Graduate Training in Sociology at the Department of Sociology/ICS

Utrecht University

Research Master’s programSociology and Social Research

ICS PhD program

Sociology in the Netherlands:Substantive Features I• Strong empirical orientation

• Quite some focus on the integration of theory and empirical research

• Quite some focus on policy relevant research that is theoretically and empirically informed

• Less fragmentation of the discipline (in a theoretical / cognitive sense) than elsewhere

• More collaboration in research projects and in teaching programs between scholars and between departments than in other countries

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Sociology in the Netherlands:Substantive Features II• Strong international orientation:

• Incentives to publish in English, many publications in international journals and volumes

• Dutch sociologists are rather visible at conferences etc. outside the Netherlands

• Many international collaborations in research and teaching

• Quite some non-Dutch scholars and graduate students (Master, PhD) at Dutch universities

• Graduate programs (Master, PhD) completely taught in English; quite some BA-courses taught in English, too

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Research Master’s Program“Sociology and Social Research”

• Two-year program (120 ECTS), full-time, leading to an MSc degree (Master of Science)

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Focus of the program“Sociology and Social Research”

• Sociology as problem- and theory-guided empirical science

• Topics and specializations:

• Social inequalities: migration and

stratification

• Trust and cooperation

• Households and employment, demography

• Social networks and social capital

• Policy studies and collective decision

making

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Will You Enjoy “Sociology as Problem- and Theory-Guided Empirical Science”? The program has something to offer if you like oneor more of the following:• Sociological theory à la Robert Merton and James

Coleman• An empirical research project on how the network

of students develops after their studies, and how this network influences their careers

• Social psychology, political science, micro-economics as sister-disciplines of sociology

• Philosophy of science à la Karl Popper• A good statistics class• An “analytical approach” to society: more

interest (as a scientist) in “Sein” than in “Sollen”; being able to distinguish between science and political engagement

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“Sociology and Social Research”First Year

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“Sociology and Social Research” Second Year

• Electives (15 ECTS)

• International summerschool (such as Essex,

Michigan, Ljubljana…)

• One or two additional courses, preferably

related to the master’s thesis project

• Brief traineeship (at UU, elsewhere in the

Netherlands, or abroad)

• Two research seminars (workshop for discussion of progress of master’s thesis project with senior faculty as well as peers)

• Master’s thesis (aim: a publishable research article)

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Combination of obligatory courses and opportunities to study according to individual interests• Obligatory courses: most courses of the first year

(52.5 ECTS) – this provides a structured training program and a sound basis for subsequently pursuing individual interests

• Opportunities to study according to individual interests:

• First year: Field orientation and skills-course (7.5

ECTS)

• Second year (60 ECTS):

• Electives

• Research seminars

• Master’s thesis

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Typical Features of“Sociology and Social Research” I

• A small group of students: 10-15 per year

• 50% of the students from abroad, 50% from the Netherlands (UU Bachelor’s Sociology, UCU, other Bachelor’s programs of UU or elsewhere in the Netherlands)

• Students from different fields of study (sociology, other social sciences like (social) psychology, general social sciences, economics, political science…)

• Much interaction between students (including jointly preparing assignments, social activities)

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Typical Features of“Sociology and Social Research” II

• Hands-on experience with social science data-analysis

• Thesis as a publishable article (about 50% of the theses are indeed published, often in very good journals)

• Other special features

• Master class taught by a visiting professor

from abroad

• Mini-conference

• International summer school

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Typical Features of“Sociology and Social Research” III

• Careful and intense supervision

• Students are involved in the intellectual and social life of the Department of Sociology and ICS Utrecht (workshops, seminars, lectures,…)

• The program is demanding but doable: almost 100% of all students entering the program complete it without any delay, often with very good results

• Excellent labor market position of students after completing the program

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Typical Features of“Sociology and Social Research” IV

• Students with very good grades from previous studies are welcome

• Are very good grades a necessity? NO! Quite some students entered the program with reasonable grades (GPA > 3.0) and completed it with very good results

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Furthermore

• The program offers quality:• In 2010, the program has been evaluated

as the overall best research master’s program in the social and behavioral sciences in the Netherlands.

• Very favorable results of teaching evaluations (e.g., ELSEVIER)

• Department of Sociology / ICS-Utrecht no. 1 in research evaluations Sociology 2009 and Socio-Cultural Sciences 2001 (comparative evaluation of research programs in sociology and the social sciences in the Netherlands)

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Life after the Research Master’s“Sociology and Social Research”

• The PhD program of the Interuniversity Center for Social Science Theory and Methodology (ICS)

• Join another PhD program in the social sciences in the Netherlands or abroad

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ICS PhD Program inSociology and Social Science

• The Interuniversity Center of Social Science Theory and Methodology (ICS): research center and graduate school at the sociology departments of Groningen University, Utrecht University, and Nijmegen University

• Four year Ph.D. program in sociology and the social sciences; English as language of instruction

• A new cohort of 10-15 Ph.D. students is selected each year in spring and starts in September, with full scholarships (“AIO-positions”)

• Many Ph.D. students are non-Dutch, many have a non-sociology background such as economics, psychology, mathematics, computer science, history,…

• “Life after the ICS”: Research and teaching positions in universities, research departments of government agencies, research institutes in the NL or abroad

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ICS PhD Training Program:Facts and Figures I

• Each year, the ICS selects a new cohort of 12-15 PhD students

• Sociology background: +/- 60%; other: +/-

40%

• From outside the Netherlands: +/- 35%

• Typically 150-350 applications per year

• Sociology background: +/- 35%; other: +/-

65%

• From outside the Netherlands: 35-50%

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ICS PhD Training Program:Facts and Figures II• PhD students have a salaried position for a

period of 4 years; no tuition fees; salary is more than competitive with even the most attractive stipends at, e.g., US research universities (certainly so since there are no tuition fees)

• Strong incentives for PhD students and supervisors to indeed complete the PhD thesis within 4 years

• Timely completion of thesis or completion with a delay of less than 1 year: +/- 60% (corresponding average in the Netherlands for all behavioral and social sciences: 15%; for all sciences: 28%)

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ICS PhD Training Program:Facts and Figures III

• 1990 – March 2010: 175+ defended PhD theses

• Labor market position of ICS PhDs

• University positions: +/- 60% (meanwhile

many full and associate professors)

• Non-academic research: +/- 35%

• Other: +/- 5%

• Unemployed: negligible (< 1%)

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ICS PhD Training Program: Substantive Features • Yeargroup: PhD students start together at

September 1st; students follow all courses together

• Each PhD student has a team of (typically: three) supervisors; supervision is regular and intense.

• Each PhD student has applied for and is assigned to a roughly defined project and is expected to further design and specify the project during the first year; at the end of the first year, a complete project proposal is submitted for evaluation and funding to the Dutch Science Foundation (NWO).

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ICS PhD Training Program: Courses • Students follow three obligatory courses

during the initial 18 months of the PhD program:• Theory construction and modeling• Writing a research proposal and a first

paper• The integration of explanatory models

with models of analysis and measurement, including a master class by a senior scholar from abroad

Each course: several full-day class meetings; students prepare 2-3 days each week for the class meetings

• Students follow additional more specialized courses depending on their specific project

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ICS PhD Training Program:Other “Ingredients” I• Program completely taught in English

• At the respective location, each PhD student is a member of a small research group of some senior faculty, postdocs, and other PhD students who work on related projects, interact on a daily basis, and meet regularly in workshops

• Thus: much interaction with supervisors,

other faculty, and peers

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ICS PhD Training Program:Other “Ingredients” II• Traineeship abroad: 2-3 months during the

2nd or 3rd year of the project

• 3 “Forumdays” per year: all ICS PhD students, faculty, and postdocs meet; PhD students present their project and receive feedback from peers, postdocs, and faculty

• PhD students are strongly encouraged to present their work at conferences outside the ICS, in the Netherlands and internationally

• PhD students are strongly encouraged to publish in scholarly journals (or edited volumes) while working on their thesis

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ICS PhD Training Program:Other “Ingredients” III

• Course offerings related to “soft skills”, e.g.:

• English for academic purposes

• Writing and presenting skills

• Career planning, labor market orientation

• Contributions to undergraduate teaching: +/- 15% of the time during years 2-4

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ICS PhD Training Program: The PhD Thesis • Typically, a PhD thesis is a collection of +/- 4

research papers, plus an introduction and a conclusion chapter

• Very often, at least some of the papers

are published articles or they have at least

been submitted

• PhD theses in the form of a research monograph have become less common over the years

• Each PhD thesis includes empirical analyses (more precisely: at least some quantitative tests of hypotheses)

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In addition...

• Both the Researchmaster’s-program and the ICS Ph.D. program are small: favorable student:staff ratio, intensive supervision, faculty always “within reach”

• Both programs: strong international orientation. Many students pursue some course work and traineeships abroad. Many students as well as faculty are non-Dutch. Faculty maintains an extended network of international contacts, publishes typically in international journals

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Conclusions: additional information

• Ask questions now

• Visit relevant web pages:

• www.uu.nl/programmes/sasr • http://www.ics-graduateschool.nl/ • Department of Sociology UU

• Contact students who follow(ed) the programs

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