Graduate studies in Sociology

Sociologists address key aspects of the human social condition at the micro, meso and macro levels. The University of Victoria Department of Sociology is committed to providing high quality graduate training in an academically stimulating and supportive environment. Students will receive a well-rounded sociological education with equal emphasis on theory, methods, and substantive areas. Students who graduate from these programs will have strong analytical, communication, and research skills. These skills will assist students in pursuing academic, managerial, policy, planning and research positions in the public, non-profit and private sectors, nationally as well as internationally.

Careers in Sociology

A graduate degree in Sociology provides a diversity of career opportunities. Approximately one in five of our MA grads pursue a PhD. The remainder gain employment in governmental organizations, the non-profit sector and private industry. Several of our current PhD students received their MA from this department and have selected to continue their doctoral work with us. Our PhD graduates are actively involved in teaching and research at various universities across the country.

What our recent PhDs are doing

A source of pride for the department is that all graduates from the small but growing doctoral program are currently employed in post-secondary institutions:

• Bruce Ravelli (1997) is a full time faculty member teaching Sociology at Mount Royal University in Alberta
• John Anderson (2002) is a regular faculty member in the Criminology department at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo
• Colin Reid (2003) is an assistant professor in Health Studies at the University of BC, Okanagan Campus in Kelowna
• William Little (2006) is a sessional instructor in the Sociology department at UVic
• Josephine MacIntosh (Interdisciplinary, 2007) is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at UBC Faculty of Medicine and is a sessional instructor in both the Sociology and Anthropology departments at UVic
• Laura Funk (2008) is an Associate Professor at University of Manitoba.