Joint Ph.D. Degree in Demography and Sociology

For students currently enrolled in the Ph.D. Program in Demography:

Demography students who are in good standing in the Demography program have the possibility to pursue a joint Ph.D. degree with Sociology. This joint Demography & Sociology degree is only available for the Ph.D. degree; there is no joint Master’s degree, nor can students earn two master’s degrees (in Demography and Sociology) during their studies at Penn. To pursue the joint degree with Sociology, students need to be accepted into the Sociology Ph.D. program. This application is generally made in the Spring semester of a student’s first year in the Demography program. To apply, students should refer to Sociology’s “Applications to Joint degree Program.”

After an application has been accepted by the Sociology Department, applicants should fill out a plan of study for an individualized joint degree form (available from graduate coordinators) and submit the form to the graduate coordinator. Acceptance into the Sociology Ph.D. program for the joint degree is conditional on remaining in good standing in the Sociology program, but also in the Demography Ph.D. program. That is, failing to meet the requirements of the Demography Ph.D. program jeopardizes a student’s enrollment in both the Demography and the Sociology programs. Students cannot expect to receive funding from the Sociology program.

For students currently enrolled in the Ph.D. Program in Sociology:
Sociology students who are in good standing in the Sociology program have the possibility to pursue a joint Ph.D. degree with Demography. This joint Sociology & Demography degree is only available for the Ph.D. degree; there is no joint Master’s degree, nor can students earn two master’s degrees (in Demography and Sociology) during their studies at Penn. To pursue the joint degree with Demography, students should complete all required Demography classes as listed in Getting Phinished in Demography, a first-year and second-year paper supervised by a faculty member in the Graduate Group in Demography, and take the A.M. Exam and Ph.D. Exam. There is no application form; acceptance into the Demography Ph.D. program for the joint degree is based on the graduate group’s evaluation of the student’s performance in courses, first-year paper and A.M. exam. This evaluation takes place at the meeting of the Graduate Group in Demography held in May shortly after the A.M. exam. Interested students should notify the GGD Coordinator by May 1 if they intend to participate in the A.M. exam in a given year and wish to be considered for the Ph.D. program in Demography.

Students must maintain enrollment and good standing in their home department to continue as a joint degree student in the Demography program. Students cannot expect to receive funding from the Demography program.