The Curriculum
Students entering with a bachelor's degree take two required core courses in their first year: GSOC 5101, Foundations of Sociology I; and GSOC 5102, Foundations of Sociology II. MA students are also required to take one course in a method recognized by the department. A second course in a different departmentally approved type of method is required of students seeking a PhD.

The curriculum includes six general areas of study, each with its relevant theories and methods:

A. Sociology of culture: ideology and religion; the sociologies of art, science, and knowledge; mass and popular culture; cultural criticism.
B. Comparative and historical analysis: sociology of the state; gender; social and economic classes; capitalism; and political and economic development.
C. Sociology of politics: social movements and collective action; democracy; violence and human rights; and the social and political institutions of liberal democratic and authoritarian regimes.
D. Urban sociology: the sociology of cities and communities in comparative and historical perspective; class, race, ethnicity, and gender in cities; cities and national development; space and globalization.
E. Social thought: contemporary European and American social theory; the history of social thought; sociological context of the formation of theories.
F. Sociology of the media: media theory; media and public; the politics of the media; media, globalization, and transnationalism.

The Department of Sociology coordinates its curriculum with the Committee for the Study of Democracy, the Committee on Liberal Studies, and the Committee on Historical Studies. Courses cross-listed with these committees are so designated in each year's New School for Social Research catalog. Students may petition the faculty to have other courses approved for credit in one of the areas listed above.

Departmental Advising
The Department of Sociology urges newly matriculating students to consult the student advisor to plan their programs of study and to obtain more detailed information on requirements and procedures. First-year students are initially assigned to a faculty advisor who should be consulted about courses of study, but students may select another advisor at any time.

Degrees Offered
The department offers MA and PhD degrees in sociology. Application for admission to the PhD program is made upon completion of the master's degree. On a case-by-case basis, students who have earned an MA in historical studies or liberal studies at The New School for Social Research or who have earned an MA in media studies at The New School may be admitted directly to the PhD program. A joint PhD degree in sociology and historical studies is also offered in conjunction with the Committee on Historical Studies.

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MA in Sociology

Course Requirements
Students must successfully complete thirty credits of coursework (usually ten courses) with a grade average of 3.0 or better, of which twenty-seven credits must be listed or cross-listed in Sociology. These must include:

• GSOC 5101
• One course in a sociological method, selected from (a) quantitative analysis, (b) field or ethnographic research, or (c) a different departmentally approved type of method, including cross-listed historical methods courses.
• " Students planning to continue at the PhD level are strongly advised to take the two introductory courses in their prospective areas of specialization.

Transfer Credit
Students with prior graduate work elsewhere or those entering with an MA in sociology or a closely related social science may transfer up to three credits toward their MA credit requirement. Petition for transfer of credit may be submitted after six credits of coursework in the department have been completed.

MA Written Examination
Students are eligible to sit for the departmental MA written examination after completing 18 credits, nine of which must be the two foundations courses and the methods course. The examination requires written responses to questions in general sociology, including material covered in foundations courses and in the departmentally approved methods courses. To sit for this examination, students must contact a student advisor for the exam date and petition through a student advisor one month before its scheduled date.

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PhD in Sociology

Course Requirements
The normal course requirements for the PhD are:

• Completion of the course requirements for the MA at The New School for Social Research or their equivalent elsewhere. Transfer students claiming equivalence should submit documentation to the department to support their case.
• An additional course in a second type of departmentally recognized sociological method.
• Four departmental seminars or proseminars, including at least one advanced research seminar.
• Additional courses up to the total of sixty credits, of which no more than twelve credits may be for courses from other New School for Social Research departments or from other schools of The New School that are not cross-listed in Sociology.

Advanced Standing and Transfer Credit
Entering students holding an MA in Sociology or a closely related social science may be admitted directly into the PhD program. These students will be required to pass the department's MA written examination and to complete any additional course work needed to fulfill the requirements for MA equivalency. Students must take the exam by the term in which they have completed 30 credits. They may apply for up to 30 transfer credits once they have completed 12 credits at The New School for Social Research. Transfer credits are awarded on the basis of grades, relevant previously earned credits, and the successful completion of the MA examination.

Admission to Candidacy
Before being admitted to candidacy for the PhD, students must pass the PhD qualifying examination, complete sixty credits, and successfully defend their dissertation proposal.

PhD Qualifying Examination
Students must pass the PhD qualifying examination after they have completed 36 credits, but before they have completed 60 credits. The exam consists of field statements and an oral examination in two areas of specialization.

Dissertation Proposal
Before being admitted to candidacy for the PhD, students submit a dissertation proposal for evaluation in an oral examination conducted by a dissertation committee consisting of three departmental faculty members and one representative from another field. The defense of the proposal includes examination of the candidate's substantive knowledge of the sociological area embraced by the dissertation problem. The dissertation proposal should include a clear indication of the problem to be studied, a discussion relating the research to previous work in the field, detailed descriptions of materials to be collected and of analytical methods to be used, and a clear statement of possible conclusions to be drawn from the research.

Dissertation Defense
A final dissertation must be submitted, approved, and defended orally before three faculty members who constitute the dissertation committee, plus one faculty member from another department of The New School for Social Research.

Language Requirement
Before defending their dissertations, PhD candidates must demonstrate reading competence in one foreign language.

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MA and PhD in Historical Studies and Sociology

See the requirements for these degrees in the section for Historical Studies in the catalog.

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PhD in the Sociology of Media

The Sociology department, in collaboration with The New School’s Media Studies program, offers a curricular and advising path that facilitates students’ movement from The New School for General Studies’ Media Studies program into the Sociology PhD program at The New School for Social Research. The degree track requires MA graduates of the Media Studies program to complete 24 credits in sociology and all other Sociology requirements for the PhD.

In order to enroll in the Sociology PhD program, students from Media Studies must fulfill the following requirements (in addition to the Media Studies requirements):

• Take two sociology courses:
  • One of the two required courses in the MA, preferably Foundations of Sociology I: Social Theory (GSOC 5101) or Foundations of Sociology II: Sociology and History (GSOC 5102)
  • Fundamentals in the Sociology of Media (cross-listed with Media Studies as a second-level theory course)
• Take Research Methods, a new course jointly designed by Media Studies and Sociology
• Pass the Sociology MA written exam
• Submit a PhD portfolio

Once accepted into the program, students must take the third sociology course remaining from the list above (GSOC 5101 or GSOC 5102) before taking the MA exam. It is strongly suggested that they do this during their first semester in the program.

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