semester. The best teachers compete for fifth year fellowship.

The Ph.D. program requires 72 hours of course work. The first 24 hours include core courses in research design, statistics, and the theory, and a MA paper. The remaining hours of course work include advanced courses in statistics and theory, other substantive courses, two written examinations (one in a general field and one in a special field designed by the student), and a dissertation. Ph.D. candidates must also present a paper at professional meetings. The program is designed for completion in five to six years.

Research Facilities

Emory has developed an ample and invigorating research environment. Graduate students have easy access to University computers. In addition, the Sociology Department houses a computer laboratory consisting of high-capacity PCs and Macs that operate a wide array of statistical and graphics software. The extensive University library system consists of the Robert W. Woodruff General Library as well as a number of specialized facilities, all linked through a computerized circulation system.

The Carter Center of Emory University may be of special interest for students of social stratification and political economy. Established by former President Jimmy Carter, the Carter Center includes a Presidential Library and a policy center that involves various scholarly activities pertaining to issues of interest to sociologists such as development in the Third World, conflict resolution, and global health problems.

The Sociology Department also maintains strong connections to adjunct sociologists in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These connections enrich the study of medical sociology and demography at Emory. The CDC maintains large data sets on topics such as personal lifestyle, physical exercise, AIDS, family violence, alcohol consumption, and other health-related issues. And, the study of the sociology of religion involves associated sociologists who hold appointments in the Candler School of Theology.

Other Resources

As the capital of Georgia, Atlanta is a major government and business center. Twenty-two colleges and universities are located in the surrounding area. Atlanta is also the U.S. government's southeast regional headquarters for the Departments of Labor, Interior, and Health and Human services, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Atlanta is also the home for a number of important civil rights organizations. Sociologists in the areas of race relations and social change may pursue interests in the activities of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, the national office of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the regional headquarters of the NAACP.

Life in Atlanta

With a metropolitan-area population of more than three million, Atlanta is the unrivaled cultural and economic capital of the Southeast. Yet what visitors often remember most are the trees. Atlanta is located in a hardwood forest and has more trees than any other metropolitan area. The city has consistently been ranked one of the best places to live in the nation.

Living in Atlanta offers the diversity of social, ethnic, and religious communities necessary for a culturally rich lifestyle. Distinctive neighborhoods surround the University. Emory is located in the heavily-wooded and well-preserved Lullwater neighborhood, six miles east of downtown Atlanta. The graduate student housing complex lies between Emory's own Lullwater park and the town of Decatur. In contrast to the small-town atmosphere of Decatur, the nearby Virginia-Highland area is known for its trendy shops, restaurants, and nightclubs, and the Little Five Points neighborhood boasts a bohemian atmosphere.

Financial Aid

Almost all graduate students in the Department receive full funding for five years, which typically includes a tuition waiver and combined assistantship and fellowship funding of at least $15,000 for each of the five years. Assistantship requirements are relatively low compared to other schools, permitting students to concentrate on their studies and finish their degrees in a reasonable amount of time.

Both admission and financial aid are awarded competitively, depending on academic merit. Students are encouraged to apply regardless of their personal financial limitations. The Department actively seeks a diverse group of students. Emory also offers diversity and other fellowships for especially qualified students. Among these are the prestigious and highly competitive Woodruff Graduate Fellowships, which provide full tuition and an annual $20,000 stipend for five years.

Admission

Applications for admission should be submitted as soon as possible. To guarantee consideration for the Woodruff fellowship and other forms of funding, the graduate school requires that all application materials be received by January 3. Emory admits qualified students of any race, age, national origin, sex, color, religion, veteran status, or handicapped status.

See also the following websites at Emory:

• Information for Prospective Students
• Request an Application for the Emory Graduate School of Arts & Sciences

For further information and application forms, please contact: Director of Graduate Recruitment, Department of Sociology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322 (404/727-7510 or socinfo@emory.edu).