The Graduate School Admission Process
Applying to graduate school can be a lengthy and involved process, so we recommend that students begin the process as soon as they know they are interested. Applications for PhD programs are typically due in December or January. Some graduate programs have two separate deadlines (one for admissions and one for financial aid) and applicants are encouraged to submit everything before the earlier deadline. Because admission to graduate programs is extremely competitive, we suggest that students send applications to at least five schools. We encourage students to use the rankings below to choose the schools to which they will apply. Students should use the internet to begin learning about graduate schools’ strengths and specialties and to request paper applications or access to on-line applications.
Once the student has chosen the schools to which they will apply, they should then begin the process of putting together their application. Typically, graduate school applications require the following:
- Transcripts
- GRE scores
- Letters of recommendation (usually three)
- Personal statement or Statement of purpose
- Application fees
- Writing sample
- Financial aid application
Some applicants also choose to send additional materials, such as a CV (curriculum vita). While many aspects of the graduate school application are straightforward, others require careful thought. Students are encouraged to discuss their interest in graduate school and their applications with professors in the department.
Rankings of Top Graduate Programs in Anthropology and Sociology
Anthropology
Anthropology research-doctoral programs were evaluated by the National Research Council in 1993. The methodology is described in “Rankings of Research-Doctorate Programs in 41 Disciplines at 274 Institutions,” Chronicle of Higher Education 42: A21-A30, September 25, 1995. The ranking is reprinted in Lynn C. Hattendorf Westney (Ed.), Educational Rankings Annual: 2003, Detroit: Thomas Gale, 2003.
1. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
2. University of Chicago
3. University of California – Berkeley
4. Harvard University
5. University of Arizona
6. University of Pennsylvania
7. Stanford University
8. Yale University
--. UCLA
--. University of California – San Diego
11. University of Florida
12. University of Texas – Austin
13. New York University
14. University of Illinois – Champaign-Urbana
15. University of California – Davis
Sociology
Rankings of Top Graduate Programs in Sociology-2006
(from US News and World Report)
As listed in the US News & World Report in 2005, America’s Best Graduate Schools 2006. This ranking was computed in January of the year cited, based on data from a survey sent out in the fall of the previous year.
1. University of Wisconsin – Madison
2. University of California – Berkeley
3. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
4. University of Chicago
--University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
6. Princeton University (NJ)
--Stanford University (CA)
8. Harvard University (MA)
--University of California – Los Angeles
10. University of Pennsylvania
11. Columbia University (NY)
--Indiana University – Bloomington
--Northwestern University (IL)
14 Cornell University (NY)
--Duke University (NC)
--University of Texas – Austin
17. Pennsylvania State University – University Park
--University of Arizona
--University of Washington
20. Ohio State University
--Yale University (CT)
22. Johns Hopkins University (MD)
--New York University
--University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
25. SUNY – Albany
--University of Maryland – College Park
27. Brown University (RI)
--University of California – Irvine
29. University of California – Davis
--University of California – Santa Barbara
31. CUNY Graduate School and University Center
--Rutgers State University – New Brunswick (NJ)
--Vanderbilt University (TN)
34. University of California – San Diego
--University of Illinois – Urbana – Champaign
--University of Iowa
--University of Massachusetts – Amherst
38. Emory University (GA)
--SUNY – Stony Brook
--University of Virginia
--Washington State University
42 Florida State University
--Michigan State University
--University of California – Riverside
--University of Southern California
46. North Carolina State University
--University of Florida
--University of Illinois – Chicago
49 Boston College
--Brandeis University (MA)
--New School University (NY)
--Texas A&M University – College Station
--University of Notre Dame (IN)
--University of Pittsburgh
55. University of Colorado – Boulder
--University of Georgia
--University of Oregon
58 Arizona State University
--Iowa State University
--Purdue University – West Lafayette (IN)
--University of California – San Francisco
--University of California – Santa Cruz
--University of Connecticut
--University of Kansas