Why choose Penn State for your graduate training?
If you are excited about social science research, interested in learning cutting-edge methods, and want to work closely in a supportive environment with world-renowned faculty on some of the most important questions in sociology, demography, and criminology today, then Penn State could be the right program for you, and we encourage you to apply.
Known for excellence in research and graduate education, Penn State’s Department of Sociology and Criminology was ranked overall among the top-3 sociology programs, ranked 2nd on research activity, and 4th on student support and outcomes in a recent report by the National Research Council.
We offer our students:
- Multiple Degree Options, allowing students to choose among 4 PhD programs: a PhD in Sociology; a PhD in Criminology; a PhD in Sociology and Demography; or a PhD in Sociology and Social Data Analytics.
- Strong Mentoring, by pairing students with faculty advisers and directing professors, who guide students’ intellectual development, help them make informed career decisions, and educate them in professionalism, ethical practice, and the importance of service.
- Research Experience, through faculty-student collaborations that allow them to learn the research process—from developing initial ideas to reading page proofs when those ideas culminate in co-authored papers.
- Secure Funding, by offering research assistantships and competitive fellowships that allow students to focus on their studies. Both academic year and summer funding is provided.
- An Exciting Intellectual Environment, with more than 40 faculty who offer a wide range of seminars, have research expertise in wide range of areas, and provide methodological advice across a variety of analytic approaches.
- A Safe And Easy-To-Navigate Community, with good public transportation, beautiful vistas, sustainability-minded development, and a commitment to diversity, service, and mutual respect.
- Student Accomplishments that grow as cohorts move through the program. Out students earn fellowships and scholarships, write award- winning papers and award-winning dissertations, are elected to positions in national associations, receive summer internships, and publish regularly.
- A Strong Record of successful graduates who move into prestigious post-docs, tenure-track faculty positions, and positions in highly-respected non-Academic settings, including Census, Facebook, and AID.
Our Tenure Track Faculty
Director, Undergraduate Program in Sociology
Associate Professor of Sociology
Faculty Affiliate, PSU Rock Ethics Institute
Faculty Affiliate, PSU Social Thought Program
Member, PSU Society for the Study of Religion
Professor of Sociology, Education, and Demography
Director, Graduate Program in Sociology
Professor of Sociology and Criminology
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Public Policy
Professor of Sociology and Labor & Employment Relations
Research Associate, Population Research Institute
Associate Professor of Sociology and Demography
Associate Professor of Sociology and Social Data Analytics
Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Demography
Professor of Criminology and Sociology
Associate Professor of Sociology and Public Policy
Associate Director, Graduate Program in Sociology
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Department Head
Professor of Sociology & Demography
Arnold S. and Bette G. Hoffman Professor in Sociology
Director, Population Research Institute
Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminology
Research Associate, Population Research Institute
Associate Editor, Journal of Quantitative Criminology
Associate Professor of Sociology and Demography
Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Demography
Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Demography
Liberal Arts Professor of Sociology and Criminology
Associate Head, Department of Sociology and Criminology
Professor of Sociology, Criminology, and Public Policy
Associate Professor of Sociology and Demography
Associate Director, Center for Social Data Analytics
Associate Professor of Sociology & Demography
Dual-Degree Demography Program Director
Associate Professor of Sociology, Criminology, and Public Policy
Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminology
Associate Professor of Sociology and Social Data Analytics
Professor of Sociology
Professor of Sociology and Criminology
Associate Professor of Sociology and Human Development and Family Studies
Honors Advisor, Sociology and Criminology
Professor of Sociology, Criminology, and Demography
John Kramer Professor of Sociology and Criminology
Professor of Sociology and Criminology
Director, Criminal Justice Research Center
Program Co-Chair, Criminal Justice Policy and Administration MPS Degree, World Campus
Roy C. Buck Professor of Sociology and Demography
Director of the Population Research Institute
Harry and Elissa Sichi Early Career Professor of Sociology, Demography, and Social Data Analytics
Associate Professor of Sociology & Demography
Faculty Co-Hire: Institute for Computational and Data Sciences
Professor of Sociology and Criminology
Director, Graduate Program in Criminology
Professor of Sociology and Demography