PhD in Sociology - Social Psychology in College Park United States | University of Maryland, College Park

The Sociology Graduate Program prepares students for Ph.D. studies, though it also provides a master's degree path for those continuing toward a doctorate or exiting early. The curriculum focuses on four specialized fields: Demography, Political Sociology, Social Psychology, and Social Inequality & Mobility. Approximately 50% of our Ph.D. graduates pursue academic careers, while the other half enter research, administration, or consulting roles in government and private sectors. Being situated near Washington, D.C., creates exceptional research opportunities for our alumni.

At the University of Maryland, our Sociology Department features a dynamic Social Psychology program with diverse analytical frameworks and research methods. Four dedicated faculty lead this nationally recognized program (ranked 16th in the U.S. in 2006), offering eight graduate-level courses. Students receive rigorous training in social psychology methodologies and statistics. Our program excels in micro-level stratification studies (including gender, race, and class) and comprehensively addresses all major social psychology frameworks: symbolic interactionism, group processes, and social structure-personality dynamics.