So I'm applying to grad schools for Sociology this Fall, but my statement still needs ALOT of help! please post some constructive criticism? limit is 300-500 words
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you need to add stuff about: 1. What attracts you to the field of sociology (you an tell some kind of personal anecdote as long as it's not cringe-worthy. I talked in my SOP about an inspiring teacher and that "aha!" moment I got when I took my first sociology class, and a later class that focused my interests into my subfields.
2. You need to talk about your sociology research experience. This includes any original research you've done so far (whether for classes- like an interview project for a final paper, or a survey project for a research methods class), and more about what you did during that independent study. All I know from reading this is it's about public health maybe? Did you do any original research in that? Have you done any RAships with sociology professors? If you haven't, start contacting professors in your department ASAP and ask if you can work with them on a research project during the rest of the summer/as another independent study in the fall. Grad schools want students who know a phd is a research degree, and who are into the research aspect of it.
-re: the biology lab assistant thing job- you need to spin it better. The part you said about teaching is good, but you should also talk about how your degree in bio/bio lab experience gives you a deeper understanding of the biological processes that interact with society to create social epidimeological trends. Or something like that. There is a subspecialty in the demography specialty of sociology called "biodemography" that takes blood samples along with interview surveys and talks about the integration of biomarkers and social factors on health and mortality.
3. I think the "after graduating from your program" sounds a bit presumptuous, drop that part of the sentence. And your dreams for the future sound a bit pie in the skyish, An adcom person is going to read this and say "ok this person is going to finish all 5-8 years it takes to finish a sociology phd, get a job as a professor while at the same time holding a secondary bioethics appointment at a med school and somehow finding time to sit on ethics committees at other institutions that therefore don't count for tenure, and then they will presumably quit all these jobs to go back to school to do an mph (because being a professor is already like 2 full time jobs, so when are going to have time to work on your MPH studies while professoring?) and then work for unicef and the WHO?" Like, focus on one thing in your application, they don't need to know your entire life plan up until you retire, and they don't need to know about things having nothing to do with their degree like your future MPH plans.
Speaking of the MPH thing, some people do a mph/phd yes, but they always do the mph before the phd. And it could be somewhat insulting to a school to be like "I'm coming to take your program, but even though it's a freakin phd I already know it's not going to be good enough to teach me what I need to know to work for unicef/the who, so I'm going to have to get more education." Um, you can get those jobs without an MPH if you have a Phd in soc of med. I know people who graduated from my phd program who work for those places. PhD>MPH.
4. Considering your interests, I think you should also check out Demography or joint Sociology/demography programs. Actually my alma matter- University of Pennsylvania- has a great joint soc/demog program, and the demography program has some amazing biodemography and specifically AIDS research going on (One prof has a huge grant that sends grad students to Malawi almost every summer and tracks the spread of HIV), and the soc department has a very strong medical sociology specilization. There are some great profs there who do research on aging, the life course, epidemiology, inequality, etc. The university also has a great bioethics school you could take some of your electives in (If you do the joint soc/demography phd - which I did- I think you can take at least 3 electives in completely other departments, and there are some bioethics profs affiliated with the programs)
Thank you so much! Your comments are very helpful. I have quite a bit of work to do lol :) I am considering UPenn along with some other soc./demography programs.
Speaking of the MPH thing, some people do a mph/phd yes, but they always do the mph before the phd.
I don't necessarily think that's true...here, at my university, there is a very well-known, well-respected MPH program, which includes a track for students who have either an MD or a PhD and allows them to complete their MPH in 1 year. There are plenty of people who do their PhD/MD first.
I'm sure that people who do a phd and then an mph exist in the world, but what type of phd did they get? Considering the type of program the OP wants to do, I don't think it's necessary to do an MPH to get the jobs the OP wants. Those jobs hire people with soc/demog phds all the time, and those with PhDs get paid more than those with mph's.
I just looked over the curriculum of the Harvard MPH program and I don't see any courses or specializations I couldn't have done through my soc/demog joint phd program, if I had chosen to specialize in medical soc or epidemiology. In fact just by fulfilling the basic PhD level stats, demographic methods, and mortality/health/aging class requirements for the demography side of my degree, and first year seminar (3/4ths of which was medical sociology/inequality) and several research methods classes required for the soc side, I've learned many of the same topics they cover in that mph program.
It's not necessary, but it's also not true that "they always" do the MPH first. Actually, there are tons of one-year MPH programs that exist solely for people who got PhDs or other doctoral degrees in other fields and want the public health training. I know people who have done it both ways, particularly if there was no medical specialization at their original school and they fell in love with public health late. BUT if you already have a PhD in medical sociology, it's likely unnecessary.
1. What attracts you to the field of sociology (you an tell some kind of personal anecdote as long as it's not cringe-worthy. I talked in my SOP about an inspiring teacher and that "aha!" moment I got when I took my first sociology class, and a later class that focused my interests into my subfields.
2. You need to talk about your sociology research experience. This includes any original research you've done so far (whether for classes- like an interview project for a final paper, or a survey project for a research methods class), and more about what you did during that independent study. All I know from reading this is it's about public health maybe? Did you do any original research in that? Have you done any RAships with sociology professors? If you haven't, start contacting professors in your department ASAP and ask if you can work with them on a research project during the rest of the summer/as another independent study in the fall. Grad schools want students who know a phd is a research degree, and who are into the research aspect of it.
-re: the biology lab assistant thing job- you need to spin it better. The part you said about teaching is good, but you should also talk about how your degree in bio/bio lab experience gives you a deeper understanding of the biological processes that interact with society to create social epidimeological trends. Or something like that. There is a subspecialty in the demography specialty of sociology called "biodemography" that takes blood samples along with interview surveys and talks about the integration of biomarkers and social factors on health and mortality.
3. I think the "after graduating from your program" sounds a bit presumptuous, drop that part of the sentence. And your dreams for the future sound a bit pie in the skyish, An adcom person is going to read this and say "ok this person is going to finish all 5-8 years it takes to finish a sociology phd, get a job as a professor while at the same time holding a secondary bioethics appointment at a med school and somehow finding time to sit on ethics committees at other institutions that therefore don't count for tenure, and then they will presumably quit all these jobs to go back to school to do an mph (because being a professor is already like 2 full time jobs, so when are going to have time to work on your MPH studies while professoring?) and then work for unicef and the WHO?" Like, focus on one thing in your application, they don't need to know your entire life plan up until you retire, and they don't need to know about things having nothing to do with their degree like your future MPH plans.
Speaking of the MPH thing, some people do a mph/phd yes, but they always do the mph before the phd. And it could be somewhat insulting to a school to be like "I'm coming to take your program, but even though it's a freakin phd I already know it's not going to be good enough to teach me what I need to know to work for unicef/the who, so I'm going to have to get more education." Um, you can get those jobs without an MPH if you have a Phd in soc of med. I know people who graduated from my phd program who work for those places. PhD>MPH.
4. Considering your interests, I think you should also check out Demography or joint Sociology/demography programs. Actually my alma matter- University of Pennsylvania- has a great joint soc/demog program, and the demography program has some amazing biodemography and specifically AIDS research going on (One prof has a huge grant that sends grad students to Malawi almost every summer and tracks the spread of HIV), and the soc department has a very strong medical sociology specilization. There are some great profs there who do research on aging, the life course, epidemiology, inequality, etc. The university also has a great bioethics school you could take some of your electives in (If you do the joint soc/demography phd - which I did- I think you can take at least 3 electives in completely other departments, and there are some bioethics profs affiliated with the programs)
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I don't necessarily think that's true...here, at my university, there is a very well-known, well-respected MPH program, which includes a track for students who have either an MD or a PhD and allows them to complete their MPH in 1 year. There are plenty of people who do their PhD/MD first.
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I just looked over the curriculum of the Harvard MPH program and I don't see any courses or specializations I couldn't have done through my soc/demog joint phd program, if I had chosen to specialize in medical soc or epidemiology. In fact just by fulfilling the basic PhD level stats, demographic methods, and mortality/health/aging class requirements for the demography side of my degree, and first year seminar (3/4ths of which was medical sociology/inequality) and several research methods classes required for the soc side, I've learned many of the same topics they cover in that mph program.
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