Department of Sociology

The Sociology Department annually awards one $600 prize for assistance in dissertation research in the name of the late Steven Berkowitz, PhD. This prize is usually awarded in March.

In honor of emeritus faculty member, Peter Conrad, the Sociology Department annually awards funds, up to $600, to a PhD student for pre-dissertation research. This prize is usually awarded in March.

The social science collections of the University are housed in Goldfarb Library and Farber Library. These materials are also accessible through an online catalog system called One Search. The libraries have facilities for computerized searches of bibliographic databases such as SocINDEX, JSTOR, and other periodical indices. The Interlibrary Loan Office provides books or articles not owned by the University. Brandeis is a member of the Boston Library Consortium, composed of 12 academic and research institutions in the area. A consortium card, allowing use of these libraries, is available from the circulation desk of the Brandeis Library.

Sociology graduate students, faculty, and staff have access, via Latte, to a range of shared resources. Included are administrative material, reading lists, proposals, teaching resources, grant information, and much more. Students are encouraged to post additional resources on this site.

Brandeis participates in a cross-registration program with Boston College, Boston University, and Tufts University. Students are eligible to take graduate-level courses at these institutions (no more than one course per term) with the prior approval of their advisors. 

Students interested in gender and women’s studies may enroll, with their advisor’s approval, in interdisciplinary courses offered through the Graduate Women’s Studies Consortium at Radcliffe College.

The Office of Graduate Student Affairs supports and encourages life on campus for graduate students outside of the classroom and serves as a liaison between graduate students and University Administration. The office works to coordinate events and programming among the three graduate schools on campus. Graduate Student Affairs advises and assists the Graduate Student Association (GSA) and the Graduate Student Senate, offers programming throughout the year, and runs Graduate Student Orientation in the fall.

Graduate Students are invited to use the Graduate Student Lounge, Computer Room, and TF office in Pearlman Hall. They are also welcome to use the microwave in the kitchen on the first floor. Students may bring a lock and select a locker in the Graduate Student Lounge to store personal belongings. All students are also assigned a mailbox where mail and internal university correspondence are directed.

Students may consult the Funding Opportunities page, as well as the GSAS website for information regarding external and internal funding opportunities. 

The purpose of this award is to allow a GSAS student to teach an advanced undergraduate course that is related to his or her research interests and dissertation work, so as to enhance the student's capacity to assume teaching responsibilities following completion of the PhD. Candidates must have completed at least one semester as a teaching fellow and must be ABD (i.e., have completed all degree requirements except the dissertation) by early May of the year the prize is awarded.

Up to five instructorships will be awarded to candidates who propose courses that represent strong contributions to the undergraduate curriculum and who have demonstrated excellence in, and commitment to, teaching. Selection criteria include quality of the proposed course as demonstrated by the syllabus, its relevance to the curriculum, and its intellectual appeal to undergraduates.

An amount of money is available to PhD students each fiscal year for reimbursement of travel expenses associated with their scholarly activities. To qualify, a student must be in the advanced stages of research and be attending a conference for the purpose of serving on a panel or presenting a paper. Additional information is on the Shared Latte site.

The department adheres to the American Sociological Code of Ethics.

Academic life, especially in apprenticeship situations where so much is at stake, is a messy business, open to many kinds of misinterpretations and disappointments, as well as divergent views among faculty themselves, as well as between faculty and students, as to what counts as good work appropriate for a PhD, or good teaching and advising to enable such work.

Our collective ethic as a faculty is to protect students from any form of intimidation or retaliation. It is also to provide as much opportunity and encouragement as possible for students and faculty to repair relationships that may have been frayed by previous misunderstandings or regrettable behavior on anyone's part. We do this not only because it is the ethically right thing to do, but because it is in everyone's interest for graduate students to leave the program with dense networks of support and trust, not only with the particular committee with which they may have worked, but with other faculty, who are often asked by faculty at other universities what they may think of particular students. We are proud of this departmental ethic, which we have nurtured for decades and have seen serve scores of PhDs well over the course of their careers.

Thus, when misunderstandings or disputes arise or someone feels treated unfairly, we encourage students and faculty first to talk as constructively as possible with each other. Students and faculty may also seek the counsel of other professors and students. Should the situation remain unresolved, students should consult with the Department Chair and/or the Director of the Graduate Program to seek advice on how to proceed or to lodge a formal complaint. GSAS policy is that students first seek resolution and, when possible, rapprochement, within the Department. If a student does not find the proposed resolution acceptable, the student may submit a written appeal to the Dean of the Graduate School.

At Brandeis University, a diverse body of people come together to form a cohesive community. Brandeis welcomes all qualified individuals into the University community as students, faculty, or staff members. Brandeis is committed to providing "reasonable accommodation(s)" to individuals with appropriately documented physical, learning, or psychological disabilities.

A person is considered to have a disability if s/he fits within any one of these three categories:

• The person has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of the individual.

• The person has a record of such an impairment, or the person is regarded as having such an impairment.

• "Major life activities" include functions such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working.

A "reasonable accommodation" is defined as any change in the work or educational environment or the way things are customarily done that will allow an individual with a known documented disability to perform the essential functions of a position or let an otherwise qualified student receive a reasonable modification or adjustment for his/her known documented disability. All accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. Students, faculty, and staff must follow well-established procedures to obtain accommodations. For more information regarding reasonable accommodations, contact Jessica Basile at GSAS.