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Frequently Asked Questions
Hopefully, the answer to your questions can be found in our FAQ section. If you don't see the answer you need, please reach out to our Graduate Program Assistant: soc-grad-assistant@uwo.ca
Applicants are required to secure two references. Ideally, students should make every effort to obtain academic references, especially if you have completed any kind of studies (full degree/diploma, individual courses for interest or upgrading, etc.) within the last few years. Academic referees should be current or past instructors (not teaching assistants) or research supervisors who can attest to your writing and research abilities. If obtaining an academic reference is not possible, you may use a professional reference, provided they can speak to your ability to write, your potential to carry out research, and/or your likelihood of success in a graduate program.
No. It is not necessary to identify or secure a supervisor before applying to either our MA or PhD program.
Students who are admitted to our MA program are paired with a temporary faculty mentor over the summer before they begin, who then help them to identify a formal supervisor. These pairings are made in part on the basis of students’ research interests as expressed through their applications. PhD students select their supervisor by the end of their first year in the program.
This allows students the opportunity to get to know our faculty through their courses, department events, and one-on-one meetings, and to get a sense of potential supervisors’ research interests and working styles before formally selecting a supervisor. That said, it is helpful for the Admissions Committee when applicants note two or three faculty members with whom they might like to work in their statement of fit as part of their applications.
Students who are admitted to our MA program are paired with a temporary faculty mentor over the summer before they begin, who then help them to identify a formal supervisor. These pairings are made in part on the basis of students’ research interests as expressed through their applications. PhD students select their supervisor by the end of their first year in the program.
This allows students the opportunity to get to know our faculty through their courses, department events, and one-on-one meetings, and to get a sense of potential supervisors’ research interests and working styles before formally selecting a supervisor. That said, it is helpful for the Admissions Committee when applicants note two or three faculty members with whom they might like to work in their statement of fit as part of their applications.
The Statement of Interest is a key component of your application. The Admissions Committee uses this statement to make admission recommendations, and to match students with potential faculty supervisors. In this statement, you should explain your interest in graduate studies in sociology at Western and outline your research interests. PhD applicants should identify their intended research area, and if possible, outline a research project they would like to undertake, briefly contextualize it in the sociological literature, and discuss their proposed methodology. MA applicants may not have a well-formed research topic, but it should be clear from your statement where your interests lie and whether these interests are compatible with department and faculty research strengths. For both MA and PhD applicants, the clearer you can be about your research interests and plans, the better.
The Statement should explain which of our department’s core areas of strength align best with your own research interests, as well as the full-time faculty members with whom you would like to work or with whom you share research interests.
The Statement should explain which of our department’s core areas of strength align best with your own research interests, as well as the full-time faculty members with whom you would like to work or with whom you share research interests.
Applicants to the PhD program should upload a paper they feel represents some of their strongest work. The paper should be no more than 25 pages (double-spaced) and written completely by you. You could consider submitting a final course paper, a master’s or honours thesis, or a journal article. The topic should be relevant to sociology, though the paper need not come from a sociology class necessarily. While you may submit a paper longer than 25 pages, the Admissions Committee may not read past page 25.
A writing sample is not required for the MA application.
A writing sample is not required for the MA application.
No. Applicants to our MA and PhD programs are not required to provide GRE scores.
If I forgot to include some information in my application or need to make a change, what should I do?
Once you submit your application, you will not be able to access or edit it. You may send changes or updates by emailing the Graduate Program Assistant.
If I forgot to include some information in my application or need to make a change, what should I do?
Once you submit your application, you will not be able to access or edit it. You may send changes or updates by emailing the Graduate Program Assistant.
Applications received by January 15 will be prioritized, though the Admissions Committee may consider applications received after the deadline on a rolling basis if there are still open spaces in the program. Prospective applicants considering applying after the deadline – and especially after the end of February – should contact the Graduate Program Assistant to confirm whether a late application will be considered.
The Graduate Admissions Committee begins its review of applications in late January, after the application deadline. The Committee is made up of the Department Chair, Graduate Program Chair, and four other tenure-track or tenured faculty members in our department. They carefully consider all of the information in the applications including, but not limited to, students’ grades, references, statements of interest and fit, and compatibility with our department’s research strengths.
By the end of March, most applicants whose application was received by the deadline can expect to receive a decision by email. We will use the email that you initially provided on your application. Students will hear whether they have been accepted, not accepted, placed on a waitlist, or placed “on hold.”
Accepted applicants will receive an Offer of Admission from the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies as well as a funding letter from the department. Accepted international students will also receive a Letter of Acceptance from the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
For students on the waitlist, this is an indication that the Admissions Committee found much merit in your application but are uncertain about the availability of spaces in the program. We will aim to communicate final decisions to candidates on our waitlist on a rolling basis as soon as we can as admitted students accept or decline their offers of admission and as additional University funding becomes available. Being placed on “hold” means either that the committee would like to see final grades or are awaiting additional information before making their decision about an application.
By the end of March, most applicants whose application was received by the deadline can expect to receive a decision by email. We will use the email that you initially provided on your application. Students will hear whether they have been accepted, not accepted, placed on a waitlist, or placed “on hold.”
Accepted applicants will receive an Offer of Admission from the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies as well as a funding letter from the department. Accepted international students will also receive a Letter of Acceptance from the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
For students on the waitlist, this is an indication that the Admissions Committee found much merit in your application but are uncertain about the availability of spaces in the program. We will aim to communicate final decisions to candidates on our waitlist on a rolling basis as soon as we can as admitted students accept or decline their offers of admission and as additional University funding becomes available. Being placed on “hold” means either that the committee would like to see final grades or are awaiting additional information before making their decision about an application.
Successful applicants must accept or decline their offer online. The web link and instructions will appear on your formal Offer of Admission from the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (you can also find instructions on the SGPS website). We ask that all admitted students take this step – even if you are declining our offer, as this allows us to extend offers of admission to other applicants on our waitlists.
Once you click to accept or decline your offer of admission, a message will appear on your screen to indicate you have successfully accepted (or declined) and this is the only confirmation you will receive. If you are unsure whether you successfully accepted your offer of admission, you can go through the process again; once you have accepted your offer it no longer appears. Therefore, if your offer still appears, you did not successfully accept or decline.
Once you click to accept or decline your offer of admission, a message will appear on your screen to indicate you have successfully accepted (or declined) and this is the only confirmation you will receive. If you are unsure whether you successfully accepted your offer of admission, you can go through the process again; once you have accepted your offer it no longer appears. Therefore, if your offer still appears, you did not successfully accept or decline.
We only admit one cohort of new students each year, and that cohort begins the program in September. In exceptional circumstances, and on a case-by-case basis, a newly admitted student can defer their initial enrollment for one term, with the approval of the Graduate Program Chair and the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.