Sociology and Demography
College of Letters and Science
Group Office: 2232 Piedmont Avenue, (510) 642-9800
Chair: Joshua R. Goldstein, PhD (Department of Demography)
Group Website: Sociology and Demography
Overview
The Graduate Group in Sociology and Demography (GGSD) is an interdisciplinary training program in the social sciences designed for students with broad intellectual interests. Drawing on Berkeley's Department of Sociology and Department of Demography, the Group offers students a rigorous and rewarding intellectual experience.
The Group, founded in 2001, sponsors a single degree program leading to a PhD in sociology and demography. The GGSD helps foster an active intellectual exchange between graduate students and faculty in the two disciplines. In addition, faculty and students associated with the Group often maintain close ties with other disciplines both inside and outside the social sciences (for example, economics, anthropology, statistics, public health, biology, and medicine).
The specific emphasis of this academic program is the intersection of the fields of sociology and demography. Potential areas of study include, but are not limited to, population history, social stratification, inequality, race, ethnicity, causes and consequences of population growth, the demographic transition, population–environment interactions, economic development, immigration, globalization, gender, family, kinship, child welfare, sexuality, intergenerational relations, aging, mortality, health care, disability, fertility, family planning, and birth control.
Students in the GGSD typically earn both an MA in sociology and an MA in demography en route to the PhD in sociology and demography. Students already enrolled in another graduate program at Berkeley who wish to earn a PhD in sociology and demography may apply by requesting a change of major. Students not already enrolled at Berkeley who wish to enter the PhD program should complete the required application and submit it to the student affairs officer in the Department of Demography's main office. The general deadlines for application specified by the Graduate Division apply, as do the general requirements of the Academic Senate and the Graduate Division for PhD degree programs.
Program Requirements
PhD degree requirements include approximately 43 units of coursework drawn primarily from the departments of demography and sociology, plus electives from other departments (specific degree requirements are available from the graduate adviser); an MA research paper in sociology; a preliminary examination in demographic methods and substance; a foreign language examination; an oral qualifying examination covering four fields of study (sociological theory, general demography, and two specialized fields); and a PhD dissertation. For details, consult the website , contact the Graduate Student Services Adviser.