Director of Graduate Studies: Dr. Stephen A. Cernkovich

Admission to the M.A. program is contingent on the completion of a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and a cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4 point scale. Admission to the Ph.D. program is contingent on the completion of a master’s degree in sociology, or an equivalent graduate degree, and a cumulative graduate GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4 point scale. All applicants should submit transcripts of all previous college work, scores on the Graduate Record Examination, and three letters of recommendation, at least two of which are from professors familiar with the applicant's academic work. Applicants must also submit a 500-hundred word personal statement describing the research interests they hope to pursue in graduate school, their professional goals and aspirations, and why they believe the Bowling Green’s graduate program will help them pursue these interests and achieve these goals. This personal statement is particularly important because it helps the Graduate Committee decide if the department can meet the applicant's educational and career goals. Applicants whose native language is not English must submit evidence of English language proficiency by forwarding scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

In addition to the above items, applicants to the Ph.D. program should submit a copy of their master’s thesis, their thesis proposal if the thesis is not yet completed, or a sample of other academic writing, such as a class paper, if the thesis proposal is not yet completed. The three letters of reference for those applying to the Ph.D. program should be from professors at the graduate level, and at least one of these should be from a member of the student’s thesis committee, preferably the chair.

Application for admission must be made to both the Department of Sociology (Assistantship Form, Student Applicant Information Form) and to the Graduate College. The Graduate College application should be submitted electronically as instructed in the application. Official copies of all transcripts, GRE and TOEFL scores should be mailed directly to the Graduate College. The two Department of Sociology forms and the personal statement may either be mailed to the Department of Sociology or submitted electronically as attachments to socdept@bgnet.bgsu.edu. Original copies of letters of reference and writing samples (thesis, thesis proposal, class paper) must be mailed directly to the Department of Sociology; electronic versions of these items cannot be accepted.

Applications for admission will be accepted throughout the year. However, in order to ensure consideration for financial assistance, all application materials should be submitted by January 30.