Columbia University remains the only Ivy League institution at which a distinguished Sociology Department is central to institutional identity
The doctoral program combines an emphasis on competence in social theory and research methods, training in core substantive areas of the discipline, and opportunities for the development of each student's own scholarly interests. Doctoral candidates are expected to achieve a high level of proficiency in theory and research as applied to a substantive area of their choice so that they are qualified to teach sociology in a college or university and to embark on a productive research career. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the diversity of specialties covered by the department’s faculty, the sociological and interdisciplinary research centers and research groups located at Columbia, and the unique intellectual, social, and cultural resources available within New York City and its surrounding area.
The department emphasizes rigorous training in theory, research methods, and core substantive fields within the discipline of sociology. It includes a sequence of required and elective courses on theory and theory construction, designed to acquaint every student with skills necessary for developing social explanations. Required and elective courses in qualitative and quantitative methods and statistics familiarize students with the basic techniques for collecting and analyzing data on social processes. The methods sequence ensures that every student acquires the competence to formulate and test research questions. In addition, the department offers a collection of courses that provide a strong substantive foundation for dissertation research.
The department also offers a self-contained master only program designed to provide conceptual and practical research tools for a number of areas in applied sociology. In addition to traditional research methods and theoretical perspectives, students investigate and utilize new techniques and models for analyzing issues. Students work out their programs in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies.
The department participates in the interdisciplinary Master of Arts Program in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences. This Master of Arts program trains students in how to apply quantitative methods to problems in the social sciences as they arise in business, government, and nonprofit organizations. The program draws on the diverse strengths of the statistics and social sciences faculties at Columbia and other institutions in the New York metropolitan area. It is designed for students with a strong background in social sciences or quantitative methods who are interested in deepening their analytical skills and broadening their knowledge of the social sciences.
For undergraduates, the department offers a major, concentration, and minor, and also participates in a premedical sociology program. Students work out their programs in consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Most programs provide the opportunity for undergraduates to participate in advanced courses with graduate students.
The Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy (ISERP) was established in 1999 as the research arm of the social sciences at Columbia University. ISERP organizes a vibrant intellectual community at Columbia through its Faculty Fellows program as well as its workshops, conferences, research centers and projects. Participation in ISERP spans Columbia's social science departments as well as Barnard College, the Columbia Earth Institute, Columbia Teachers College, and the Schools of Architecture, Business, International and Public Affairs, Law, Public Health, and Social Work.
The Institute promotes both disciplinary and interdisciplinary social science research at Columbia through its seed grants program, research infrastructure, and administrative support for externally-sponsored research. ISERP staff also coordinate the development of collaborative research projects. ISERP's interest in translation between research and policy is reflected in the policy research division of the seed grants program, as well as in the activities of several of its centers. More broadly, many of its research projects respond to the pressing social, economic, political, and environmental problems of the day. The Institute also carries out a number of educational and training activities, including an interdisciplinary social science master's program, a fellow programs for dissertation-level students, a doctoral training program in international development and globalization, and a post-doctoral program organized jointly with Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health.
Sociological research centers and groups affiliated with ISERP include the Center for Historical Social Science, the Center on Organizational Innovation, the Center for the Study of Wealth and Inequality, the Center for Urban Research and Policy, the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Center for the Social Sciences, the Collective Dynamics Group, the Workshop on Contentious Politics, and the Workshop on Nonprofit Organizations in Economy and Society.
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