About the Department
News
Prof. Marvin Dawkins named new Faculty Athletic Representative to the ACC and NCAA
Read the e-Veritas article
The B.A. degree in either Sociology or Criminology provides students with broad exposure to disciplinary subject matter so they may analyze issues affecting their lives and society from a critical and informed perspective. This rigorous training prepares students for a variety of jobs or graduate education.
The Ph.D. degree provides student with the intellectual and professional expertise necessary to teach Sociology at the university level and conduct sociological research. In order to pursue the Ph.D. degree, students must first complete the MA degree. The department offers three substantive areas of concentration at the doctoral levels: (1) Criminology; (2) Race and Ethnic Relations; and (3) Medical Sociology. At the beginning of the 2006/2007 academic year there are 34 students enrolled in the graduate program.
Distinguished Research Professor Joins Department
Alejandro Portes
Alejandro Portes, Howard Harrison and Gabrielle Snyder Beck Professor of Sociology and director of the Center for Migration and Development at Princeton University has joined the UM Sociology Department permanently. He will continue half-time at Princeton University and half-time at UM. His appointment at UM includes a position with the Law School. Dr. Portes has formerly taught at Johns Hopkins University, where he held the John Dewey Chair in Arts and Sciences; Duke University, and the University of Texas-Austin. In 1997, he was elected president of the American Sociological Association and served in that capacity in 1998-99. Born in Havana, Cuba, he came to the United States in 1960. He was educated at the University of Havana, Catholic University of Argentina, and Creighton University. He received his M. A. and Ph. D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
"Portes boldly expands the repertoire of economic sociology, bringing in a diverse selection of both classical and contemporary writers who address issues such as power, the informal economgy, and transnational communities in innovative and eye-opening ways. Economic Sociology illustrates many of the unique insights provided by sociologists in a field still struggling to liberate iteslf from the limiting assumptions of neoclassical economics."
— Gary Gereggi, Duke University
