PhD in Sociology - Computational Social Science in Ithaca United States | Cornell University

The Sociology Graduate Field accepts approximately 6-7 PhD candidates annually, maintaining around 40 students in the program at any time. These students receive guidance from over 30 distinguished Sociology Graduate Field Faculty members spanning Cornell University. While many faculty hold primary appointments in the Sociology Department, students may choose advisors from across the Graduate Field Faculty. Prospective applicants should examine faculty research specialties and consider contacting relevant professors, though admission decisions aren't based on specific faculty pairings or labs.

First-year sociology PhD students begin with core theory and methodology courses before selecting two specialization areas from the options below. These concentrations allow students to build expertise - they may choose two major focus areas or combine one major with one minor specialization.

Following first-year coursework, students complete two concentration exams (one per specialization area) and produce a Qualifying Paper. This independent research paper should meet journal submission standards. Successful completion prepares students for Doctoral Candidacy applications, typically pursued during summer before or fall of their third year. Subsequent milestones include developing a dissertation proposal, completing dissertation research, and defending the final work.

As computational capabilities expand, analytical methods leveraging these tools grow increasingly valuable. This concentration equips students with computational social science techniques including social network analysis, sequence analysis, topic modeling, and Big Data approaches. While methodologically focused, it also explores emerging theories about sampling and social relationships in our interconnected digital society.