PhD in Sociology - Sociology of Health and Illness 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 graduate students receive guidance from over 30 distinguished Sociology Graduate Field Faculty members from various Cornell departments, with many holding primary appointments in the Sociology Department. Candidates may seek mentorship from any faculty member within this group. Prospective students should examine faculty research specialties and contact relevant professors, though admission is to the general program rather than specific mentors 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, choosing either two major focuses or one major and one minor focus.

Following first-year coursework, students complete two concentration exams and produce a Qualifying Paper - an original research article suitable for journal submission. Successful completion leads to Doctoral Candidacy, typically achieved by the third year's start. Subsequent milestones include developing a dissertation proposal, completing dissertation research, and defending the final work.

Growing acknowledgment across disciplines, including medicine, recognizes health outcomes as socially determined (e.g., through inequality). The MCAT now assesses knowledge of health disparities. Concentration in this area requires understanding how social factors influence health disparities and outcomes like depression and mortality. Students explore diverse theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches, both clinical and social, for analyzing health patterns.