About BYU
Brigham Young University is the largest private university in the United States. It currently enrolls approximately 30,000 students, 10% of whom are graduate students. The mission of the institution is emphasized in the graduate education experience. Brigham Young University offers a unique educational experience for graduate students.
The University was founded, and is supported and guided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It attempts to provide a period of intensive learning in a stimulating setting where a commitment to excellence is expected and the full realization of human potential is pursued. A shared desire to "seek learning, even by study and also by faith" knits BYU into a unique educational community.
Within this larger context, the Department of Sociology houses an impressive faculty who are committed to the mission of the institution and who maintain an international reputation in their various areas of expertise. They are active in research endeavors and are dedicated teachers.
About the Sociology Graduate Program at BYU
Approximately 8 students are enrolled in the sociology graduate program at BYU every year. Students come into our program from all over the world and from a variety of cultural and intellectual backgrounds. Close professional interaction with faculty is an integral part of our program. This opportunity to work closely with a faculty mentor is an important part of a graduate education.
Our faculty are active in research, teaching, and service, providing numerous opportunities for students to play a major role in many research and professional projects. Faculty have a number of different research interests, including international development, urban and rural studies, family, criminology and deviance, and the life course. Graduate classes are typically small enough to be conducted within a seminar setting. As a student, this enhances your opportunity to interact at a more personal level with your mentors and peers.
Professional Activities
A graduate degree is a professional degree; therefore, we place considerable emphasis on your professional socialization. You are expected to prepare research papers for presentation at professional meetings and for publication. Your faculty mentors and your peers will assist you in these endeavors. We expect you to take an active professional interest in your graduate career and your future career as a sociologist regardless of the setting in which that may occur, be it academia, government, private enterprise or another setting.
Placements
About half of our students go on to doctoral programs in sociology, many top in the county—Berkeley, Duke, Cornell, Northwestern, UT-Austin, Notre Dame, to name a few. Other students have been placed in industry positions such as Google, the US Accountability Office, and the Utah Juvenile Justice Department.
Please contact Jonathan Jarvis, the Department Graduate Program Coordinator, with any questions.