2015-10-22
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The University of Chicago. The Department of Sociology
The Department of Sociology, established in 1893 by Albion Small and Charles A. Henderson, has been centrally involved in the history and development of the discipline in the United States. The traditions of the "Chicago School" were built by pioneers such as W. I. Thomas, Robert E. Park, Ernest W. Burgess, and William F.Ogburn. It is a tradition based on the interaction of sociological theory with systematic observation and the analysis of empirical data; it is interdisciplinary, drawing on theory and research from other fields in the social sciences and the humanities; it is a tradition which seeks to fuse together concern with the persistent issues of social theory and attention to the pressing social and policy problems of an urban society.
Continuous developments in social research have marked the department's work in recent years. Faculty members have been engaged in the development of systematic techniques of data collection and in the statistical and mathematical analysis of social data. Field studies and participant observation have been refined and extended. There has been an increased attention to macrosociology, to historical sociology, and to comparative studies, in which the institutions of other societies are compared with those of the United States. The staff is engaged in individual and large-scale group projects which permit graduate students to engage in research almost from the beginning of their graduate careers. The student develops an apprenticeship-type relation with faculty members in which the student assumes increasing amounts of independence as he or she matures.
Research
The study of sociology at the University of Chicago is greatly enhanced by the presence of numerous research enterprises engaged in specialized research. Students often work in these centers pursuing collection and study of data with faculty and other center researchers. The city of Chicago provides opportunities for a variety of field investigations, and the department also encourages cross-national and foreign studies. The faculty have research interests in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Faculty and students may take advantage of an extensive computer system dedicated to research and teaching activities. The department participates fully in the Social Sciences Research Computing Center, which is a fully articulated network of personal computers, minicomputers and small mainframes. Access to the system is available through many work stations on campus. A large library of social science programs and data sets has been collected.
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Admission
Prospective students are referred to the regulations of the University and of the Division of the Social Sciences concerning admission to graduate study. All applicants for admission are required to submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test scores. Students whose first language is not English are required to submit scores of the Test Of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
The department welcomes students who have done their undergraduate work in other social sciences and in fields such as mathematics, biological sciences, and the humanities. The department also encourages students who have had work experience, governmental or military service, or community and business experiences to apply.
