Admission

The online application is due December 1. All unofficial transcripts and letters must be uploaded online with your application. Admitted students will need to submit an official e-transcript to Dreama Rhodes: drhodes@soc.ucla.edu. Official hardcopy transcripts or official e-transcripts will not need to be submitted unless you are admitted into the program.

International students must upload transcript(s) in original language and English translation, along with diploma or certificate, also in original language and English translation.

No. We only review applications once a year for Fall admission.

We receive over 300 applications. Late applications submitted after December 1 are not accepted.

We are looking for bright, imaginative, and highly motivated students who have a deep and abiding interest in doing sociology. The ideal applicant ranks uniformly high on all indicators (grade point average, recommendations from faculty, stature of undergraduate institution, the quality of written work, and the persuasiveness of the Statement of Purpose) of particular skills and shows exceptional promise of success in our program and as a future sociologist. Decisions are based on merit, promise, and fit with the program.

GRE: institution code for UCLA is 4837; Department of Sociology code is 2102.

TOEFL: institution code for UCLA is 4837; Department code is 96.

Yes, but note that quantity does not substitute for quality.

A minimum of five pages. If you send a thesis, it’s advisable to send all chapters rather than select one or two chapters. Average length is about 15-30 pages.

The committee uses the writing sample to assess your writing skills, analytical ability, and creativity. You should pick a piece of writing that best reflects your ability. An academic research paper is better than a more journalistic paper or a term paper.

You must write an academic essay on the topic of your choice of at least five pages double-spaced.

Yes, but we prefer a single-authored paper. If you send a paper co-authored with a professor, please ask the professor to explain your involvement in and contribution to the paper. If the paper is co-authored with other students, provide the same kind of explanation.

Yes, if the online portal allows for additional uploads.

3.0

3.66 for all applicants; 3.8 for admitted students.

Report your cumulative GPA from the institution where you received your bachelor’s degree.

There are no minimum GRE requirements.

No.

We receive over 300 applications, and in most years we aim for an incoming class of 15.

When you submit your application, you can view a pdf of the entire application. You should review it to make sure all your uploads are included and it is complete. Check the online application site to see if your letters of recommendation have been received.

Usually by the end of February. Official notifications will be sent by the UCLA Graduate Division via email notification.

Applicants that have participated in programs such as Gates Millennium Scholars, McNair Scholars, and other specified programs are eligible to apply for a fee waiver. Students currently receiving need-based financial aid are also eligible to apply for an application fee waiver. Applicants are required to upload a letter from the program director confirming program participation or a letter from their Financial Aid office verifying their need-based status and stating that payment of the fee would be a financial hardship. These documents should be uploaded to your online application. Upon review, your waiver request will either be approved or denied. Please note that without an approved waiver, your application will not be released to the department. International applicants are not eligible for fee waivers or deferred payment of the application fee. Additional information including a list of special programs eligible for fee waivers and how to qualify for a need-based waiver can be found here.

560 on the paper and pencil test or 220 on the computer based TOEFL test. Total minimum on the internet-based TOEFL (TOEFL iBT) is 87: Writing, 25; Speaking, 24; Reading, 21; Listening, 17. For the IELTS overall band score of at least 7.0 is the minimum required.

These minimum requirements are set by UCLA, not the individual departments: https://grad.ucla.edu/admissions/english-requirements/. Note that most students who are admitted have scores that far surpass these minimums, TOEFL of 100 or above and IELTS of 7.5.

TOEFL scores must have been taken within 2 years of the date of your application.

The TOEFL score is mandatory for international applicants unless you hold a bachelor’s or higher degree from a university in the United States or in another country in which English is both the spoken language and the medium of instruction, or you have completed at least two years of full-time study at such an institution. If you qualify for an exemption and several years have passed since you actively used English a recent TOEFL score may be helpful for our Admissions Committee to better evaluate your current level of proficiency in comparison to other international applicants. If you meet the criteria for an exception, it will ultimately be up to you to decide whether or not a new TOEFL score would strengthen your application.

The number varies from year to year. We do not have quotas for admitting and/or funding international students or any other category of students.

You will be required to submit a financial statement if you want to obtain a student visa upon accepting an offer of admission. Along with documented evidence of sufficient funds it tells the Graduate Admissions Office that you qualify for a visa and allows UCLA to mail you an I-20 form that you need to take to a US consulate or embassy in your country. It is advisable to have some personal funding in case the departmental award does not cover the minimum amount.
For more information, go to https://grad.ucla.edu/admissions/visa-procedures/.

The department’s goal is to provide funding to all entering students.

Award offers have typically been for five years, which includes two years of fellowship and three or four years of teaching apprenticeship (TA) position.

Yes. However international students whose native language is not English must take a campus-administered Test of Oral Proficiency (TOP) and pass it at 7.1 or above before they can be appointed as a TA.

Yes. Our award offers to international students include non-resident supplemental tuition (NRST) for four years. International students are expected to advance to doctoral candidacy (ATC) by the end of fourth year in the Program, after which point NRST will be waived for three years.

All students who are admitted are considered for departmentally funded awards and campus-wide fellowship programs for which they are eligible and applied. Decisions are made by a committee and based on merit. Our Admissions Committee determines annually what kind of support packages to offer and at what level. An application for departmentally funded awards (stipend, fees, tuition, TA positions) is not necessary in order to be considered. Campus-wide awards require an application for consideration and nomination. Recipients are selected by committees appointed by the Graduate Division or the FLAS centers upon the department’s nomination and recommendation. Please see our section on Graduate Student Funding for more information.

We have a TA training course (Sociology 495) that is required of all first-time TAs in the department. There is also a free annual campus-wide TA Conference scheduled in September. Most of our students will have an opportunity to be a TA and it is part of our funding package. A typical award offer to entering students includes two or three years of teaching assistantship. Continuing students who have used up their guaranteed awards can apply annually for TAships, though TA title appointments are limited to 12 quarters. Some students have also had opportunities for TA employment in other departments (e.g., Communication Studies, Women’s Studies, Honors Program). Advanced students with the requisite prior TA experience have opportunities to teach during one of the summer sessions or through other campus programs.

Teaching assistants in our department are appointed at 50% time and are expected, on the average, to spend 20 hours per week during the quarter carrying out their TA responsibilities, such as attending the lectures of the course, holding three discussion sections per week with an average section enrollment of 25 students, grading papers and exams, and other duties as determined by the instructor.

Yes. Some professors have funding that allows them to employ research assistants. Our graduate students can also explore opportunities with faculty in other departments or research units on campus. There is no central job bulletin board for open research assistant positions. Students interested in research assistantships should inquire with individual faculty and campus research centers directly.

Employment as TA, GSR, or Readers for 10 hours a week or more (at least 25% time) entitles students to receive fee remission benefits. This applies equally to domestic and international students. Fee remission benefits include payment of the educational and registration fees as well as the mandatory health insurance premiums. GSRs employed at 45-50% time are also eligible for non-resident tuition (NRT) remission benefits, i.e., full payment of NRT.

No. Graduate students are not allowed to work more than 50% time on campus (20 hours per week). Appointments in academic apprentice personnel titles (TA, GSR, Reader) cannot exceed 18 quarters of which no more than 12 quarters can be as a TA without exception. We do not recommend that our students work full-time off campus. It may be difficult, if not impossible, to work full-time and attend classes and complete course work.