Venster op het buitenland. The Training of Sociologists in the United States

Samenvatting

The major centers for the academic training of sociologists are Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Chicago Universities, and the State Universities of Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, North Carolina, Washington, and California. The training at Minnesota is described in detail as an example. Undergraduate study takes 4 yrs leading to the BA degree. The 1st 2 yrs are dominated by introductory sociology, social problems, and statistics. The 2 senior yrs require social psychol, social theory, and research methods, and some other courses of the S's choice. If the training of undergraduates is somewhat quantative and casual, the graduate S is taken very seriously. There are 7 sections: research methods, social processes, social psychol, social problems and social policy, org, theory, and Ru sociology. Candidates for the MA are examined on 3 of these sections (always including research methods), candidates for the PhD on all seven. Requirements for the MA include a specific number of classes, a thesis, an examination on his ability to read French or German, a written examination on the graduate courses and an oral on his thesis. The MA can theoretically be reached after 1 year of graduate work. The PhD can theoretically be received in 2 yrs. Actually it requires at least 4-5 yrs of residence. Before the candidate starts to work on his thesis he has to pass the preliminary doctoral examination, which consists of 2 parts: a series of written questions, one on each of the sections into which the field is divided, and an oral part, where he is examined by a jury of professors. Once past the `prelim' the candidate is no longer thought of as a S, but as a member of the profession. Before undertaking serious work on his thesis, most graduates start teaching. Relatively few find posts at research projects. Though the traditional arrangement, with its emphasis on teaching as primary and research and writing as secondary duties continues as the dominant career-pattern, there is a tendency to spend somewhat more time in research than in teaching, and to think of oneself as a technician rather than a pedagogue. In recent yrs, there has been an increasing interest in various kinds of post-PhD training. T. J. IJzerman.